Dinner may feel a far cry from the climate crisis, but the global food system--how we raise crops and livestock, where we farm, and what we do with the waste--contributes to a whopping one-third of all man-made greenhouse gas emissions. (And there are all those other ecological impacts, too, from a pre-oil spilldead zone in the Gulf of Mexico to depleted aquifers across the U.S. farm country and ag regions around the globe.)
Want to reduce your "ecological foodprint"? Choosing a climate-friendly diet is one way to reduce your global impact. The good news is reaching for the healthy climate choice also means helping your health... and waistline, too.
You may have even been following these principles, guided by good food luminaries like Michael Pollan and Marion Nestle who summed it all up neatly back in 2006: "eat less, move more, eat plenty of fruits and vegetables, and don't eat too much junk food."
See how your diet stacks up by checking out these seven principles of a climate-friendly diet. For more inspiration to make climate-friendly choices, check out my latest book Diet for a Hot Planet and the resources at the Center for Food Safety's Cool Foods Campaign.
Here's to cool eating!
Follow Anna Lappe on Twitter: www.twitter.com/annalappe
Arvol Looking Horse: A Great Urgency: To All World Religious and Spiritual Leaders
We ask for prayers that the oil spill, this bleeding, will stop. That the winds stay calm to assist in the work. Pray for the people to be guided in repairing this mistake, and that we may also seek to live in harmony.
And, the food has been picked that day, unlike supermaket produce that was picked, shipped to a distribution point (often hundreds of miles away) and then shipped to the supermarket (often more hundreds of miles). The Farmers Market or CSA produce will last weeks longer.
It does not require the use of artificial fertilizers or pesticides (both derived from fossil fuel); or diesel fuel to run agricultural machinery to plow, cultivate and harvest; or artificial irrigation; or GM seeds.
It is completely independent of farms and all of the agricultural machinery that destroys topsoil and kills millions of ground-living animals. It eliminates the need for any of the products produced by the pesticide, fertilizer, and GM AgriGiants, or the need for feed-lots, egg-breeders, or dairy farms.
It does not use anything made by Deere, Caterpillar, Monsanto, Archer Daniels Midland, Syngenta, Dean Foods, Heinz, Nestle, Kraft, General Mills, Betty Crocker, Kellogg, Nabisco, Stonyfield, Yoplait, ConAgra, Cargill, etc.
The ecological footprint of this diet is estimated to be much smaller than either a vegan, vegetarian, or Standard American Diet. It arguably is the most nutrient dense, can be scaled up to feed everyone, and respects the ethical treatment of both animals and plants - something unavailable in any other diet.
A description of this diet, along with supporting references, can be found in "The Original Diet - The Omnivore's Solution".
Roy Mankovitz, Director
http://www.MontecitoWellness.com
I cannot believe people are still falling for the "Organic Food" scam
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Q4hx6ZjB8Jo
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where they gave America the holiday called " Thanksgiving " as well as a lingering intolerance of things " not like us "...
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Also, food banks that accept donations may have to absorb the cost of disposing of the products when they cannot be distributed before they spoil. Supermarkets would serve their community better if they simply reduced the prices on products nearing the end of their shelf life so more people could afford to buy them. Markets I shop in reduce prices very little on a package when meat or chicken products are nearing their sell-by date. Often only something like $1.00 on a package. Since you have to use the product within the next one or two days it is often not worth the savings.
My suggestion is that stores should provide coupons that could be used against any product that is one day away from the sell-by date and when you get to the check-out the product prices at something like 10% of the marked price. The benefit to the market is that it encourages people on a limited budget to come in to do their regular shopping for items at regular prices.
The people who we feed at Loaves and Fishes (Watsonville CA) have need for nutritious foods. Their budgets are more than limited; some have almost no income. NO supermarkets exist in the downtown area. Just small groceries with a preponderance of highly processed and junk foods.
Take action. Ask where you shop if they donate. Call a local Soup Kitchen and ask what you can do to help. The need for our services has gone up 84% since 2008; we depend on donations. We buy less food than we get from donations through supermarkets, people's gardens, caterers, local farms, and CSAs. We compost our food waste to ensure the soil gets a return for the nutrition it provides us.
Visit your local Soup Kitchen. Watch what happens to food that would, in the landfill, be creating greenhouse gases. See a food distribution system that is a system, not a dead end.
For related info, please see my Eco-Eating at www.brook.com/veg