The push to "eat local" has far less impact on the environment compared with eating lower on the food chain. A central fact that some advocates of eating locally do not grasp is that eating chicken, beef or other animals involves the use of grains and beans that were transported hundreds and thousands of miles (even when they are partly grass-fed). While the cow may have been raised, and even slaughtered, close to where you live, its fodder was transported great distances, using plenty of fossil fuels or other types of energy. And it takes many pounds of the protein from grains and beans to produce a pound of beef protein. [...more]
I’ve been interested in issues of animal liberation since the 1970s, but there have been some important new developments in the past few years, particularly the increasing awareness of issues to do with factory farming. [...more]
Somewhere in Iowa, a pig is being raised in a confined pen, packed in so tightly with other swine that their curly tails have been chopped off so they won't bite one another. To prevent him from getting sick in such close quarters, he is dosed with antibiotics. The waste produced by the pig and his thousands of pen mates on the factory farm where they live goes into manure lagoons that blanket neighboring communities with air pollution and a stomach-churning stench. [...more]
A drive towards reducing obesity could have important consequences for the environment and the long-term future of the planet, according to new study published by the International Journal of Epidemiology. [...more]
As scientific researchers who have spent our careers establishing the link between diet and disease, we find President Obama's directive on "restoring scientific integrity to government decision-making" very welcome news.
We hope this will lead to health care policy that is informed by America's most ignored scientific fact on health: That a whole-foods plant-based diet can prevent and in many cases reverse heart disease, diabetes, cancer and other chronic diseases.
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How to turn a lawn into lunch, swap preserves, glean, boost your food security, live the good life. [...more]
There is no more denying it. Meat contains highly toxic substances that are responsible for many deaths and diseases. Heavy meat consumption increases your risk of dying from all causes, including heart disease and cancer, according to a federal study conducted by the National Cancer Institute and featured in Archives of Internal Medicine on Monday.
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At first blush, global warming seems to be a great hook for those of us promoting animal-friendly eating, but there are two problems: [...more]
