One Habit at a Time – Eat Less Meat

Do cows pollute as much as cars?  Reports from around the world are indicating that livestock production is a serious environmental problem.

    The San Joaquin Valley Air Pollution Control District says bovines on the region’s booming dairy farms are the biggest single source of smog-forming gases. 
www.organicconsumers.org/OFGU/gases080305.cfm

    Researchers from Japan’s National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science have released calculations to show that producing the equivalent of 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home. www.tasteforlife.com/content/default.asp?artid=287

    The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations says, “The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.”  “The meat industry generates 18% of all Greenhouse Gas (GHG) emissions — more than the transport sector.”  ABC News, in reporting this news, asks: “To control greenhouse gases, will people be willing to eat less meat?” www.abcnews.go.com/Technology/GlobalWarming/story?id=2723201&page=1

    A Canadian blogger responded to this news by suggesting “Go Vegetarian to Help Stop Global Warming”.  www.climatechangecdn.blogspot.com/2007/08/go-vegetarian-to-help-stop-global.html

Why not eat less meat?  Many people have chosen to eat less meat for reasons of their own health. Isn’t the health of our planet also important? There’s a wealth of information about the value of a vegetarian diet and inspirational cookbooks at any bookstore.  There’s no need to go “cold turkey” (no pun intended!). Start with cutting back on red meat and then consider other changes. Maybe choose certain days of the week when you have time to experiment with new recipes.

The following article and book have great suggestions for transitioning to a vegetarian diet: 
    www.newveg.av.org/trans2veg.htm  
    Becoming Vegetarian: The Complete Guide to Adopting a Healthy Vegetarian Diet, by Vesanto Melina

These articles contain useful introductory and nutritional information about vegetarian diets:
www.savvyvegetarian.com/svreports/10_tips_for_becoming_vegetarian.pdf
www.savvyvegetarian.com/svreports/vegetarian_nutrition.pdf

Not convinced? Read one of these books: 
   The Omnivore’s Dilemma, by Michel Pollan
   The Food Revolution, by John Robbins 
   Hope’s Edge: The Next Diet for a Small Planet, by Frances Moore Lappe and Anna Lappe

Each of us starts at our own point on the meat-eating spectrum and we can all shift that point a little or a lot. Vegetarians can contribute by bringing tasty dishes to potlucks, sharing your experience and best recipes, and urging restaurants and caterers to provide non-meat alternatives.  Together we can make a big difference.

First Presbyterian Church of Palo Alto
www.fprespa.org/coolplanet
September, 2007