Some people can figure out the externalities and adjust behavior. Others may require market signals but they will be difficult to incorporate.
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We must face facts - meat is the problem
- Thread starter mspohr
- Start date
Without reading through this whole thread, I will state my simple opinion. The day that humans only grow molars, is the day we stop eating meat. I try to cut down on meat consumption, occasionally eating a non-meat diet for a day or two. However, I will never completely cut out a food source that my body is designed to consume.
You are designed to be an omnivore. You can eat anything. It's your choice. Read "The Omnivores Dilemma"
$11 for paperback on Amazon. I always enjoy a good read. Thanks for the recommendation!
Meatless school menu sparks political row in France
Food represents roughly a quarter of France’s carbon footprint and proposals are being developed by the government to encourage the French both to eat more local produce and to consume less meat, but of higher quality. The French senate last year recommended a more vegetable-based diet, but mainly to counter the unhealthy impact of fast food and takeaways. There have also been proposals to reward low-emission meat producers. But resistance to any proposals to reduce meat consumption will be fierce from France’s powerful farming lobby. The Lyon decision was met with protest in the form of tractors, cows and goats paraded in front of the city hall. Banners proclaimed: “Meat from our fields = a healthy child” and “Stopping meat is a guarantee of weakness against future viruses”.
Food represents roughly a quarter of France’s carbon footprint and proposals are being developed by the government to encourage the French both to eat more local produce and to consume less meat, but of higher quality. The French senate last year recommended a more vegetable-based diet, but mainly to counter the unhealthy impact of fast food and takeaways. There have also been proposals to reward low-emission meat producers. But resistance to any proposals to reduce meat consumption will be fierce from France’s powerful farming lobby. The Lyon decision was met with protest in the form of tractors, cows and goats paraded in front of the city hall. Banners proclaimed: “Meat from our fields = a healthy child” and “Stopping meat is a guarantee of weakness against future viruses”.
dhanson865
Well-Known Member
just watched a nova episode about CRISPR and one of the examples they discussed was editing the dna of cattle to make more males since males produce more beef on the same amount of feed. Supposed to reduce the footprint of the cattle industry slightly. Can't imagine that's worth more than 10%, I'm assuming single digit gains.
Carbon footprint study reveals 1 'recommended' diet is bad for Earth
By and large, plant-based diets are much better for the environment than animal-based ones.
For example, CarbonBrief analyzed data comparing plant-based "Impossible" meat and "Beyond Burgers" to beef burgers. The carbon footprint for the plant-based burgers was 20 times smaller than the beef burgers.
Recently, researchers have suggested adapting the Mediterranean diet — a favorite for its health benefits — to be more "green" by cutting out red meat and increasing plant intake.
This study dives into this question, finding what's best for the environment doesn't always align with what governments say is best as a diet.
By and large, plant-based diets are much better for the environment than animal-based ones.
For example, CarbonBrief analyzed data comparing plant-based "Impossible" meat and "Beyond Burgers" to beef burgers. The carbon footprint for the plant-based burgers was 20 times smaller than the beef burgers.
Recently, researchers have suggested adapting the Mediterranean diet — a favorite for its health benefits — to be more "green" by cutting out red meat and increasing plant intake.
This study dives into this question, finding what's best for the environment doesn't always align with what governments say is best as a diet.
China’s appetite for meat fades as vegan revolution takes hold
Over the last couple of years, after many years of rising meat consumption by China’s expanding middle classes for whom eating pork every day was a luxurious sign of new financial comforts, the green shoots of a vegan meat revolution have begun to sprout. Although China still consumes 28% of the world’s meat, including half of all pork, and boasts a meat market valued at $86bn (£62bn), plant-based meat substitutes are slowing carving out a place for themselves among a new generation of consumers increasingly alarmed by food crises such as coronavirus and African swine fever.
But in 2016, as part of its pledge to bring down carbon emissions, the Chinese government outlined a plan to cut the country’s meat intake by 50%. It was a radical move, and so far very few other governments around the world have included meat consumption in their carbon-reduction plans.
