UN urges global move to meat and dairy-free diet

[ZachEY]

http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet?showallcomments=true#start-of-comments

A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.

As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.

It says: "Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products."

Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, said: "Animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as [burning] fossil fuels."

The recommendation follows advice last year that a vegetarian diet was better for the planet from Lord Nicholas Stern, former adviser to the Labour government on the economics of climate change. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), has also urged people to observe one meat-free day a week to curb carbon emissions.

The panel of experts ranked products, resources, economic activities and transport according to their environmental impacts. Agriculture was on a par with fossil fuel consumption because both rise rapidly with increased economic growth, they said.

Ernst von Weizsaecker, an environmental scientist who co-chaired the panel, said: "Rising affluence is triggering a shift in diets towards meat and dairy products - livestock now consumes much of the world's crops and by inference a great deal of freshwater, fertilisers and pesticides."

Both energy and agriculture need to be "decoupled" from economic growth because environmental impacts rise roughly 80% with a doubling of income, the report found.

Achim Steiner, the UN under-secretary general and executive director of the UNEP, said: "Decoupling growth from environmental degradation is the number one challenge facing governments in a world of rising numbers of people, rising incomes, rising consumption demands and the persistent challenge of poverty alleviation."

The panel, which drew on numerous studies including the Millennium ecosystem assessment, cites the following pressures on the environment as priorities for governments around the world: climate change, habitat change, wasteful use of nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilisers, over-exploitation of fisheries, forests and other resources, invasive species, unsafe drinking water and sanitation, lead exposure, urban air pollution and occupational exposure to particulate matter.

Agriculture, particularly meat and dairy products, accounts for 70% of global freshwater consumption, 38% of the total land use and 19% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, says the report, which has been launched to coincide with UN World Environment day on Saturday.

Last year the UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation said that food production would have to increase globally by 70% by 2050 to feed the world's surging population. The panel says that efficiency gains in agriculture will be overwhelmed by the expected population growth.

Prof Hertwich, who is also the director of the industrial ecology programme at the Norwegian University of Science and Technology, said that developing countries

[CTM]

I don't eat meat for this very reason (go back and forth on being a vegan). It's very expensive to eat this high on the food chain and I have my little girls that I worry about leaving a better world for.

[villain_the_foe]

I really like steak, but this is the truth.

the problem is concrete and steel (industry). How can everyone go vegan if everything is concrete?

Though I talk about Crushers hoagies all the time I've actually stopped eating meat on a daily basis because we're really not supposed to eat living animals. Thats what fruits and vegetables are for.

Im not like the UN and will tell people how to eat, however, if they're going to say something like this then they need to stop laying down concrete everywhere they go.

the majority of us cant even feed ourselves if we wanted to. whatever green is in your area its probably a public park, the rest is dead concrete. This situation is worse than just not eating meat. We're dependent on supermarkets and what they provide to our neighborhood.

I wonder if the UN will ever tell the logging industry that us humans need trees to breathe.

[JerryK]

I have an old friend who's a botany professor at Texas A&M. Very open minded guy, perfect for this paradigm. He went to a new 'vegan restaurant' in the area. Before the meal, everyone had to give a 'statement' on why they came, denouncing the evil 'food industry' etc.. He didn't have much to say and they actually got in his face.

He left.

They suck.

Nobody will pay attention to the science listed above until the veggie crowd stops being a religion.

[The Gun Of Bavaria]

The UN is going to tell me...well anything?

I have an idea for the UN. Next time they decide to keep the peace and safeguard lives, don't sit back with your 400 peacekeepers while 8000 Bosniaks are wiped off the face of the Earth.

Srebrenica - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre

[rillo]

I wish I had the will power to go vegan or at least vegetarian.

[New York Mick]

**** them, I drink about a gallon of milk a day and eat mostly meat.

[villain_the_foe]

I have an old friend who's a botany professor at Texas A&M. Very open minded guy, perfect for this paradigm. He went to a new 'vegan restaurant' in the area. Before the meal, everyone had to give a 'statement' on why they came, denouncing the evil 'food industry' etc.. He didn't have much to say and they actually got in his face.

He left.

They suck.

Nobody will pay attention to the science listed above until the veggie crowd stops being a religion.

You got a point. My wife started saying that I was a vegan and I told her to stop labeling me like this is some category. She understood where I was coming from. It has become the new religion like you said. im just a guy who decided not to eat meat. Im not a vegan or anything thing else these people call it.

[CTM]

You got a point. My wife started saying that I was a vegan and I told her to stop labeling me like this is some category. She understood where I was coming from. It has become the new religion like you said. im just a guy who decided not to eat meat. Im not a vegan or anything thing else these people call it.

i said the same thing.. lol.. but fwiw.. not everyone is like that.. It's similiar to ex smokers, there's just less of them and they are more defensive.. same self righteousness

[villain_the_foe]

i said the same thing.. lol.. but fwiw.. not everyone is like that.. It's similiar to ex smokers, there's just less of them and they are more defensive.. same self righteousness

I feel you. Im an ex-smoker too. I've been smoke free for 2 months now, but I dont go around with my nose up in the air when I see people smoking.

its like the ex smokers are worse the the non smokers lmao.

