There is a lot of information available on the population crisis and how it is adversely affected by meat production--continuing to eat meat is exactly the way to make feeding the world's population impossible because it is so damaging to the soil, our water, the environment in general. Some of the articles are so big my computer crashed! So I found one that is fairly general and will post it:
Meat Consumption and the Vicious Spiral
Panel presented by The Center for a Livable Future
The Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Monday April 26, 2004, 9:00 am
As part of the conference:
EATING AS A MORAL ACT:
ETHICS AND POWER FROM AGRARIANISM TO CONSUMERISM SYMPOSIUM
UNIVERSITY OF NEW HAMPSHIRE
APRIL 25-27, 2004
Overview and theoretical framework: Escaping the Vicious Spiral
Robert S. Lawrence, MD
Edyth H. Schoenrich Professor of Preventive Medicine and
Associate Dean for Professional Practice and Programs
Director, Center for a Livable Future
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
James Grant, the late director of the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), warned of the “vicious spiral” of population growth, poverty, and environmental degradation - each component exacerbating and accelerating the trend toward destruction of the biosphere. Many other critically important factors are caught up in this spiral of destruction, which, if left unchecked, will continue to intensify the problem while at the same time, if altered, provide opportunities for intervention and interruption of the vicious spiral. Foremost among these other factors is the increasing human consumption of meat - especially beef, pork, and poultry - raised on factory farms, and the spread of Western dietary patterns to cultures where grains and vegetables have traditionally been the source of protein and complex carbohydrates.
As we become increasingly aware of the finite limits to the carrying capacity of the planet, the inefficiency of converting eight or nine kilograms of grain protein into one kilogram of animal protein for human consumption (in the form of beef protein, less grain required per kilogram of pork or poultry) would by itself be sufficient argument against continuation of our present dietary habits. When one adds in the abuse of animals inherent to factory farming methods, the depletion and contamination of aquifers, the intense use of grain crops in monoculture and overgrazing of grasslands, and the release of methane and other greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, the case against our meat-eating behavior becomes overwhelming. And that is before we factor in the effects of animal fats - an inescapable component of meat and poultry - on human health. As Colin Campbell has demonstrated in his comparative nutrition studies in China, the consumption by Americans of excessive amounts of animal protein and fat accounts for much of our increased burden of chronic degenerative diseases such as coronary heart disease, diabetes, and some cancers. The linkages among unhealthy diets, animal exploitation, and environmental degradation are powerful and often synergistic. These same linkages also hold promise for workable solutions to planetary overload, for mobilizing coalitions of single-interest groups, for translation of science into public policy and information for advocacy, and for an entry point to interrupt the “vicious spiral”.
The growth of population is accompanied by increasing gaps in income and access to resources. Current food production and food distribution policies are dominated by policies developed to advance the economic interests of the agricultural sector of the wealthy industrialized nations at the expense of the poor developing countries. Food security for more than a billion of the earth’s people remains elusive and cannot be achieved without a rebalancing of the dietary practices of the rich as well as the poor. The Center for a Livable Future will present examples of interventions designed to contain and ultimately reduce factory farming, improve the nutritional value of the American diet, and protect and preserve the ecosystem to assure food production for future generations.
A System That “Feeds” the Spiral
Shawn McKenzie, MPH
Project Director, Center for a Livable Future,
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Today’s industrial agriculture system creates and perpetuates issues of injustice and immoral ecosystem relationships among individuals, communities, animals, the environment, and the public’s health. The adverse effects of hazardous occupational practices, the displacement of small farmers, and the reduced quality of life within rural communities are common by-products of the industrial agriculture system. In addition, the pesticides used heavily in this system are associated with elevated cancer risks for workers and consumers and are coming under greater scrutiny for their links to endocrine disruption and reproductive dysfunction. Industrial agriculture also consumes fossil fuel, water, and topsoil at unsustainable rates, and contributes to numerous forms of environmental degradation, including air and water pollution, soil depletion, diminishing biodiversity, and the eutrophication of river and estuary systems.
Within the industrial agriculture system, Industrial Animal Production (IAP) contributes disproportionately to each of these problems, in part because feeding grain to livestock to produce meat --instead of growing grain for direct human consumption --involves a large energy loss, making IAP more resource intensive than other forms of food production. The proliferation of IAP creates environmental and public health concerns, including pollution from the high concentrations of animal wastes and the extensive use of antibiotics, which can compromise their effectiveness in medical use. Other justice and morality issues associated with IAP practices include the harmful effects on animal well-being and the often devastating impact on rural communities.
Dietary Change to Escape the Spiral
Janna Howley, MA
Project Manager, Center for a Livable Future
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
Pamela Rhubart, MPH
Research Coordinator, Center for a Livable Future
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
To help reduce saturated fat intake and encourage increased consumption of healthier dietary alternatives, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health has teamed up with the Meatless Monday campaign, a national public health campaign. Although our goal is consistent with the recommendations of the 2000 U.S. Dietary Guidelines for Americans and the American Heart Association our challenge is to confront the lack of political resolve to recommend a reduction in meat consumption. The symbolic importance of meat in many consumers’ idea of what constitutes a complete diet is a second barrier.
Our primary target audience includes “gatekeeper moms;” women in the household who purchase and prepare food for their families. We are reaching out to community-based organizations to implement the campaign at local levels. Our secondary target audience includes K-12 and college students. The campaign has launched in elementary schools, college campuses, and their surrounding communities.
The increasing burden of chronic disease on our society necessitates proactive alternatives to current consumption patterns, but the difficulty in effecting behavior change in our target populations calls for creative relationships between government, community and academia.
Local Action for Escaping the Spiral
Polly Walker, MD, MPH
Associate Director, Center for a Livable Future
Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health
The Center for a Livable Future (CLF), an interdisciplinary center founded in 1996 at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, focuses attention on the links among diet, health, food production, and the environment. CLF promotes sustainable and equitable food systems that are healthful for people and the environment and seeks to increase understanding of food insecurity as a public health problem.
The 1970 Earth Day motto was: Think Globally and Act Locally. We believe it is our responsibility to actively nurture efforts by our neighboring communities to create a livable environment. The goal of CLF’s local projects is improve food security among Baltimore’s poorest residents, empower communities to effect change, and to improve nutrition and overall health.
Local agriculture requires less transportation, relies less on pesticides, and provides better access to safe, nutritious food. It therefore helps solve some of the ills of our current agricultural system. Urban gardens are an important source of fresh produce for low-income communities. By involving children early, school gardens help children understand natural biological cycles, good nutrition and to experience the thrill of harvesting crops they have planted. Overall gardens contribute to a sense of community and may be a catalyst for other community changes.
For more information:
Contact the Center for a Livable Future
clf@jhsph.edu
410-502-7578
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