Over the last couple of years, after many years of rising meat consumption by China’s expanding middle classes for whom eating pork every day was a luxurious sign of new financial comforts, the green shoots of a vegan meat revolution have begun to sprout. Although China still consumes 28% of the world’s meat, including half of all pork, and boasts a meat market valued at $86bn (£62bn), plant-based meat substitutes are slowing carving out a place for themselves among a new generation of consumers increasingly alarmed by food crises such as coronavirus and African swine fever.
But in 2016, as part of its pledge to bring down carbon emissions, the Chinese government outlined a plan to cut the country’s meat intake by 50%. It was a radical move, and so far very few other governments around the world have included meat consumption in their carbon-reduction plans.
Inaction leaves world playing ‘Russian roulette’ with pandemics, say experts
The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is thought to have jumped from wild bats to humans and about two-thirds of diseases that infect humans start in other species, including the influenza, HIV, Zika, West Nile and Ebola viruses. The increasing destruction of nature by farming, logging and the wild animal trade has brought people and their livestock into closer contact with wildlife and led to a great increase in diseases crossing from animals to people in recent decades.
In October, the world’s leading scientists said the world was in an “era of pandemics” and that diseases would emerge more often, spread more rapidly, kill more people and affect the global economy with more devastating impact than ever before, unless the devastation of the natural world ends. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the UN, World Health Organization and others have warned the world must tackle the cause of these outbreaks and not just the health and economic symptoms. In June, experts called the pandemic an “SOS signal for the human enterprise”.
The coronavirus that causes Covid-19 is thought to have jumped from wild bats to humans and about two-thirds of diseases that infect humans start in other species, including the influenza, HIV, Zika, West Nile and Ebola viruses. The increasing destruction of nature by farming, logging and the wild animal trade has brought people and their livestock into closer contact with wildlife and led to a great increase in diseases crossing from animals to people in recent decades.
In October, the world’s leading scientists said the world was in an “era of pandemics” and that diseases would emerge more often, spread more rapidly, kill more people and affect the global economy with more devastating impact than ever before, unless the devastation of the natural world ends. Since the coronavirus pandemic began, the UN, World Health Organization and others have warned the world must tackle the cause of these outbreaks and not just the health and economic symptoms. In June, experts called the pandemic an “SOS signal for the human enterprise”.
Deadly pig disease could have led to Covid spillover to humans, analysis suggests
An outbreak of a deadly pig disease may have set the stage for Covid-19 to take hold in humans, a new analysis has suggested. African swine fever (ASF), which first swept through China in 2018, disrupted pork supplies increasing the potential for human-virus contact as people sought out alternative meats.
The dramatic drop in pork supply, after restrictions on movement of pigs and culling led to price rises, escalated demand for alternative sources of meat to be transported nationwide. These sources included wild animals, thus greatly increasing opportunities for human-coronavirus contact, a team of researchers from China and the UK have suggested in a yet to be peer-reviewed analysis.
An outbreak of a deadly pig disease may have set the stage for Covid-19 to take hold in humans, a new analysis has suggested. African swine fever (ASF), which first swept through China in 2018, disrupted pork supplies increasing the potential for human-virus contact as people sought out alternative meats.
The dramatic drop in pork supply, after restrictions on movement of pigs and culling led to price rises, escalated demand for alternative sources of meat to be transported nationwide. These sources included wild animals, thus greatly increasing opportunities for human-coronavirus contact, a team of researchers from China and the UK have suggested in a yet to be peer-reviewed analysis.
WHO Points To Wildlife Farms In Southern China As Likely Source Of Pandemic
Peter Daszak of the investigative team sent to Wuhan says the farms were probably where the coronavirus first jumped from bats to another animal before infecting humans.
www.npr.org
"They take exotic animals, like civets, porcupines, pangolins, raccoon dogs and bamboo rats, and they breed them in captivity," says Daszak.
And so Daszak and others on the WHO team believe that the wildlife farms provided a perfect conduit between a coronavirus-infected bat in Yunnan (or neighboring Myanmar) and a Wuhan animal market.
Nebraska takes aim at Colorado’s meat-free day by declaring pro-meat day
“That is a direct attack on our way of life here in Nebraska,” said Ricketts, a Republican, at a news conference in an Omaha meat shop.
