We must face facts - meat is the problem

[mspohr]

Study discovers molecular mechanism that could explain why eating too much protein is bad for your arteries

University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine researchers discovered a molecular mechanism by which excessive dietary protein could increase atherosclerosis risk. The findings were published in Nature Metabolism.

medicalxpress.com

The study, which combined small human trials with experiments in mice and cells in a Petri dish, showed that consuming over 22% of dietary calories from protein can lead to increased activation of immune cells that play a role in atherosclerotic plaque formation, driving the disease risk. Furthermore, the scientists showed that one amino acid—leucine—seems to have a disproportionate role in driving the pathological pathways linked to atherosclerosis, or stiff, hardened arteries. "Our study shows that dialing up your protein intake in pursuit of better metabolic health is not a panacea. You could be doing real damage to your arteries," said senior and co-corresponding author Babak Razani, M.D., Ph.D., professor of cardiology at Pitt.

The culprit appears to be leucine amino acid which is present in high concentration in meat.

Leucine is one of three branched-chain amino acids and is an essential amino acid. We have no biologic pathways to create it; we can only take it in from the protein we eat. And lots of foods we eat contain leucine. I mean, any food that is high in protein is going to be somewhat high in leucine — I put some examples here — but I will note that, in general, animal proteins are higher in leucine than are plant-based proteins. Remember that fact; we'll come back to it later.

Animal studies fairly consistently show that higher protein diets are associated with more atherosclerosis. And some, but by no means all, epidemiologic studies in humans also show a link between protein intake and heart disease.

A new paper suggests that some of the observed problems with protein might boil down to just one amino acid: leucine. It's time to dig in. We're talking about this study appearing in Nature Metabolism, "Identification of a leucine-mediated threshold effect governing macrophage mTOR signalling and cardiovascular risk," from Xiangyu Zhang and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh

Identification of a leucine-mediated threshold effect governing macrophage mTOR signalling and cardiovascular risk - Nature Metabolism

Zhang et al. use human studies and mechanistic work in mouse models to describe how leucine serves as the key amino acid derived from dietary protein to drive deleterious macrophage mTORC1 signalling and promote cardiovascular disease.

www.nature.com

 

[DrGriz]

The culprit appears to be leucine amino acid which is present in high concentration in meat.

Leucine is one of three branched-chain amino acids and is an essential amino acid. We have no biologic pathways to create it; we can only take it in from the protein we eat. And lots of foods we eat contain leucine. I mean, any food that is high in protein is going to be somewhat high in leucine — I put some examples here — but I will note that, in general, animal proteins are higher in leucine than are plant-based proteins. Remember that fact; we'll come back to it later.

Animal studies fairly consistently show that higher protein diets are associated with more atherosclerosis. And some, but by no means all, epidemiologic studies in humans also show a link between protein intake and heart disease.

A new paper suggests that some of the observed problems with protein might boil down to just one amino acid: leucine. It's time to dig in. We're talking about this study appearing in Nature Metabolism, "Identification of a leucine-mediated threshold effect governing macrophage mTOR signalling and cardiovascular risk," from Xiangyu Zhang and colleagues at the University of Pittsburgh

Identification of a leucine-mediated threshold effect governing macrophage mTOR signalling and cardiovascular risk - Nature Metabolism

Zhang et al. use human studies and mechanistic work in mouse models to describe how leucine serves as the key amino acid derived from dietary protein to drive deleterious macrophage mTORC1 signalling and promote cardiovascular disease.

www.nature.com

Just to provide some context here, leucine is an essential amino acid. Meaning we humans can't metabolically create it from something else, and it is necessary for our existence to obtain (eat) it elsewhere.

So this information is interesting, and comes down to, put simply, there can be too much of a good thing. No surprise, really, and this is just one more example.

Wheat and lentils and soy are rich in leucine, so you don't have to eat meat to get too much!

 

[mspohr]

https://www.nytimes.com/2024/02/29/climate/the-farming-conundrum.html?unlocked_article_code=1.ZU0.YZNN.esE3mQL3Ke2n&smid=url-share

The New York attorney general Letitia James, fresh off a $450 million civil verdict against Donald Trump, announced a lawsuit against JBS, the world’s biggest meatpacking company, for making misleading statements about its efforts to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. James’s lawsuit said that JBS has “used greenwashing and misleading statements to capitalize on consumers’ increasing desire to make environmentally friendly choices,” with statements such as: “Agriculture can be part of the climate solution. Bacon, chicken wings, and steak with net zero emissions. It’s possible.”

