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Feeding the World and the Poor Requires a Plant-Based Diet
September 2, 2013Welcome to the weekly CVA blog! In it you will find famous quotes, news and commentaries.
- Feed the World, Skip Animal Products
- Famous Quote: Joseph Wood Krutch
- Sustainable Seafood? Not Possible
- Bible verse: Genesis 2:15
- We Are Officially In Ecological Overdraft
- This Week’s Video: Factory Farming is Extremely Inefficient
1. Feed the World, Skip Animal Products
Once again we are reminded that the increasing production of and demand for animal products is driving more people to hunger. Researchers at the Institute on the Environment at the University of Minnesota found that 36 percent of the calories produced are used for animal feed and of those, 12 percent make their way to the human diet as meat and animal products. Another 4 percent of human-edible calories are used to produce biofuels.Please visit To Feed 4 Billion More, Skip Meat, Milk and Eggs, Study Says:
http://www.nbcnews.com/science/feed-4-billion-more-skip-meat-milk-eggs-study-says-6C10848930
It does not make any sense that about 1 billion people are malnourished while another billion have too much to eat. Consuming God’s animals drives the cost of edible-grain up, leaving the poor and the hungry unable to access plant-based foods, let alone animal products. If we want to see a world where everyone gets fed we need to eat lower on the food chain. Plant-based diets honor God’s Creation.
2. This Week’s Famous Quote
“If we do not permit the earth to produce beauty and joy, it will in the end not produce food, either.”
~ Joseph Wood Krutch3. Sustainable Seafood? Not Possible
For many people the suffering of animals is not enough to prompt them to change their food choices, the environmental impact of animal agriculture and aquaculture might be what triggers the change. Lindsay Abrams, assistant editor at Salon focusing on the subject of sustainability, explores this subject and reaches to the conclusion that given the tremendous footprint the fishing industry has on the environment and the degree of mislabeling of products, it's just not possible to eat seafood in a sustainable way.Please visit Sustainable Seafood is a Fantasy:
http://www.salon.com/2013/08/17/sustainable_seafood_is_a_fantasy/
Fish suffer, they are not needed in a balanced diet and the fishing industry is creating havoc in the oceans. These are more than enough reasons to stop supporting an industry that does much harm to God’s Creation.4. This Week’s Bible Verse - Genesis 2:15
In Genesis 2:15, God instructed Adam to “till” and “keep” the Garden of Eden, and by analogy we may see caring for God’s Creation as our sacred task. The typical meat eater’s diet can require up to 14 times more water and 20 times more energy than that of a vegetarian. Indeed, current use of land, water, and energy is not sustainable; resource depletion threatens to cause hardships for humankind this century.
A 2006 report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations found that animal agriculture is a leading cause of climate change and air pollution; land, soil, and water degradation; and biodiversity loss. According to the report, the livestock sector is an even larger contributor to global warming than transport (cars, trucks, airplanes, and so forth). Huge quantities of the potent greenhouse gases methane and nitrous oxide are emitted by farmed animals and their waste. Animal agriculture is also a key factor in deforestation, which releases the greenhouse gas carbon dioxide. The total area used for grazing and the production of feed crops accounts for 70 percent of all agricultural land and 30 percent of the earth’s land surface. About 20 percent of the world’s pastures and rangelands have been degraded (over 70 percent in the dry lands), mostly through overgrazing, compaction, and erosion created by livestock action.
5. We Are Officially In Ecological Overdraft
According to Global Footprint Network humanity’s demand for natural resources exceeds the earth’s ability to renew them in a year. Very sadly we are already officially in ecological overdraft. Scientists calculate “Earth Overshoot Day” by dividing the earth’s current biocapacity (the area of land and water available to produce renewable resources and absorb CO2 emissions) by the world’s ecological footprint (the area of land and water required to meet humanity’s demand for resources and absorb waste), and then they multiply the quotient by 365. This number reveals “Earth Overshoot Day” and the grave concern is that this year “Earth Overshoot Day” arrived two days sooner than it did last year. According to scientists, “Earth Overshoot Day” has come earlier by about three days each year since 2001.Please visit The Day the Earth Ran Out:
http://www.foreignaffairs.com/articles/139832/carter-roberts/the-day-the-earth-ran-out?cid=nlc-this_week_on_foreign_affairs-082213-the_day_the_earth_ran_out_3-082213
How can we call ourselves good stewards of God’s Creation when the Earth and its inhabitants are being devastated by the consequences of our bad choices? The Earth can produce enough for everyone if we do our best to live in harmony and in a sustainable manner. Adopting a plant-based diet helps us in both ways.
6. This Week’s Video
Jonathan Safran Foer, author of Eating Animals explains in a short video why factory farming is so inefficient and unsustainable.Please visit Factory Farming is Extremely Inefficient:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SZimstmS40w
Your question and comments are welcome
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