Yep, those are pigs you see flying over DC. The new proposed changes (pdf) to the US Dietary Guidelines are getting a lot of press because they propose changing the US agricultural paradigm to a environmentally sustainable model for the first time in history.
Katie Valentine writing at Think Progress/Climate brings us the stunning news.
The Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee (DGAC), a panel of scientists that makes recommendations to the U.S. Department of Agriculture on every five years when the agency updates its Dietary Guidelines, published its 2015 report Thursday. In it, the DGAC states that adopting a sustainable diet helps ensure that future generations will have access to the foods we have access to now. It also stated that “a diet higher in plant-based foods, such as vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts, and seeds, and lower in calories and animal-based foods is more health promoting and is associated with less environmental impact than is the current U.S. diet.”
[...]
“Current evidence shows that the average U.S. diet has a larger environmental impact in terms of increased greenhouse gas emissions, land use, water use, and energy use, compared to the above dietary patterns,” the authors write, going on to say that the U.S. as a whole currently eats more animal-based foods and fewer plant-based foods than is recommended in diet patterns singled out by the report as more sustainable choices, such as vegetarian and Mediterranean-style diets.
Meat has long been known to be a carbon-intensive food. Last year, a study found that individuals who cut back on or eliminate meat have significantly lower carbon footprints than those who don’t. Meat-eaters, according to the study, contribute 50 to 54 percent more food-related greenhouse gases than vegetarians and 99 to 102 percent more than vegans. And a study this month found that, emissions-wise, agriculture is worse for the climate than deforestation.
I've been writing about reducing meat consumption to mitigate climate change and protect water and land resources for over eight years. I always knew that people did not want to hear about reducing meat consumption as a solution for mitigating climate change because it was a change they didn't want to make. But, in fact, it is the
most effective action we can take to reduce our carbon footprint. But now, the sh*t has hit the fan and
we can no longer ignore the changes that have to be made on a political and individual basis.
The stunning statistics from EcoWatch and the documentary "Cowspiracy":
Animal agriculture uses 55 percent of the water in the U.S. American homes use five percent. One thousand gallons of water are needed to produce 1 gallon of milk. Two thousand five hundred gallons of water are needed to make one pound of beef. Growing water shortages make animal agriculture unsustainable.
Livestock uses 30 percent of the Earth’s total land mass, including nearly 50 percent of the U.S. mainland. The growing demand for animal farmland is responsible for 80 percent of Amazon rainforest destruction. (Palm oil production is second). With 160-million acres cleared or degraded annually for the animal industry, 40 percent of the rainforest will be destroyed in 20 years, affecting species survival and carbon sequestration.
Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. All forms of land, air and ocean transportation total 13 percent. Transportation industry air pollution is overshadowed by animal agriculture air pollution.
Seventy billion animals are raised annually worldwide. Everyday 144 million animals are killed for food. U.S. farm animals produce 7 million pounds of excrement every minute. Our lakes, oceans and psyches cannot sustain animal agriculture.
diarist bold
The federal governments new proposed recommendations could be the meat industries worst nightmare and the meat industry is fighting these changes with all they have; and that includes lots of money and the political influence that money can buy. How long will we let them call the shots when the health and safety of our planet is in jeopardy?