James argues the company can’t possibly achieve net zero “because there are no proven agricultural practices to reduce its greenhouse gas emissions” at the company’s vast scale, at least without costly efforts to offset its emissions. JBS is a gigantic company, but the issues raised in the lawsuit against its U.S. arm are even fundamental: Is there even a path to net zero agriculture, especially if people are determined to keep large quantities of meat in their diets?

 

[mspohr]

‘Sad and debilitating’: rural midwesterners contend with well water tainted by livestock waste

Nitrate-fouled water from concentrated animal feed operations causes a host of medical problems for nearby residents

www.theguardian.com

Megafarms in the US produce more than 100bn pounds of meat that fill supermarket aisles in the US and abroad. But they also produce 940bn pounds of manure annually – twice as much sewage as produced by the human population. The people who live in the shadow of these industrial operations say their health and quality of life are increasingly at risk.

A national study found that nitrate-contaminated water could be responsible for up to 12,000 cases of cancer each year and $1.5bn in annual healthcare costs. This type of pollution can also cause methemoglobinemia, a condition in infants known as blue-baby syndrome, and other adverse pregnancy outcomes.

 

[mspohr]

 

[P90D]

Consider this EV analogy:
We drive cars made of oil, burning fuel made of oil, with tires made of oil, rolling on roads made of oil.
Oil is by far the worst raw material for all of these purposes. It's the most expensive and does the most damage with the worst side effects.

Oil, coal and gas are industries, not sources of energy.

Meat and dairy are industries, not sources of nutrition.

Oil, coal and gas are the primitive, pre-science, most readily available sources of heat that can be wasted in inefficient ways in order to feed power to consumers for profit.

Animal fat and animal protein are the primitive, pre-science, most readily available sources of calories that can be wasted in efficient ways in order to feed consumers for profit.

 

[mspohr]

How is it possible to feed 80 billion farm animals but not 8 billion people?

 

[P90D]

How is it possible to feed 80 billion farm animals but not 8 billion people?

It's possible (easy) to feed everyone.
The planet has far more resources than necessary to sustain 8, 10, 20 billion people living in first world conditions of health and safety.
It's corporations that impose artificial scarcity in order to exert control of populations.
Monopolies on energy, money, and violence are the primary mechanisms of control.

 

[CyberGus]

The planet has far more resources than necessary to sustain 8, 10, 20 billion people living in first world conditions of health and safety.

I think you and I have different definitions of "first world conditions"

 

[mspohr]

Texas wildfire puts spotlight on cattle ranchers and climate extremes: ‘so badly burned they can’t be saved’

As extreme weather intensifies, ranchers are driven by a need to adapt and a desire to preserve the land for future generations

www.theguardian.com

For the cattlemen, though, it’s the livestock and the landscapes they are reared on that may prove the biggest loss. “We don’t have grass. We don’t have water,” Joiner said, listing the resources required to maintain the animals that are still alive. Many of them aren’t doing well, he added, detailing the respiratory issues faced by smoke inhalation, the severe injuries inflicted on hooves and udders, and the orphaned calves that will need to be bottle-fed to survive. “That’s where the heartbreak is – some are burned so bad they can’t be saved.”

The region has seen severe swings between wet and dry in recent seasons; last year delivered both torrential rains and was the state’s hottest on record. The cycles primed the landscape to burn by creating an abundance of vegetation that grew parched when temperatures spiked. Strong wind and low humidity completed the recipe that turned a spark into a massive conflagration.

The fire conditions that decimated these forests were made worse by the climate crisis, but were also fueled by decades of bad land management decisions.

 

[mspohr]

I think you and I have different definitions of "first world conditions"

First world diet includes lots of processed food, toxic additives, saturated fat, and sugar.
I wouldn't wish this diet on anyone.
A healthy diet includes sufficient protein and calories without the unhealthy components of an industrialized diet.
The world could indeed feed twice as many people this healthy diet.

 

[CyberGus]

First world diet includes lots of processed food, toxic additives, saturated fat, and sugar.

Exactly.

 

[P90D]

First world diet includes lots of processed food, toxic additives, saturated fat, and sugar.
I wouldn't wish this diet on anyone.
A healthy diet includes sufficient protein and calories without the unhealthy components of an industrialized diet.
The world could indeed feed twice as many people this healthy diet.

"First world" is a loosely defined ideal (and almost non-existent) state of industry supporting a stable economy and democracy.
First world implies abundance.
To misconstrue "first world conditions of health and safety" as processed food is a straw man.

 

[mspohr]

"First world" is a loosely defined ideal (and almost non-existent) state of industry supporting a stable economy and democracy.
First world implies abundance.
To misconstrue "first world conditions of health and safety" as processed food is a straw man.