[JerryK]

You got a point. My wife started saying that I was a vegan and I told her to stop labeling me like this is some category. She understood where I was coming from. It has become the new religion like you said. im just a guy who decided not to eat meat. Im not a vegan or anything thing else these people call it.

Being conciensious is cool. If enough people do it, some actual good tasting vegetarian food might get invented. Nevertheless, you're best just saying you "try to avoid meat when you can". Vegans are a freakshow...and you don't want people to think you're one of them.

[Vudu]

I say f-ck that sh!t. I love my meat. Thanks and goodbye!

[ZachEY]

The UN is going to tell me...well anything?

I have an idea for the UN. Next time they decide to keep the peace and safeguard lives, don't sit back with your 400 peacekeepers while 8000 Bosniaks are wiped off the face of the Earth.

Srebrenica - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre

Fair.

But can we sustain things the way they are.

I'm with rillo tbh. I've thought about it, I just think I'd starve.

[Blackout]

i'd rather eat burgers and steaks

[CTM]

I feel you. Im an ex-smoker too. I've been smoke free for 2 months now, but I dont go around with my nose up in the air when I see people smoking.

its like the ex smokers are worse the the non smokers lmao.

I just heard a good metaphor for this the other day that i can't remember.. it's true though, the ones that quit are worse then the oens that never did.. in this case, most americans at one time ate meat

[ZachEY]

the majority of us cant even feed ourselves if we wanted to. whatever green is in your area its probably a public park, the rest is dead concrete. This situation is worse than just not eating meat. We're dependent on supermarkets and what they provide to our neighborhood.

Leave the NY Metro bubble and this becomes wholly untrue pretty fast. There's plenty of land out there, we just live in the 'concrete jungle' so to speak.

[CTM]

Being conciensious is cool. If enough people do it, some actual good tasting vegetarian food might get invented. Nevertheless, you're best just saying you "try to avoid meat when you can". Vegans are a freakshow...and you don't want people to think you're one of them.

People are dumb, who gives a fart what they think

[rillo]

Anyone watch "Food Inc"?

I did and was disgusted.

[CTM]

Anyone watch "Food Inc"?

I did and was disgusted.

Yeah, learning about what really goes on is pretty eye openning. It's unnatural

[billybroome]

In light of this post I went out and had a delicious 24 oz steak tonight. Complete with a salad and baked potato. Nobody will tell me what I cannot eat, especially the U.N.

I paid my $50 tab and supported the local Arizona economy. F**k the United Nations.

[JerryK]

Anyone watch "Food Inc"?

I did and was disgusted.

Watched it last week. Wasn't disgusted much by the animal stuff.

What pi@@ed me off was the part about Monsanto holding farmers hostage over soybeans, and running them out of business if they replant seeds that never were Monsanto's. I've never been in a brawl in my life, but if I ever meet anyone who works for that company I'll punch them in the mouth.

[rillo]

Yeah, learning about what really goes on is pretty eye openning. It's unnatural

The rise in cancers and other diseases is another eye opener.

[villain_the_foe]

Leave the NY Metro bubble and this becomes wholly untrue pretty fast. There's plenty of land out there, we just live in the 'concrete jungle' so to speak.

This is true....but then the problem is who own's that land that you're looking at? We have been trained to live a very backwards lifestyle and we're now hemorrhaging from every orifice while eating every animal that we can because of an artificial culture. thinking you "own land" is just as stupid to me as paying taxes to live on a planet that you were born on. I know that im in the extreme minority with either part or all of what I just stated but really think about that. Instead of sharing, we think we own. Look what this has turned into, look at 3rd world countries as a perfect example. Africans dont even own the land that they were born on because Hershey has to provide the world with its chocolate fix. Africa has some of the most fertile land yet people die from hunger every day because they cant grow on that land, yet I've never seen hershey have a world chocolate shortage. And hershey is just an example. Dont let me get into the Diamond,Gold,Silver,Platinum industries. (as you can see, the problem is industry).

The UN can say what they want about vegan diets, but owners are not going to give up their land to make that happen whether its rural or the city. The majority of land are not owned by regular people like you and me. We both know this.

[jetophile]

What, no fukk the U.N.? The most morally bankrupt institution there is that I love to hate on, but I digress and that's a tirade for another day.

I don't eat meat because I live in the land of plenty and can actually CHOOSE what I want to eat. Imagine that? What a country! I'm too thankful for that concept in the first place to be bothered concerning myself with what other people CHOOSE they want to eat.

