Posted on 09/24/2017 12:31:49 PM PDT by 2ndDivisionVet
A recent survey of 50 Nobel Prize winners found the smartest among us believe that two of the biggest threats to humanity are climate change and President Trump — and we can’t rely on the latter to help us resolve the former. The President’s swift exit from the Paris accord, rollback of key components of the Clean Power Plan and persistent denial of climate change itself (not to mention his own hot temper) make this clear.
People of conscience must tackle this issue ourselves, and one of the single best steps we can take to help fight climate change is to stop eating animals.
Going fully vegan would cut the average American’s carbon footprint in half, but simply cutting back on meat, eggs, and dairy and eating more fruits, veggies, grains, and nuts can make a significant dent. In fact, if every person in the United States ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, that would be like taking every car in the state of New York off the road — or switching every single car in the country from a sedan to a hybrid.
It may seem hard to believe that small actions like swapping chicken for chickpeas could add up to such an enormous impact. But experts agree that without individual action, we’ll never solve climate change or other environmental woes. The United Nations states that “a substantial reduction of (environmental) impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change away from animal products.”
And since we Americans are among the highest consumers of meat, that change should start with us.
The Environmental Protection Agency admits that the U.S. livestock sector is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide pollution and the single largest emitter of methane and nitrous oxide, potent greenhouse gases. Cow flatulence is often blamed, but that’s just the tip of the melting iceberg; producing feed grains, operating factory farms, and storing and shipping meat and other animal products are all carbon-intensive practices.
That’s why producing just one calorie of meat protein for human consumption requires 28 calories of fossil-fuel energy. Meanwhile it takes just 3.3 calories of fossil-fuel energy to produce one calorie of grain protein.
If you’re ready to cut your carbon footprint but are concerned about getting your protein from grain and other plant-based sources, don’t worry. World-class athletes, our country’s top doctors, and a long list of celebrities who never seem to age all credit plant-based diets for their health and longevity.
Countless studies indicate that meat-free or low-meat diets are not just the best for our environment; they’re also the key to good health.
Trump clearly hasn’t figured this out. His heated tirades and sizzling steaks (yes, he once tried selling steaks at Sharper Image) perhaps represent the greatest threats to our already-too-hot planet.
But every day we can use the power of our forks to literally put our outrage where our mouth is and resist Trump’s anti-environment agenda. In a world where resistance can sometimes feel futile, that daily reminder — that we always have a choice — is more than a little empowering.
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Runkle is the founder and president of Mercy For Animals, an international animal protection organization.
Well, this particular fellow isn’t being coercive, he’s just making a suggestion. I don’t think it’s even a bad suggestion.
The smartest among us??? Gimme a break. The author needs to check his assumptions; our affirmative action president was given a Nobel prize. That’s right, GIVEN, not earned. It is very doubtful you could stuff 100 IQ points into that coconut-sized noggin. Was he among the 50? Who knows? Was any other unworthy like him among the 50? Yes, almost surely.
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>> “The Environmental Protection Agency admits that the U.S. livestock sector is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide pollution...” <<
Sufficient reason to completely disband the EPA!
Carbon Dioxide is the molecule of life.
The more we have, the more life we have.
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My gracious, “Denialism”? Looks like it’s achieved “ism” status, but won’t be enough to save it. First it was Global Warming Denial, then Climate Change Denial, then Climate Denial, and now just Denialism. At this rate they’ll have to shut up in a few months because there won’t be any of the name left.
If cows are the problem i say this: I am eating them as fast as I can. Just doing my part.
I have been on a super low carb diet for about 6 years now. That means I eat meat, cheese, eggs, green veggies and nuts. So meat is about half my diet. My cholesterol is now lower my Triglycerides are now very low. My blood sugar is very low. And I weigh 25 pounds less. But somehow they say that the corn starch and flour industry is better for the earth so they want me to give up the food I love. Which is better for me. And more natural. So they can sell more after market product.
I don’t think so.
Porterhouse steaks on the grill.
Asparagus, baked potato and a side salad.
Oh, and the Cab to round it out. Mondavi, 2013.
Life is good.
yes, please, you snowflakes. eat LESS meat. There will be more for us, then. :)
Never let you meat loaf.
I find that these people pushing vegetarianism or veganism have a very poor grasp of science.
I wonder if they are aware that CO2 is, in fact, the material of life?
The animals that we eat consume vegetation that humans cannot eat. In order to grow the higher density vegetable matter that humans can consume, land would have to be converted to crop use. The advocates of veganism for all never address that side of the equation.
I’d like to see the calculations on how much land it would take to feed humans, if it all had to be converted to the growth of high-density edible vegetation and we didn’t have animals to convert the inedible vegetation to edible meat.
Some fast-food chain advertised chocolate cricket shakes last year. So, out of curiosity, I looked it up. I found out that there is a company that raises crickets in sanitary conditions, then "humanely" freezes them to death and grinds them up to make a powder. It takes hundreds to make a pound of the powder.
A) I do not see how freezing them to death is humane. Even if they are "flash-frozen" there is still a small lag time between the time they are submerged and they actually freeze solid, and there is the possibility of pain during that time.
B) If someone's motivation to avoid eating animals is to avoid killing them, I do not see how killing hundreds of crickets is any improvement. Instead of one life providing for many meals, it is hundreds of lives for one meal.
C) The thought of eating crickets or any other insect is just plain disgusting.
Changing one’s own diet for health reasons is prudent & even admirable.
But as a political statement? Dathan Snurkle can make his suggestions and I can respectfully disagree, in this our still relatively free society.
Unlike some FReepers, I won’t boast about throwing more bacon in the skillet or another steak on the grille (both are rather pricy). That’s....juvenile.
But veganism itself isn’t always virtuous if it carries health risks. The debate is ongoing & vigorous.
Hmm...grille means a car’s front end or one’s own teeth.
Grill as for cooking does not. My bad.
If they do this, 3 things they don’t want to happen will happen!
1. The price of meat will fall. Our meal bill will be less.
2. The price of Tofu and other soy crud will increase. They will have less money for Clinton to waste on tours.
3.Consume too little protein, Franch says, and your body will start tearing down some of its existing structures in order to get the amino acids it needs.
Your system does not perform this self-demolition indiscriminately. “When forced to make a choice, your body will take amino acids from your skeletal muscle in order to supply your heart and some other organs,” says Wayne Campbell, a professor of nutrition science at Purdue University whose research looks at the effects of protein intake on healthy aging.
This loss of skeletal muscle mass happens to everyone as they get older, Campbell explains. Known as sarcopenia, this muscle loss usually begins during people’s 40s or early 50s, and continues steadily for the rest of their lives. “This leads to physical weakness and difficulties balancing and lifting objects, and eventually to frailty,” Campbell says.
http://time.com/4374959/protein-health-benefits-nutrition/
Every Monday in Indianapolis is Meatless Monday as Tony Kattz so aptly puts it. The city has determined that a day of the week should go to not eating meat in the guise of global warming. However, this is the day others and myself included partake in steak dinners and other forms of meat based entrees. Meat does the body good as more protein is found within meat than some Muscle Milk drink or some supplement.
Ah good, just loaded my slow cooker with 4 pounds of meat for Barbacoa. Drove my cats crazy seeing all that meat.
Who needs homosexual detection gear with a homo like that?
Give them a nice treat Daddy.
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