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Where Jonathan Safran Foer Gets It Wrong

2009-11-09T15:12:58Z

An article in Salon.com about Eating Animals might persuade many people to read the book and/or reduce or eliminate meat consumption. But reading through the article with a critical vegan eye, I can see a few problems.

Where Jonathan Safran Foer gets it wrong:

He writes…

“These little daily choices that we’re so used to thinking are irrelevant are the most important thing we do all day long. An enormous and very destructive force — historically, it’s unprecedented how destructive our farm system is — has taken over America and is starting to take over the world. And unlike so many other horrible systems, this one doesn’t require electing a new government or raising billions of dollars or fighting a war. It can be dismantled just by people making different choices.”

He’s right to encourage people to think of their daily habits as powerful actions, but he’s wrong when he goes overboard to suggest that all it will take to “dismantle” factory farming is a change in consumer demand.

I wrote about this topic in a three part series at the Soapbox, but I’ll boil it down for you here, too:

Reduced consumer demand can and will significantly reduce supply, but…
Many meat-eaters don’t actually have a true choice. These meat-eaters are children in public schools, patients in hospitals, people in prison, people on assistance, and others who rely on care-givers to supply them with meals. They don’t have a choice in the matter, if they want to live they must eat what’s offered. And what’s offered? Why, it’s cheap, surplus meat, rejected by consumers who have a true choice.
Many more meat-eaters don’t feel like they have a choice. Even though rice and beans are an excellent, cheap, readily available substitute for meat, current consumers won’t believe or accept that fact. They feel like rejecting factory farming requires spending their whole paychecks to buy faux meats or “humane” meats. They simply can’t imagine life without some kind of meat. For them, beans and rice won’t cut it. Forget fresh veggies from farmer’s markets, they won’t even eat the bean burrito at Taco Bell instead of the Big Mac… they just won’t. Others have the money, but still won’t spend it on vegan options. They feel trapped by habit, taste, tradition, budget, education, culture, time… whatever, but the point is they feel trapped. They don’t feel like they can make an ethical choice.
Therefore, in order to truly change the inherently cruel, environmentally destructive, and hazardous to human health factory farming system of meat production, we have to work harder. We have to do more. We have to work to allow all humans a truly free choice and/or we have to work to reduce supply through other methods.

Our personal choices are not enough. If you care about animals, the environment, and human health, not only will you go vegan, but you’ll work harder! Our individual consumption choices are the beginning, but they won’t be the end of factory farming.

How will you work harder? It’s entirely up to you, but here are some suggestions >>

Fur Expose

2009-11-09T00:23:02Z

Todd Oldham Fur Expose

Turkeys

2009-11-08T14:59:55Z

From the Eating Animals website, turkey section:

“If our holiday meals are supposed to serve as a reflection of our gratefulness, can a turkey that spends its life crammed by the tens of thousands into giant warehouses, on antibiotics, that has been bred to suffer — as is true for more than 99% of turkeys sold in America — be the choice we feel best about?”

Then the reader is offered some links, one of which isn’t shown here:

Jonathan Safran Foer Interview On Ellen Show

2009-11-08T14:37:50Z

Filthy Feed

2009-11-08T13:31:26Z

“In areas of the United States where large cattle and poultry operations coexist, poultry litter is routinely fed to cows. Poultry litter consists primarily of manure, feathers, spilled feed and bedding material that accumulate on the floors of the buildings that house chickens and turkeys.” source: FilthyFeed.org

A new website explains farm animal feed:

“Back in the 1960s, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) – the federal agency responsible for protecting the public health – banned the use of poultry litter as cattle feed. In 1980, however, the FDA lifted the ban”

“The disease-causing bacteria and other toxic substances present in the litter are dangerous to cows.”

“Unfortunately, no amount of processing will remove infectious proteins that are responsible for Mad Cow Disease.”

They’ve got a petition you can sign, but until or unless things change, you know what the safest response to this information is:
GO VEGAN!