If people don't eat meat for personal, health, or spiritual reasons, why should anyone have to explain or justify it to anyone? But see, that works both ways; and the truth is, nobody wants to HEAR A BUNCH OF MORALIZING CRAP they didn't ask to hear nor have to defend their choices in either direction. Everybody just eat and shut up.

[villain_the_foe]

What, no fukk the U.N.? The most morally bankrupt institution there is that I love to hate on, but I digress and that's a tirade for another day.

I don't eat meat because I live in the land of plenty and can actually CHOOSE what I want to eat. Imagine that? What a country! I'm too thankful for that concept in the first place to be bothered concerning myself with what other people CHOOSE they want to eat.

If people don't eat meat for personal, health, or spiritual reasons, why should anyone have to explain or justify it to anyone? But see, that works both ways; and the truth is, nobody wants to HEAR A BUNCH OF MORALIZING CRAP they didn't ask to hear nor have to defend their choices in either direction. Everybody just eat and shut up.

SWEET JANE!

[jetophile]

SWEET JANE!

Haha, I know. I'm into paradox, but it's also my middle name .

OK, how 'bout a bowl of oatmeal smothered in lamb's blood? Everybody's happy!

[NIGHT STALKER]

Anyone here ever watch the Food Network Channel? Everyone on there is either a cook or a chef and with all these different cooking shows on 24/7, we ain't going on any vegan diet...just don't see it happening. Restaurants will go out of business. Not to mention your fast food chains.

[Jbro22]

The world isn't supposed to last forever. Medium-rare please.

[Green DNA]

In light of this post I went out and had a delicious 24 oz steak tonight. Complete with a salad and baked potato. Nobody will tell me what I cannot eat, especially the U.N.

I paid my $50 tab and supported the local Arizona economy. F**k the United Nations.

The UN can kiss my ass. I think I'll throw a couple of extra steaks on the BBQ this weekend in their honor. I am much more concerned with oil destroying the gulf of Mexico or ragheads trying to blow us up than I am with cows that fart too much.

[ZachEY]

In light of this post I went out and had a delicious 24 oz steak tonight. Complete with a salad and baked potato. Nobody will tell me what I cannot eat, especially the U.N.

I paid my $50 tab and supported the local Arizona economy. F**k the United Nations.

I didn't notice anyone telling you what you can and cannot eat.

Simply, what the planet can sustain.

The truth is, most people, when asked where their meat comes from, will say 'the supermarket', without having any idea what a factory farm is like.

I'm a huge hypocrite when it comes to meat, I readily admit that, but I also accept it as one of the most destructive industries on the planet and wish I could change.

[PatriotReign37]

I say f-ck that sh!t. I love my meat. Thanks and goodbye!

Oh, you started dating that Patsy fan guy.

Glad to see you back.

[ZachEY]

Anyone here ever watch the Food Network Channel? Everyone on there is either a cook or a chef and with all these different cooking shows on 24/7, we ain't going on any vegan diet...just don't see it happening. Restaurants will go out of business. Not to mention your fast food chains.

Completely agree.

There's a push now for what's called 'meat free mondays'. Truth is, with the size of our population, if people even took that up, it would make a substantial difference. I just don't see it happening though. We're all very content.

[Bob]

the truth is, nobody wants to HEAR A BUNCH OF MORALIZING CRAP they didn't ask to hear nor have to defend their choices in either direction.

Does this principle apply to other areas of life, like fake boobs?

[PatriotReign37]

I didn't notice anyone telling you what you can and cannot eat.

Simply, what the planet can sustain.

The truth is, most people, when asked where their meat comes from, will say 'the supermarket', without having any idea what a factory farm is like.

I'm a huge hypocrite when it comes to meat, I readily admit that, but I also accept it as one of the most destructive industries on the planet and wish I could change.

If people saw where their beef came from they would vomit.

Secondly, the reason why you see so much e coli bacteria today is because cows are fed a diet of inexpensive government subsidized corn, which cows werent meant to eat. Corn doesnt digest and breakdown like grass, but it packs the fat and weight on like there is no tomorrow.

Because of genetically engineered corn seed, the difference in the amount of corn grown per acre 30 years ago and tody is staggering. The farmers make more money for growing more corn. Corn is used is almost everything.

The e coli in vegetable fields is sometimes run off from the feed lots. The meat industry is now trying to develop e coli proof packaging.

The difference in fat content between corn fed beef and grass fed beef is alarming. Its not hard to see why there is an epidemic of type 2 diabetes and obesity in this country.

[Thai Jet]

The UN is going to tell me...well anything?

I have an idea for the UN. Next time they decide to keep the peace and safeguard lives, don't sit back with your 400 peacekeepers while 8000 Bosniaks are wiped off the face of the Earth.

Srebrenica - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Srebrenica_massacre

Great post Pat ! Let's not forget the totally wonderful job they also did during the Rwanda genocide. Oops sorry, I forgot we're not suppose to use the g word.