Dear Editor:
With three crippling Nor'easters battering our East Coast in quick succession, we all look forward to March 20th, first day of spring, balmy weather, and flowers in bloom.
It's also a superb occasion to replace animal foods on our menu with healthy, delicious, eco-friendly vegetables, legumes, grains, and fruits.
The shift toward healthy eating is everywhere. Fast-food chains like Chipotle, Quiznos, Starbucks, Subway, Taco Bell, and Wendy's all offer plant-based options. Major publications and popular websites tout vegan recipes.
Google CEO Eric Schmidt views replacement of meat by plant protein as the world's #1 technical trend. The financial investment community is betting on innovative start-ups, like Beyond Meat, or Impossible Foods. Even Tyson Foods new CEO sees plant protein as meat industry's future.
Global Meat News reports that nearly half of consumers are reducing meat intake. Indeed, per capita red meat consumption has dropped by a whopping 25% in the past 40 years.
Every one of us can celebrate spring by checking out the rich collection of plant-based dinners and desserts in our supermarket's frozen food, dairy, and produce sections. An internet search on vegan
October 12, 2018
Global Warming Mandates Plant-based Eating
Dear Editor,
Right on the heels of utter devastation wrought by Hurricanes Florence and Michael, comes an alarming report in the prestigious journal Nature that mitigation of global climate change will require a massive switch to plant-based eating.
The report concludes that global warming threatens the world's very food supply, in addition to generating scorching heat, raging wildfires, devastating hurricanes, massive flooding, and rising sea levels. It was compiled by an international panel of 23 climate experts and follows the latest warning about rising temperatures by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.
A 2010 United Nations report blamed animal agriculture for 19% of greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of freshwater use, and 38% of land use. Carbon dioxide is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by operating factory farms. The more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are released from digestive tracts of cattle and from animal waste cesspools, respectively.
In an environmentally sustainable world, just as we replace fossil fuels by wind, solar, and other pollution-free energy sources, we must also replace meat and dairy products in our diet by vegetables, fruits, and grains.
Our next supermarket visit offers a superb opportunity to get started.
Sincerely,
Otis Strait
471 Chester St.
Ogden, UT 84403
213-596-0228
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References for Editor
https://www.washingtonpost.com/health/2018/10/10/how-will-or-billion-people-eat-without-destroying-environment/?utm_term=.e294b58ddb67
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/10/huge-reduction-in-meat-eating-essential-to-avoid-climate-breakdown
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet
https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5825-big-meat-and-dairy-s-supersized-climate-footprint
https://chooseveg.com/