SafeFoodInc.org Is Not All Lies

2009-11-08T02:02:09Z

A meat industry website called SafeFoodInc.org purports to enlighten readers about the film Food, Inc. The website offers a section called “Myths & Facts” where it contrasts their meat industry spin with the documentary scenes. Some of their claims I agree with wholeheartedly, yet I come to a different conclusion than they do. Let’s look at the “facts” and think about them:

“The fact is that the broiler chicken industry has 1.5 billion chickens on the ground at any one time. To house them the Polyface ["humane"] way would require the use of 20 million shelters, towed by thousands of tractors, over millions of acres of land. The cost would be enormous, and so would the ‘carbon footprint’ of diesel-powered tractors and the additional land needed to support the movable shelter system.”

The conclusion: so-called “ethical meat” cannot be produced at the high rate and low cost that factory farming produces meat. The costs of “humane meat” are not just financial, either, they’re environmental too. Factory farmed meat is not acceptable because it’s so cruel, so terrible for the environment, and it spreads disease (like the Swine Flu). If you want to “eat meat responsibly” then you cannot eat meat regularly. It’s just that simple. Cut back or cut it out!

You cannot eat meat at every meal or even every day and do it ethically. You must reduce or eliminate your consumption.

Help Name Angela’s Piglet

2009-11-07T15:22:04Z

Last Thursday’s episode of Bones featured video from factory farms.

The show, a murder mystery series, was about the murder of a chicken farmer. But a side story involved the artist Angela’s desire to sponsor a rescued piglet. She wanted to raise enough money to care for this one piglet… and she found supporters in unusual places: bacon-lovers and health-motivated vegetarians.

Now, FOX is asking viewers to help name the piglet.

The Bones website asks people to email their piglet name suggestions to angelaspiglet@gmail.com.

What would you name a pink, big-eared, rescued piglet?

Dear President, Please Pardon All The Turkeys

2009-11-07T15:00:09Z

From FARM at Change.org:

The nearly 300 million turkeys killed each year in the U.S. spend their entire lives crammed in large sheds with little room to move. Artificially inseminated and bred to gain enormous amounts of weight, they suffer heart attacks, broken limbs, lameness, and death from their genetically-induced accelerated growth rate.

After 16 weeks of misery, they are hung on a conveyer belt, their throats are cut, and they are dumped — sometimes still fully conscious — into scalding water to strip their feathers.

Please urge the President to pardon all the turkeys bound for the dinner plates at the White House this year. Go here to sign the petition >>

Non-veggie Vegetarians

2009-11-07T12:50:49Z

The BBC has an article out right now about “non-veggie vegetarians.”

From the article:

meat-free and meat-substitute meals make up more and more of what we eat. The marketers and the activists are dealing with new groups of people, known as meat-avoiders and meat-reducers. Outside those who have a clear philosophical platform for eschewing meat, there are increasing numbers of these people, either cutting down on meat or trying not to eat it where possible, but without necessarily ever calling themselves “vegetarian”.

Mintel categorises 23% of the population as meat-reducers, people attempting to eat less meat, probably mainly for health reasons. Another factor is climate change – livestock rearing produces methane, which is 23 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in global warming terms, according to Lord Stern. It identifies 10% as meat-avoiders, people who plan to eat little or no meat but sometimes lapse, and who might well accept the ethical basis of vegetarianism.

There are millions and millions of people seeking new vegan options at restaurants, schools, hospitals, and all over the place. MILLIONS.

Http://www.SustainableMeatIndustry.org Yeah, Right

2009-11-06T22:35:21Z

Here are some images obtained from the website, SustainableMeatIndustry.org:

Cows crammed in together in a feedlot.

These feedlots are where the cattle are often sent to before slaughter, even if they lived on a “humane” farm prior. The feedlots are densely populated and produce massive amounts of waste. The cows are generally fed corn and/or soy, which is not a natural food source for them. The result is environmental damage, human health risks, and animal abuse. Read more here, here, and here.

