UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet
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I don't think we need to go full vegan, but we need to be thinking like the rest of the world and not be eating anywhere near as much meat. Only in the west do we put a 16 oz source of protein on a plate surrounded by starchy foods and call it a meal. The two best arguments that can ever be made against capitalism are oil and meat, simply because they mirror the drug market in how addicted we are to them despite how bad they are for us in the long run.
While I do enjoy a nice thick steak, it just isn't feasible cost wise to eat it regularly. Tend to eat a lot of chicken and pork, any leftovers get rolled over into other dishes throughout the week. My mouth watered thinking about that 16 oz steak Satya mentioned though.
People aren't going to change what they buy based on any amount of news stories, scientific analysis, or simple word of mouth. The only way to reduce the amount of meat people consume is to remove it from the market and provide other alternatives. If its available and people have the money, they will buy it.
People aren't going to change what they buy based on any amount of news stories, scientific analysis, or simple word of mouth. The only way to reduce the amount of meat people consume is to remove it from the market and provide other alternatives. If its available and people have the money, they will buy it.
I hate to say it, but I agree with Skathac, people are not going to quit meat voluntarily. A few will, but even if we get 10% of the population to do it, which we wont, that still wont be enough. There has to be incentives to be more sustainable.
Here are some incentives from John Robbins' Diet For A New America. Although the numbers are a little dated (published over 10 years ago), they are still facts.
HUNGER: -The Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million -Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million -Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by people: 20 -Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80 -Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95 -Percentage of protein wasted by cycling grain through livestock: 90 -How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds -Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250 -Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56
ENVIRONMENTAL: -Cause of global warming: greenhouse effect -Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels -Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more -Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75 -Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85 -Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million -Amount of meat imported to U.S. annually from Central and South America: 300,000,000 pounds -Percentage of Central American children under the age of five who are undernourished: 75 -Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 square feet -Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year
CANCER: -Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times -For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times -For women who eat butter and cheese 2-4 times a week: 3.25 times -Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times -Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.
CHOLESTEROL: -Number of U.S. medical schools: 125 -Number requiring a course in nutrition: 30 -Nutrition training received by average U.S. physician during four years in medical school: 2.5 hours -Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack -How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds -Average U.S. man’s risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent -Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat: 15 percent -Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent -Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption of meat, dairy and eggs by 10 percent: 9 percent -Amount you reduce risk of heart attack if you reduce consumption by 50 percent: 45 percent -Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent -Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl -Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent
NATURAL RESOURCES: -User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.:livestock production -Amount of water used in production of the average cow: sufficient to float a destroyer -Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25 -Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000 -Years the world’s known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet: 13 -Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260 -Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calorie of protein from beef: 78 -To get 1 calorie of protein from soybeans: 2 -Percentage of all raw materials (base products of farming, forestry and mining, including fossil fuels) consumed by U.S. that is devoted to the production of livestock: 33 -Percentage of all raw materials consumed by the U.S. needed to produce a complete vegetarian diet: 2
ANTIBIOTICS: -Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55 -Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13 -Percentage resistant in 1988: 91 -Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban -Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support
PESTICIDE: -Common belief: U.S. Department of Agriculture protects our health through meat inspection Reality: fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues -Percentage of U.S. mother’s milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99 -Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother’s milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8 -Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher -Amount of Dieldrin ingested by the average breast-fed American infant: 9 times the permissible level
ETHICAL: -Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000 -Occupation with highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker -Occupation with highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker -Athlete to win Ironman Triathlon more than twice: Dave Scott (6 time winner) -Food choice of Dave Scott: Vegetarian -Largest meat eater that ever lived: Tyrannosaurus Rex (Where is he today?)
We need more education rather than incentives.
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I'm in favor of technological solutions, just because they tend to be easier to sell. No-kill meat is already being developed by growing cells onto a lattice. If meat could be grown and mass produced, then we could have our steak and eat it too.
- Nov 12, 2008
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Idealism once again. This is never gonna happen, sorry. Getting the world to change is a near impossible feat, and is only going to happen unless something runs out. That, and the chemicals in food aren't nearly as harmful as people make them out to be.