The Farm Animal Rights Movement argues that vegan diets promote health and have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
Deep animosity
Ricketts has taken issue with Nebraska’s western neighbor before, most notably for Colorado’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana. Nebraska is one of three conservative states that doesn’t allow marijuana in any form.
“That is a direct attack on our way of life here in Nebraska,” said Ricketts, a Republican, at a news conference in an Omaha meat shop.
The Farm Animal Rights Movement argues that vegan diets promote health and have been shown to reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, cancer, diabetes and other chronic illnesses.
Deep animosity
Ricketts has taken issue with Nebraska’s western neighbor before, most notably for Colorado’s decision to legalize recreational marijuana. Nebraska is one of three conservative states that doesn’t allow marijuana in any form.
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Nutrition science omission could derail Biden's climate plan
President Biden’s executive order on climate misses naming America’s meat-heavy diet as a major contributor to a changing climate
America’s agriculture sector offers a critical path to slowing climate change but public policy has yet to recognize this possibility. President Biden’s Jan. 27 executive order on climate misses naming America’s meat-heavy diet as a major contributor to a changing climate.
Meat production fuels deforestation and accounts for at least 18 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions (though it is likely this figure significantly understates the full impact of animal agriculture, which also includes lost carbon sequestration capacity of agricultural land). Without a clear strategy for altering America’s meat-centric food choices, the agricultural and forestry climate strategy required by late April — per the executive order — will inhibit the achievement of Biden’s climate goals.
Reducing consumption of animal foods would have immediate and significant health and environmental benefits. Indeed, widespread adoption of a plant-based diet could cut food-related emissions by 70 percent. Moreover, the annual savings in health care costs from a healthier population will more than offset the costs of incentivizing farmers to grow more plants and fewer animals. In 2020, healthcare costs totaled $3.5 trillion, 85 percent of which was to manage diet-related chronic diseases.
Mark Bittman Cooked Everything. Now He Wants to Change Everything. Opinion | Mark Bittman Cooked Everything. Now He Wants to Change Everything.
But now Bittman wants to do more than teach me, or you, how to cook. He wants to convince us that the whole food system has fallen into calamity. His new book, “Animal, Vegetable, Junk” is a stunning reinterpretation of humanity’s relationship to the food it forages, grows and, nowadays, concocts. It’s about the marvel of the modern food system, which feeds more than seven billion people and offers more food, with more variety, at less cost, than ever before. But even more so, it’s about the malignancy of that food system, which is sickening us, poisoning the planet and inflicting so much suffering on other creatures that the mind breaks contemplating it.
But now Bittman wants to do more than teach me, or you, how to cook. He wants to convince us that the whole food system has fallen into calamity. His new book, “Animal, Vegetable, Junk” is a stunning reinterpretation of humanity’s relationship to the food it forages, grows and, nowadays, concocts. It’s about the marvel of the modern food system, which feeds more than seven billion people and offers more food, with more variety, at less cost, than ever before. But even more so, it’s about the malignancy of that food system, which is sickening us, poisoning the planet and inflicting so much suffering on other creatures that the mind breaks contemplating it.
Trawling for Fish May Unleash as Much Carbon as Air Travel, Study Says Trawling for Fish May Unleash as Much Carbon as Air Travel, Study Says
For the first time, scientists have calculated how much planet-warming carbon dioxide is released into the ocean by bottom trawling, the practice of dragging enormous nets along the ocean floor to catch shrimp, whiting, cod and other fish. The answer: As much as global aviation releases into the air.
While preliminary, that was one of the most surprising findings of a groundbreaking new study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The study offers what is essentially a peer-reviewed, interactive road map for how nations can confront the interconnected crises of climate change and wildlife collapse at sea.
Protecting strategic zones of the world’s oceans from fishing, drilling and mining would not only safeguard imperiled species and sequester vast amounts of carbon, the researchers found, it would also increase overall fish catch, providing more healthy protein to people.