The website link says:

“Fed cattle” are raised on pasture land for 12-18 months and transported to a feedlot for finishing, where they spend four to six months. (source)

Then they’re slaughtered.

Another image, this one is from the banner on the front page:

Pigs in confinement.

Oh, and the website, “Sustainable Meat Industry,” also offers some helpful links… to McDonald’s and Wal-Mart. Gee… I wonder who paid for the website.

Here’s a screenshot:

Hat tip: vegan.com

What Would Happen To The Animals?

2009-11-06T14:49:43Z

A fellow vegan recently posed this question to a veg group: If the world went vegan, what would happen to all the farm animals?

It wasn’t the first time I’d seen the question. Here is my answer:

The question you raise is one I think is actually funny. “What would we do with the animals?” It is a question raised by Barbara Kingsolver in her book, Animal, Vegetable, Mineral (the link is to my review of her book). Here is my answer:

Over time, if the world goes the way we’d like, fewer and fewer “industrial” animals will be bred. Eventually they would go extinct. If a few get mixed into the wild herds we may have some interesting animals but their survival will depend on how well they can handle that environment. Many will likely be kept in sanctuaries until they die (and not allowed to breed).

That’s how I see it going. The world is not going to stop eating meat and other animal products suddenly. I cannot imagine any scenario where that would happen, even if all of the health issues became common knowledge (people still smoke). I am too cynical to believe everyone will suddenly develop a conscience about animals, though I would love to be proven wrong (in fact, I would so much love to figure out how to reach that tipping point, when people start thinking about food animals differently). Therefore, the best I can see happening is a dramatic decrease in meat eating, along with a rising belief in the wrongness of it, leading eventually to fewer and fewer farm animals being raised.

Another thing Barbara asked was what about the milk? Those cows need to be milked! It was a shock to me to read that, because she is not lacking in knowledge about animals. It did not occur to her, however, that cows are like humans. When the demand goes, so goes the milk. Strange that she – and so many others – would not understand this simple bit of biology.

This is one question we really don’t have to worry about – but I wish we did.

Cruel Factory Farming Footage On Hit TV Show “Bones”

2009-11-06T03:38:54Z

Tonight’s episode of the hit FOX television show “Bones” (airing at 8pm/7 Central), starring vegan actress and Farm Sanctuary supporter Emily Deschanel, will prominently feature factory farming footage secured by Farm Sanctuary, the nation’s leading farm animal protection organization, as part of a plot-line surrounding a murder that takes place at a chicken farm.

The footage, which was requested by Emily Deschanel, will educate thousands of mainstream viewers about the cruel conditions animals are forced to endure on factory farms. The episode also features a character who rescues a pig and asks her coworkers for donations so that she can sponsor her at a sanctuary.

To further raise awareness of the horrors of factory farming, FOX is featuring a special message from Deschanel on their website (fox.com/bones/) urging people to support Farm Sanctuary by sponsoring an animal in need.

To learn more about “adopting” one of Farm Sanctuary’s rescued animals, please visit farmsanctuary.org.

Flashback Friday: Leather, Dairy, & Soy

2009-11-06T15:13:28Z

Here are the articles, videos, and other stuff from the last week here at Vegan Soapbox.

Plus, an old post from the archives.

Don’t forget to subscribe to get fresh updates in your email >>

Enjoy!

For the Nonvegans:

There’s Always Enough Time To Help The Animals

Conscientious Carnism? – is it possible? Is it practical?

HSUS On Cage-Free Eggs – cage-free is better than caged, but there’s a better option: vegan.

Americans Love Animals – how to people show so much affection to cats and dogs, but not to pigs, cows, and chickens?

If You Still Eat Meat From Factories

Even If You Like Meat – video of the VO pamphlet by the same name

What Would Happen To The Animals? – what if the world went vegan tomorrow?

Thinking About Meat – video and discussion about happy meat

Vegan Recipes (from the HSUS):

Why & How Vegan – World Vegan Day:

Today Is World Vegan Day!

