Want to combat climate change and Trump's denialism? Eat less meat

The New York Daily News ^ | September 21, 2017 | Nathan Runkle

[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.

[trebb]

Yep - spent over $250 on meats two days ago. The wife prepares a number of crock pot meals to freeze so they can be thawed/cooked and it saves lots of kitchen time in the long run. We rarely have even a salad w/o some sort of meat (chicken/pork strips of steak/tuna) on it.

[Blennos]

Peruse this excellent web site:

http://www.thefatemperor.com/blog/2017/8/8/calcification-and-cac-with-the-expert-professor-matthew-j-budoff-md-faac

There are many videos on CAC and low carb diets. Watching a few of them will give you the latest information on both. Good luck.

[Morpheus2009]

Similar with Papua New Guinea,IIRC.

[Morpheus2009]

I think the idea that they are arguing is that you spend energy on raising the grains fed to the animals, and it takes less grain to feed a person. However, I will agree it makes more sense to kill one animal or a fish to eat it as opposed to many insects.