how to help our environment by food choices

Hi,

I created a webpage after a few years of learning about the consequences of food types.

I've got everything referenced with university or governmental sources, linked, so the information *is credible, and not opinions or theories.

We can reduce oil use and oil-related CO2 emissions (and global warming) and reduce oil drilling offshore, on public lands, and in parks ... reduce pesticide and chemical fertilizer use, and runoff polluting natural rivers and streams... reduce ground water use and depletion... reduce the 100+ billion pounds of manure generated each year... by many times.

Like for oil, animal foods require 40 times as much oil, than plant foods do. Using plant foods would reduce oil use by 97.5%! much less CO2 emissions, air pollution, global warming, Halliburton, oil spills, gas price hikes, drilling, and profits and power to oil corporations.

helping is as easy as replacing a few meals with plant-based foods, which is super easy

the page is www.helpusall.com/foodandenvironment.html

and i really welcome any feedback on the page.
I know I left out about deforestation, and specifics on pesticides. The page is always in progress anytime I know of a way to improve it

edit: i forgot to say, also feel free to share the link anywhere on the web where it's welcomed and you think it'd be helpful

 

thanx for sharing!...........

 

Thanks, I'll be sure to check it out.

 

I love how 'helping' the environment comes from 'hurting it less than normal'

 

thanks sun-shine



hi spooner,


i know what you mean.
But also it is true. "helping the environment" means to make the ecosystem more able to clean and maintain itself.

It can either be taken farther from it's ability to continue to function... or it can be made less able to function.

less pollution helps the ecosystem to be closer to sustaining itself. If we reduce pollution, that sure seems like helping to me... anyway, that's why i personally call it 'helping'

 

Wow, I don't see how the government, with this data, doesn't pass a law limiting the amount of meat one can consume.

 

i know what you mean. 20 times less oil use (and air pollution), 4-5 times less solid waste manure (and ground water pollution), several times less ground water use, less chemical fertilizer and pesticide/herbicide use (and pollution of streams), and ETC
IF the gov't was focused around helping and protecting, they probably would move in that direction.... the best move would be to educate on the realities, and to give support to efforts to move towards more plant foods. But simply being honest would be a huge change too.

The animal food lobby groups have a lot of money going into the gov't. A court found that the USDA was guilty of having conflict$ of interest when they created the food pyramid... and even tho they were found guilty, they didn't re-do the pyramid. http://www.pcrm.org/news/health001002.html
We just need to be aware that *some people in govt agencies are influenced by money contributions... they're not always interested in what's best for us.


Here's what I researched in 2000:

Ann Veneman, who was appointed as Secretary of the USDA by G.W. Bush. Veneman was previously on the board of directors at a biotech food company (Calgene) (which would be regulated by the USDA). After Veneman was in office, she filled the chief of staff position by appointing Dale Moore, who had been the executive director for legislative affairs of the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. And, the person who was appointed to Assistant Secretary for Congressional Relations for the USDA, Mary Waters, was a senior director and legislative counsel for one of the nation’s largest food processors (ConAgra Foods). The Deputy Secretary, James Mosley, who oversees the day-to-day activities of the USDA, also was formerly a partner in Infinity Pork LLC, which raised 50,000 hogs yearly. Two other USDA officials, including the head of the Center for Nutritional Policy and Promotion, previously worked for the National Pork Producers Council.

So the very people regulating the food processing, “cattle” practices, and biotech food industries, are the same people who were top executives in those industries, specifically in government relations positions.

Here’s one of the very large, and wide-branching, effects of the revolving doors between the regulated industries and the regulators… The USDA’s allocation of EQIP (Environmental Quality Incentives Program) funds to factory farms. EQIP was established in 1996 to help lessen the farm-related pollution of water, air, and soil. In 1996, EQIP funds were only available to ‘animal operations’ of 1,000 animals or less, the funding was $2 billion over 10 years, and the funds were split evenly between ‘animal producers’ and crop producers. The 2002 Farm Bill under G.W. Bush, and his new USDA, changed EQIP. Specifically, the 1,000-animal restriction was eliminated, so now even the largest animal operations can receive taxpayer EQIP funding, even ones breeding 50,000 animals a year. Bush’s new changes also allocated 60% of the funds specifically to livestock and poultry producers, instead of being split evenly with crop producers, and the funding was raised from $2 billion over 10 years, to $11 billion over 10 years.

that's from an article i wrote after my research, and there's a lot more enlightening data and specifics in the rest of the article. note, it's not "pro-dem", it just reveals what the facts are (.ie lesser of 2 evils sort of view)
http://www.veggieboards.com/boards/showthread.php?t=26423


For the current best recommendations on the best diets to reduce chances of cancer, diabetes, heart disease, and high blood pressure... at the bottom of my other page... http://www.helpusall.com/foodandhealth very enlightening

Jon

 

I didn't want that post to come across as discouraging...
I think it is liberating and encouraging, when we know how things work, and we know what are illusions. If you know the USDA is financially-biased by the animal-food industries, then you are liberated from trusting a group that's good to not trust.

When we learn not to trust some group, then we're freed to look for what sources we can trust. That'll lead to finding better sources, and having a better idea of what's accurate, and being better able to help ourselves and others

And the topic of food is encouraging also, because it is an where you can have such a deep impact on many things that matter... just with a simple choice. It directly helps our health, everything affected by air,water,soil quality, and the animals... the effects are so wide and deep.
And you can freely choose it once a week or every single day if you want to.

 

http://www.eatkind.net/inconvenient.htm

Another good site that talks about the disaesters our diets can wreck on the planet....