For World Vegan Day: MY Story

How I Went Vegan

Why Vegan? Compassion For Animals

News & More:

Calf Gets Prosthetic Legs – a happy story!

Vegan Bites: Food & News – variety show

Lawsuit Claims Morgan County Demands On Protesters Unconstitutional – fur farms in Utah and Fur Free Friday

Cruel Factory Farming Footage On Hit TV Show “Bones”

Clothing and Medicine:

First, Do No Harm – animal testing is bad science

Leather – skin is not in

Dairy & Veal:

Veal Downer Calves

Veal Calf Abuse Caught On Video – the HSUS caught more cruelty on camera

Meat Industry Response To Veal Video – they denounce the cruelty, but can we really trust them?

Environment:

Soynot Green? – is soy a contributor to environmental damage?

Vegan For The Planet

Locavore Vs. Vegan – which one is better for the environment?

Health:

Affordable Meat = Human Health Threat?

Animal Companions:

Vegan Cats & Dogs – what are we saying when we feed our pets dead animal flesh?

Review: The Simple Little Vegan Dog Book – how to feed your dog healthy vegan food

Blast from the past:

Impacting Their Bottom Line – practical animal advocacy includes some “welfarism.”

Thinking About Meat

2009-11-05T14:53:04Z

A radio interview with the author of Eating Animals:

Key points from the video:

The vast majority of meat available for purchase comes from cruel factory farms that are environmentally destructive and pose a serious risk to human health.
Only about 1% of meat is “humane” meat.
If you do not support factory farming, don’t buy meat at the grocery store or at restaurants. Reduce or eliminate your meat consumption.

—

Slightly related:

Anyone truly interested in promoting “happy meat” is also interested in promoting veganism, by default. Here’s how:

Affordable meat is only available through factory farming. “Humane” meat is the antithesis of “affordable” meat. Humane meat is only an option for the wealthy and privileged. Proponents of humane meat treat meat as a luxury, not a right.

Meat-eaters who support humane meat because they are serious about ending factory farming (for the benefit of animals, the planet, and people) should promote veganism. If they’re honest about promoting “humane” meat, they must accept the fact that humane meat, because of the high costs, requires vegan promotion.

A “happy meat” world requires one of these two options:

Most people are vegan all the time, or
All people are vegan most of the time.

Thus,

Humane meat supporters will support things like vegan options in schools, hospitals, and restaurants.
Humane meat proponents want to abolish factory farming.
Humane meat advocates help vegans and vegan activism.

–

To vegans reading this: if the people who claim they support humane meat won’t participate in vegan education, they’re probably not honest about their support of humane meat. They’re probably just using the idea of humane meat as a cover for their consumption of factory farmed meat.

To nonvegans reading this: if you care about animals, human health, and/or the planet, get serious about it. Go vegan.

There’s Always Enough Time To Help The Animals

2009-11-05T14:09:59Z

Talking to some people, I get the impression that if they only had more time, they’d be a lot nicer to animals. People generally think it’s great that I speak out against animal exploitation, and when they ask me what they can do to help, I usually start by saying, “Don’t eat them.”

A brief pause (oh, he’s that kind of animal person) is usually followed by, “Yeah, but isn’t it hard giving up meat?” Once I explain that it isn’t, and that there are plenty of delicious and nutritious vegan foods available practically everywhere, some will infer that eating vegan must be so time-consuming.

Learning what to eat, looking for vegan food, preparing vegan meals, finding vegan recipes to their liking and cooking two different meals (for those family members who won’t give up their animal products), all require more time than most people have, considering their hectic lifestyles. There just aren’t enough hours in a day, right?

But I think people have more time than they realize. Just look at what we do have time for: shopping, watching television, eating out, getting in a round of golf, going to the movies, playing video games, talking on the phone, losing money at the casino, checking out yard sales, sitting around the coffee shop, surfing the web and going for a Sunday drive.