For the first time, scientists have calculated how much planet-warming carbon dioxide is released into the ocean by bottom trawling, the practice of dragging enormous nets along the ocean floor to catch shrimp, whiting, cod and other fish. The answer: As much as global aviation releases into the air.
While preliminary, that was one of the most surprising findings of a groundbreaking new study published on Wednesday in the journal Nature. The study offers what is essentially a peer-reviewed, interactive road map for how nations can confront the interconnected crises of climate change and wildlife collapse at sea.
Protecting strategic zones of the world’s oceans from fishing, drilling and mining would not only safeguard imperiled species and sequester vast amounts of carbon, the researchers found, it would also increase overall fish catch, providing more healthy protein to people.
Wow, so much ignorance in such a short post.
Here's a tip: your "canine" teeth are that in name only. If you'd like to see real canines, designed over millions of years for carnivores to rip flesh off bones, see the mouths of bears, lions, tigers, and other carnivores. You do NOT have "canines."
You, on the other hand, assuming you are human, are not designed to be eating the flesh of animals, at all.
See this, and pay particular attention to teeth:
(p.s. Dr. Mills is a Stanford Medical School graduate and a practicing physician. We await his book, but his work schedule appears to preclude time to write the darn thing.)
Lastly, here's a short-version video summary of hundreds of peer-reviewed papers on disease and nutrition; the long version may be lost on you, but well worth your time nonetheless given where you're starting from:
How Not to Die: An Animated Summary | NutritionFacts.org
We have tremendous power over our health destiny and longevity.
nutritionfacts.org
Mark Bittman has a new book: Animal, Vegetable, Junk
“Compelling and ambitious, Bittman's Animal, Vegetable, Junk is the authoritative text on the 1.8 million year history of the food system. We begin our journey with the first taming of fire to hunt and cook, witness the use of fire in indigenous swidden agriculture to prepare the ground, and finally arrive at the fanning of revolutionary fire of peasant farmers organizing against multinational agribusiness. Bittman leaves no stone unturned in the quest to understand how Big Food expropriated our land, water, and sustenance. Everyone who eats needs to read this book. The future of our species and our planet depends on it.”
Amazon.com: Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal eBook: Bittman, Mark: Kindle Store
Amazon.com: Animal, Vegetable, Junk: A History of Food, from Sustainable to Suicidal eBook: Bittman, Mark: Kindle Store
smile.amazon.com
“Compelling and ambitious, Bittman's Animal, Vegetable, Junk is the authoritative text on the 1.8 million year history of the food system. We begin our journey with the first taming of fire to hunt and cook, witness the use of fire in indigenous swidden agriculture to prepare the ground, and finally arrive at the fanning of revolutionary fire of peasant farmers organizing against multinational agribusiness. Bittman leaves no stone unturned in the quest to understand how Big Food expropriated our land, water, and sustenance. Everyone who eats needs to read this book. The future of our species and our planet depends on it.”
The Mills document is fascinating. Really lays out the anatomy and physiology of carnivores, herbivores, and omnivores.Wow, so much ignorance in such a short post.
Here's a tip: your "canine" teeth are that in name only. If you'd like to see real canines, designed over millions of years for carnivores to rip flesh off bones, see the mouths of bears, lions, tigers, and other carnivores. You do NOT have "canines."
You, on the other hand, assuming you are human, are not designed to be eating the flesh of animals, at all.
See this, and pay particular attention to teeth:
(p.s. Dr. Mills is a Stanford Medical School graduate and a practicing physician. We await his book, but his work schedule appears to preclude time to write the darn thing.)
Lastly, here's a short-version video summary of hundreds of peer-reviewed papers on disease and nutrition; the long version may be lost on you, but well worth your time nonetheless given where you're starting from:
How Not to Die: An Animated Summary | NutritionFacts.org
We have tremendous power over our health destiny and longevity.
Humans are "designed" to be herbivores.
Yes, but there is NO money in this information.
There is HUGE money in having a major portion of the population taking meds for a lifetime, and then filling hospitals for years as their health declines.
Short (about 4 mins), incredibly funny, but OMG, so very true (and from waaay back in 2007!):
Unfortunately, the medical industry is just about making money. It is not a "health" industry.