The Hidden Giant #1: “Food” — Vegetarianism
It is one of the least discussed issues when we discuss solutions to the environmental crisis. It is not whether or not the food is organic or sprayed with synthetic chemicals, or whether or not it is grown locally. The underdiscussed issue is the importance of a vegetarian diet for addressing critical environmental issues.
As Albert Einstein said, “Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.”
The big issue today is global climate change. It is likely to dwarf any environmental issues we faced in the past. As reported by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization:
[T]he livestock sector is a major stressor on many ecosystems and on the planet as a whole. Globally it is one of the largest sources of greenhouse gases…. It currently amounts to about 18 percent of the global warming effect — an even larger contribution than the transportation sector worldwide.
This is a critical issue. This is more critical than our power plants, our industries, the energy efficiency of our homes and appliances, or even transportation.
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Beyond the greenhouse gas emissions, “meat production” — the raising of animals for humans to prematurely kill and eat and the processing of them after they have been killed — is a great pollutant to our water systems, causes an unsustainable amount of deforestation and soil erosion, is a significant threat to biodiversity, and requires the use of several times more natural resources than vegetables, grains, fruits, and legumes.
The UN FAO states, “(the livestock sector is) one of the leading causal factors in the loss of biodiversity, while in developed and emerging countries it is perhaps the leading source of water pollution.”
At a time when environmental degradation and massive environmental problems have become increasingly obvious and harmful to human health (as well as the health and existence of many other species), meat production per person has nearly doubled. Granted, there are many contributors to the environmental crises we face, but this is one of the largest and, at the same time, one of the most hidden and least discussed.
For more information on the relationship between food and the environment, take a look at the UN FAO report or this webpage on the link between food and the environment.
We are the top of creation, as they say, and as we proceed, so does our planet.
We may proceed in destruction, including taking the lives of nature’s more highly evolved species to “satisfy” our tongue and stomach.
Or we may proceed in more highly evolved care for life.
Our actions come back to us.
It is a more important issue than saving the environment that sustains us, physically, but it is a critical issue in this realm as well and should not be ignored just because it is considered to be more important to the realm of morals and spiritual life.
Life is to be cherished, and not only the life of our own, but the lives of our brother and sister animals and organisms.
Without taking care for the lives of other highly evolved creatures, we threaten our own lives and the lives of our future generations.
This is a great forgotten issue in many environmental discussions and societies.
For more discussion of food issues, check out Eat. Drink. Better. and check out the vegetarian archive in particular.
[...] involved in the process, and even the methane produced by animals themselves. The results are familiar: vegetarians and vegans, well… drive [...]
I think that in our industrialized and ever commercial American society, we are so used to having everything at our fingertips and so easy to obtain, that most people don’t realize how conditioned they may be. What I mean by this is that the supermarket has been the primary way to obtain food in the US for decades, so we think that if it is on the shelf, it must be there for us, no strings attached, and that it just magically appears there, without really thinking about what it takes to get there.
Especially in the area of food, many people gravitate toward what tastes good, and they will generally eat what they like best, without really considering the big picture (health, animals, environmental impact, etc.).
It all may just blend together as something to eat. If one likes hamburgers and steaks, then they will gravitate toward that, and then overlook all the other options there are.
Going vegan or vegetarian is a wonderful thing, and I commend all those who do. It can be a radical step for many though that the majority of the public would be unwilling to do. But, I do think that a middle ground is possible, and that in addition to the promotion of vegetarian diets, a promotion of one that is much less meat based, including the awareness of purchasing products by more humane suppliers (free range, etc.), can do a lot of good. A suggestion of substituting two meals per week that would normally be centered around meat to one that centers around beautifully prepared and succulent vegetables, pasta, etc., may really open people’s eyes. Additionally, promoting other types of diets like many Asian, Indian, Middle Eastern, etc., that integrate many more veg-oriented dishes could really expand some palates, let alone the health benefits!
[...] - bookmarked by 3 members originally found by dadadanda on 2008-08-23 The Hidden Giant #1: “Food” — Vegetarianism http://planetsave.com/blog/2008/07/06/the-hidden-giant-1-food-vegetarianism/ - bookmarked by 6 [...]
About the whole Native Americans eating lots of meat thing–you’re forgetting that there were no meat-processing plants back then. Obviously those Native Americans that did have a meat-based diet would hunt animals when they could–there were no slaughterhouses, salmon farms, etc. And even then, they used up every part of the animal not just for food, but for clothing, building material, etc. I don’t think that’s a great example for why people should eat meat, because you’re talking about a completely different time period where the earth was without industrialism and we weren’t so involved in trying to ensure the future of the planet.