So for those of you who are serious about helping the animals but just can’t seem to find the time, consider this…

Leonardo da Vinci (1452-1519) was arguably the most diversely talented person that ever lived. Not only was he a great artist (painting the Mona Lisa, The Last Supper and drawing the Vitruvian Man), he was also a scientist, mathematician, engineer, anatomist, botanist, musician, writer, sculptor and inventor.

He invented or conceptualized numerous flying machines, including the helicopter and hang glider, armoured car, submarine, concentrated solar power, calculator, compass, contact lenses, scissors, a giant crossbow, rapid fire guns, ball bearings and centrifugal pump, for draining wet areas such as marshes, as well as designing numerous canals, bridges, cathedrals and other buildings.

Da Vinci was also a hardcore animal rights activist, publicly criticizing the killing of animals for food and promoting a plant-based diet in its place. He would also purchase birds at the market only to open their cages and allow them to fly away.

Leo Tolstoy (1828-1910) was an essayist, dramatist, educational reformer and social anarchist. He is also considered one of the greatest writers of all time and in 2007, two of his novels made Time magazine’s ten greatest novels of all time (Anna Karenina was #1 and War and Peace was #3). Tolstoy’s collected works consist of some 90 volumes.

Although born into nobility, Tolstoy preferred to lavish his wealth on transients, beggars and the working poor. His pacifism was influenced by the horrors he witnessed during the Crimean War and by his Christian beliefs, particularly Christ’s Sermon on the Mount, which inspired him to give up meat, tobacco and alcohol.

After the war, Tolstoy opened several schools for peasant children, believing that education was the secret to changing the world, and published many magazines and textbooks on the subject. His ideas on non-violent resistance had a profound impact on Mohandas Gandhi and Martin Luther King Jr.

Tolstoy was also very critical about the way animals are treated, and longed for the day when humans no longer ate them. “That movement has during the last ten years advanced more and more rapidly. More and more books and periodicals on this subject appear every year; one meets more and more people who have given up meat; and abroad, especially Germany, England, and America, the number of vegetarian hotels and restaurants increases year by year. One cannot fail to rejoice at this.”

Mohandas K. Gandhi (1869-1948) is revered as the “father of the nation” in India and considered the embodiment of peace and non-violent political resistance worldwide.

After studying law in England, Gandhi spent 20 years defending the rights of immigrants in South Africa. He returned to India in 1914 and became the leader of the Indian National Congress. With India under British control, Gandhi used non-violence and civil disobedience to gain his country’s freedom, which quite often landed him in jail.

When public demonstrations and protests turned violent, Gandhi staged hunger strikes until the rioting stopped. In 1947, he participated in negotiations that led to Indian independence the following year.

An advocate of simple, peaceful living, Gandhi had few possessions, made his own clothes and refused to eat animals. According to Gandhi, “You can judge a nation, and its moral progress, by the way it treats its animals.”

George Bernard Shaw (1856-1950) was an Irish playwright, critic and political activist. He wrote more than 60 plays including The Devil’s Disciple, Man and Superman, Major Barbara, Pygmalion, Candida, Doctor’s Dilemma, and Caesar and Cleopatra.

A passionate socialist, he also used his writing skills to criticize the exploitation of the working class, and spoke out in favour of equal rights for men and women, as well as promoting healthy lifestyles.

Shaw gave up meat-eating, what he called cannibalism, when he was 25 years old and often wrote about the immorality of eating animals in his plays and prefaces. He also despised the killing of animals for sport and vivisection. He is best known however, among vegetarians and vegans anyways, for his simple maxim: “Animals are my friends, and I don’t eat my friends.”

Albert Schweitzer (1875-1965) was a German-French pastor, theologian, writer, musicologist, physician, philosopher and acclaimed organist. He based his personal philosophy on a “reverence for life” and a deep commitment to serve others. In 1913, after receiving his medical degree, he moved to Lambarene in French Equatorial Africa and founded The Albert Schweitzer Hospital.