The first world is dependent on an industrial food chain.
Lots of first world people are living on the margins, not abundance. They end up consuming more of the poor quality industrial food since that's all that is available.
Democracy has nothing to do with it.

 

[mspohr]

Some academics get funding for propping up the livestock industry

The industry can make academics into climate change experts, a researcher alleges

www.motherjones.com

But as the public has been whipsawed over its findings, new research says it has become increasingly clear why. Since the publication of the UN report, the livestock industry has worked strategically to unravel or downplay the report’s findings, and the findings of subsequent research that has reached similar or related conclusions.

Similar to fossil fuel companies, US animal agriculture companies responded to evidence that their products cause climate change by minimizing their role in the climate crisis and shaping policymaking in their favor,” the authors, Viveca Morris of Yale Law School and Jennifer Jacquet of the University of Miami write. “Here we show that the industry has done so with the help of university experts.”

 

[CyberGus]

Bezos Seeks to Revamp Meat Alternatives in Climate Push

His fund will pour $60 million into setting up new research centers. Bezos has pledged $1 billion to tackle food’s climate impact.

getpocket.com

The Jeff Bezos-backed philanthropic organization will put money into establishing university research centers that will work on improving the taste, texture and nutrition of meat alternatives. The Bezos Centers for Sustainable Protein, to be set up over the next five years, will also focus on bringing down manufacturing costs and finding new ingredients, according to Andy Jarvis, director of Future of Food at the Bezos Earth Fund.

“Alternative proteins are an imperative if we are to stay within planetary boundaries, if we are to feed 10 billion people within those boundaries,” Jarvis said in a video interview. “We’re investing in alternative proteins because they need to be successful.”


No word on Prime delivery.

 

[P90D]

The first world is dependent on an industrial food chain.
Lots of first world people are living on the margins, not abundance. They end up consuming more of the poor quality industrial food since that's all that is available.
Democracy has nothing to do with it.

My point was to observe that industries that simply should never have grown beyond parochial, pre-science behavior have become industrial giants that have captured government regulators.

The divide between affluent and working impoverished is a worsening problem, and one of many symptoms of oligarchies masquerading as democracies.
Democracy, more specifically the failures of governments, is at the root of the problem, corporate capture of government regulators being the prominent culprit.
Look at the difference in food quality in different first world countries, the additives and pharmaceuticals banned in some countries, yet still allowed in "safe" quantities in the USA for example.

 

[mspohr]

How do you get enough protein in a climate-friendly way?

Meat production is responsible for a significant amount of greenhouse gas emissions. How can we balance that with our own dietary needs?

www.theguardian.com

Meat production is hard on the planet. According to one 2021 study, meat accounts for nearly 60% of all greenhouse gases from global food production. Not only do livestock produce methane, but raising animals requires an enormous amount of land and resources. Another recent report found that three-quarters of global agricultural land is used for livestock.

Accordingly, the potential environmental benefits of reducing our reliance on meat are promising. One 2022 study found that reducing global beef consumption by 20% could halve deforestation in the next 30 years.

2021 Oxford study that looked at the environmental impact of 57,000 different foods in the UK found that fruits and vegetables have a significantly smaller impact on the planet than meats and cheeses. In this case, experts recommend protein-rich foods like beans, lentils and other legumes. Tofu or any other soy-based product also makes for a great vegetarian protein option, Petitpain says. “Soy provides the body with all those essential amino acids in every bite,” she explains.

Blackstone says that eating less meat – specifically red meat, but animal protein in general – is what matters most when it comes to moving the needle on climate change.

 

[mspohr]

https://acsjournals.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/cncr.35172

Plant-based diet associated with better quality of life in prostate cancer survivors

A higher plant-based diet index was associated with better scores for sexual function, urinary irritation/obstruction, urinary incontinence, and hormonal/vitality. Consuming more healthful plant-based foods was also associated with better sexual and bowel function, as well as urinary incontinence and hormonal/vitality scores in the age-adjusted analysis

 

[mspohr]

Banks driving increase in global meat and dairy production, report finds

Financiers providing billion-dollar support for industrial livestock companies to expand leading to unsustainable rise in production

www.theguardian.com

Billion-dollar financing is driving unsustainable increases in global meat and dairy production, a report has found. Global meat production rose 9% between 2015 and 2021, the report said, while dairy production increased 13% in that time. Over almost the same time period, 2015 to 2022, financiers provided the world’s top 55 industrial livestock companies with average annual credit injections of $77bn (£60bn), and some appeared to compromise their own anti-deforestation policies to do so, according to the report. Credit, the report said, “is designed to help companies expand … and has helped drive a huge and unsustainable increase in global meat and dairy production”.