I'm all for reducing consumption of animal products-in fact-I only eat chicken or fish once or twice a week for the most part. My diet is primarily vegetarian...I do use some milk and butter. I agree with the others that most people need incentives in order to go vegan which means providing cheap alternatives to meat and perhaps raising the prices of meats and dairy products. One of the main problems with being vegan or vegetarian is that protein is harder to come by and can be more expensive if you're using meat alternatives.
Eii,
I certainly appreciate the information, but when I say incentives, I mean things that don't require people to care about their health or other people. Those are not good motivators for most people. They don't understand or really care about the health risks associated with significant amounts of meat and they definitely don't care about the animals or people in other countries. I've argued with people on some of these issues before. They don't understand that using grain on cattle is a waste.
The only thing I can see a majority of people in the United States caring about is if there is some kind of economic benefit to not eating meat for them personally. The problem with this, however, is people will fight it tooth and nail. You think oil, tobacco, etc. have significant lobbying power? Try to get rid of meat, and it will be nothing compared to the power of meat producers.
It will become an issue of "you're trying to take away our freedoms" and "this is communism" AND people will really believe it.
We are very much locked into the meat eating system.
I certainly appreciate the information, but when I say incentives, I mean things that don't require people to care about their health or other people. Those are not good motivators for most people. They don't understand or really care about the health risks associated with significant amounts of meat and they definitely don't care about the animals or people in other countries. I've argued with people on some of these issues before. They don't understand that using grain on cattle is a waste.
The only thing I can see a majority of people in the United States caring about is if there is some kind of economic benefit to not eating meat for them personally. The problem with this, however, is people will fight it tooth and nail. You think oil, tobacco, etc. have significant lobbying power? Try to get rid of meat, and it will be nothing compared to the power of meat producers.
It will become an issue of "you're trying to take away our freedoms" and "this is communism" AND people will really believe it.
We are very much locked into the meat eating system.
i could probably cut out most of my meat intake, i don't eat that much to begin with, but don't take away my dairy :1 i'm byrne dairy's best customer
I know another way to reduce the number of hungry people in the world.
Reduce the total human population.
Other that that where does your data on the cancer rates of people who eat meat come from? I can dig up a lot of other stats regarding the health issues and problems of people who don't eat meat.
Where are your stats detailing the amount of land that would be required to sustain the population in a state optimum health while on a vegetarian diet? Don't you know that plant-based sources of certain nutrients are not as efficiently absorbed by the body and you need to consume at a minimum three times the quantity of plant material to get the same amount of these required nutrients as from one serving of meat?
Reduce the total human population.
Other that that where does your data on the cancer rates of people who eat meat come from? I can dig up a lot of other stats regarding the health issues and problems of people who don't eat meat.
Where are your stats detailing the amount of land that would be required to sustain the population in a state optimum health while on a vegetarian diet? Don't you know that plant-based sources of certain nutrients are not as efficiently absorbed by the body and you need to consume at a minimum three times the quantity of plant material to get the same amount of these required nutrients as from one serving of meat?
People will not eating meat, and much for the reasons Dragon stated. What is sad to think about it how it will affect the 3 or so billion people who live on less than $2.50 USD a day. Our over consumption will just further perpetuate their poverty. Fighting will increase over farm-able land, and food. The poor will just keep getting poorer.
Key word being certain nutrients. When you're eating to survive, it's all about the energy.
Energy loss grows with eat level in the food chain. The cow that eats the grain will only get about 10-20% of the possible energy from it. The human who eats the cow will only get about 10-20% of the energy from the cow. Cut out the middle man, and the top consumer has a larger net energy gain.
There was a Russian experimenting with growing a meat substitute in a lab. He was working on something that would have similar if not the same properties of beef. Taste, texture, smell...I don't know what happened with the project, was on the Colbert Report one night I believe.
Couldn't be done without the interference of governments around the world systematically eliminating cattle farms to drive the price of real beef up and force the consumers to purchase the synthetic alternative. If a way is discovered to mass produce the synthetic beef inexpensively then demand could possible destroy the real beef market. Possibilities seem to be there but we really gotta invest in our technological future.
Couldn't be done without the interference of governments around the world systematically eliminating cattle farms to drive the price of real beef up and force the consumers to purchase the synthetic alternative. If a way is discovered to mass produce the synthetic beef inexpensively then demand could possible destroy the real beef market. Possibilities seem to be there but we really gotta invest in our technological future.