In 1917 Schweitzer and his wife were sent to a French internment camp as prisoners of war. After their release, he spent 6 years in Europe preaching, giving lectures and concerts and increasing his medical knowledge. He also wrote numerous books, including Civilization and Ethics, and Christianity and the Religions of the World.

Schweitzer returned to Lambarene in 1924 where he served as doctor, surgeon, pastor, village administrator and superintendent. Except for brief periods of time, he spent the remainder of his life there. For his many years of humanitarian efforts, Schweitzer received the Nobel Peace Prize in 1953.

With the prize money, along with donations and funds received from royalties and personal appearances, he expanded the hospital to 70 buildings (which could take care of over 500 patients at any given time) and started a leprosarium. Schweitzer also spoke out against atmospheric nuclear test explosions and the nuclear arms race between the United States and the Soviet Union.

Because his reverence for life included the animals, he would not eat them, and reminded people to, “Think occasionally of the suffering of which you spare yourself the sight.”

So what’s my point? It’s that these people, who had the same hours in a day as the rest of us, were able to accomplish incredible feats, speak out on behalf of the oppressed, tend to the sick and injured, advocate against violence, even liberate an entire nation and still help the animals (mostly by not eating them).

If they could find the time, can’t you?

HSUS On Cage-Free Eggs

2009-11-05T13:52:38Z

From the Humane Society of the United States:

* Cage-free farms typically buy their hens from the same hatcheries that supply battery-cage farms. These hatcheries kill the male chicks upon hatching—more than 200 million each year in the United States alone.
* Most cage-free hens have part of their beaks burned off, a painful mutilation.
* Hens are typically slaughtered at less than two years old, far less than half their normal lifespan. They are often transported long distances to slaughter plants with no food or water. [...]

So, while cage-free does not mean cruelty-free, cage-free hens generally have better lives than those confined in battery cages. The ability to lay their eggs in nests, walk and spread their wings are tangible benefits that shouldn’t be underestimated.

[emphasis added]

They may not have said it outright in this article, but the message is loud and clear:

If you want to prevent cruelty to animals, GO VEGAN!

They even help get you started by providing vegan recipes >>

Here are a few of the recipes:

Grilled Polenta
Magnificent Mixed Beans and Bulgur
Moroccan Chickpea Patties
Portabella Mushrooms Stuffed with Tofu
Seitan “Jerk” Style
Soy-Mirin Tofu over Rice with Broccoli and Peanut Sauce

Calf Gets Prosthetic Legs

2009-11-04T18:07:59Z

Here’s the heartwarming story of the day:

Nancy Dickenson and her stepdaughter, Martha, found Meadow on a neighbor’s property. The 11-month-old calf had lost her back hooves and half of her ears to severe frostbite. [...]

Doctors amputated a portion of Meadow’s hind legs in August and fitted her with the prosthetics, a rare procedure done on livestock typically destined for the food supply. Meadow is believed to be the first bovine calf fitted with double prosthetics [...]

“A few people have asked ‘Is she going to be beef?’ and I said ‘Are you kidding? This is my newest baby.’”

Source: http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/nov/04/new-mexico-calf-fitted-prosthetic-legs/

Vegan Bites: Food & News

2009-11-04T15:43:45Z

The Food:

“Jones Soda won’t talk turkey this Thanksgiving. The Seattle-based pop brand known for wacky seasonal flavors — Turkey and Gravy among them — is selling a Tofurky and Gravy drink for the holidays.” link

“While many vegetarian and vegan meat substitutes contain animal products and come pre-formed, pre-seasoned or pre-cooked, Match® revolutionizes vegan meats. Match® products contain zero animal products and function identical to raw animal meat making them perfect for the casual home-cook to gourmet restaurant chefs.” more >>

“Windsor Castle goes vegan for the day, with a banquet for 200 bigwigs, including UN General Secretary Ban Ki-moon, the Grand Mufti of Egypt and Archbishop Valentine Mokiwa, President of the All Africa Conference of Churches.” more >>

Tips for Cooking Healthy Meals on a Budget >>

The News:

“Farmers feed 1 million to 2 million tons of so-called poultry litter to their cattle annually, according to FDA estimates. The litter includes feces, spilled chicken feed, feathers and poultry farm detritus.” read the rest >>

“The UN special envoy on food called it a ‘crime against humanity‘ to funnel 100 million tons of grain and corn to ethanol when almost a billion people are starving. So what kind of crime is animal agriculture, which uses 756 million tons of grain and corn per year, much more than enough to adequately feed the 1.4 billion human who are living in dire poverty?” more >>

“Berkley animal control officer [...] took a pit bull mix dog into custody after it bit off a man’s fingertip in Royal Oak and had the dog euthanized a day later” read more >>

“the lab is poisoning 74,000 mice per year specifically for what grand purpose? Botox testing.” read more here >>

“An animal rights lobby has decided to urge the Nepali Constituent Assembly (CA) committees concerned to help control the animal carnage. The lobby has gained momentum in the country due to the upcoming Gadhimai festival in Bara district where some 500,000 animals are expected to be sacrificed.” more >>

“A majority of San Francisco supervisors agreed Tuesday to ban the declawing of cats, calling the procedure a barbaric practice that opens the city’s feline residents to stress, chronic pain and behavioral problems.” more >>

The Rest:

The New York Lottery’s Secret Vegan Agenda

Five senior-pet Happy Tails to warm your heart

Vegan MoFo Mash-up

Locavore Vs. Vegan

2009-11-04T13:14:13Z

Some nonvegans will argue that food miles matter more (in terms of the environment) than anything else. They promote eating locally, not eating vegan.

Clearly, some people can easily be both locavores and vegans, but many must choose which is more important for some food choices. Luckily, there isn’t a ton of conflict between local eating and vegan eating, since most people don’t have a local slaughterhouse.

Here are some resources regarding the locavore vs. vegan “debate”:

The Locavore Myth – “there is one thing you can do to shrink the carbon footprint of your dinner: Take the meat off your plate. No matter how you slice it, it takes more energy to bring meat, as opposed to plants, to the table.”
Green Your Meat = “A study by Carnegie Mellon University scientists has concluded that eating less meat will reduce carbon emissions even more than purchasing food locally.”
It’s the Meat, not the Miles – Title says it all
Food miles don’t feed climate change – meat does – “An analysis of the environmental toll of food production concludes that transportation is a mere drop in the carbon bucket. Foods such as beef and dairy make a far deeper impression on a consumer’s carbon footprint.”
Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States – “we suggest that dietary shift can be a more effective means of lowering an average household’s food-related climate footprint than ‘buying local.’ Shifting less than one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat and dairy products to chicken, fish, eggs, or a vegetable-based diet achieves more GHG reduction than buying all locally sourced food.”
Why In-Vitro Meat Is Good For You – “Arguments against eating meat are often made on grounds of cruelty and personal health, though, ultimately, the most compelling argument may be ecological: Meat requires extreme amounts of resources to produce, and consequently carries a vast environmental footprint.”
Even If Meat Isn’t Murder, That Doesn’t Mean It’s Good For You – “A meat-eater driving a Prius contributes more to climate change than a vegan driving a Hummer. By now, it is broadly understood that eating less meat would relieve a bit of pressure on our sullied atmosphere by lightening the methane load”
Food That Travels Well – “buying local is not necessarily beneficial for the environment.”
Going Veggie Can Slash Your Carbon Footprint -”what counts is the way we feed ourselves … production and consumption first and foremost of beef and milk must be cut drastically,”

Veal Downer Calves

2009-11-03T22:28:52Z

This is a HSUS undercover film.

Reminder, the Animal Agriculture Alliance (AAA) claims that US farmers “produce the world’s best, safest, wholesome, nutritious and affordable” meat. Does this video show “the world’s best, safest, wholesome, nutritious and affordable” meat?

CLICK HERE to take action.

Related: podcast from Erik Marcus >>