America’s Unsustainable “Diet!”
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America’sUnsustainable “Diet!”
Where do you get your protein? According to the NewYork Times, roughly 70 percent of American protein requirements are obtainedthrough the consumption of meat. The Chinese, on the other hand, consumeroughly 20 percent. Diets high in meat protein are linked to many chronichealth problems. These problems include: diabetes, heart disease, stroke,obesity, and many types of cancers (to list a few).
Didyou know?
- Did you know it takes protein to makeprotein?
- It’s true; the American diet isliterally “robbing from Peter to pay Paul!”
- This is why more than 70 percent of thegrain and cereals that we grow in this country are fed to farmed animals(PETA).
- The practice is also largely ineffectiveand produces food shortages throughout the world.
- “It takes up to 16 pounds of grain toproduce just 1 pound of meat, and even fish on fish farms must be fed up to 5pounds of wild-caught fish to produce 1 pound of farmed fish flesh” (PETA).
- “It takes more than 11 times as muchfossil fuel to make one calorie from animal protein as it does to make onecalorie from plant protein” (PETA).
- According to World Hunger: “Protein-energy malnutrition (PEM) isthe most lethal form of malnutrition/hunger. It is basically a lack of caloriesand protein. Food is converted into energy by humans, and the energy containedin food is measured by calories. Protein is necessary for key bodyfunctions including provision of essential amino acids and development andmaintenance of muscles.”
- “Every year 15 million children die ofhunger” (World Hunger).
- Basically, one third of the world isstarving. Meanwhile, the United States is using fossil fuels, and other finiteresources to maintain an unsustainable diet. Our agricultural industry is usingroughly 16 pounds of grain to produce 1 pound of meat.
- In 2007, the worlds gross meat supply(poultry, pork, fish, cows, etc) was “estimated to be 284 million tons” (NYTimes). This means that in 2007 the world’s agricultural industry spent roughly908,800,000 pounds of grain and cereal or 454,400,000 tons to produce the meatwe are eating! I assume that 454,400,000 tons of grain would go a long way toeliminating hunger worldwide.
OtherProblems.
- “According to Greenpeace, all the wildanimals and trees in more than 2.9 million acres of the Amazon rain forest inBrazil were destroyed in the 2004-2005 crop season in order to grow crops thatare used to feed chickens and other animals in factory farms.”
- Industrialized farming is not only usingvital resources, but it is also a major contributor of Carbon Dioxide in theatmosphere and other Greenhouse gasses.
- In addition, According to theEnvironmental Protection Agency (EPA), “the runoff from factory farms pollutesour waterways more than all other industrial sources combined.”
- There is literally hundreds of millionsof tons of feces polluting our waterways and cities worldwide due to meatfarming.
- According to Oregon State Universityagriculture professor Peter Cheeke, factory farming constitutes "a frontalassault on the environment, with massive groundwater and air pollutionproblems." This translates into roughly “89,000 pounds per second” ofuntreated fecal contaminants.
- You may be asking yourself, where do wego from here, and how can I make a difference.
- The answer is as complex as it is simple.We live in a market based economy. Where there is demand there is supply.Therefore, we must cut out dependence on meat based protein. I am just likeanyone, I enjoy the occasional steak; but is it worth the consequences? Youdon’t have to cut meat out of your diet (as it is a good source of completeprotein); you just need to cut you percentage of calories obtained from meat.
- If we truly cut our dependence on meatbased protein from 70 percent to roughly 20 (the Chinese target) of our diet,think of how much good we could do worldwide. We could literally eliminateworldwide hunger, lower greenhouse gas emissions, create an abundance of toxinfree drinking water, and stabilize our economy by lowering our dependence onforeign oils and unneeded health care costs.
- The solution to America’s UnsustainableDiet is not a one size fits all solution. Sensible varied diets, responsiblechoices, and a ground up restructuring of our agricultural industry all musthappen. I believe that with enough vision, collaboration, and courage we canmake a difference. I believe in the power of US! Do you?
References
Bittman, Mark."Re-Thinking the Meat-Guzzler." The New York Times - Breaking News,World News. The New York Times, 27 Jan. 2007. Web. 3 Feb. 2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?pagewanted=all>.
Brody, Jane E."Huge Study Of Diet Indicts Fat And Meat - New York Times." TheNew York Times - Breaking News, World News & Multimedia. Web. 03 Feb.2012. <http://www.nytimes.com/1990/05/08/science/huge-study-of-diet-indicts-fat-and-meat.html?pagewanted=all>.
"MeatProduction Wastes Natural Resources | PETA.org." People for the EthicalTreatment of Animals (PETA): The Animal Rights Organization | PETA.org.People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals. Web. 03 Feb. 2012.<http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/meat-wastes-natural-resources.aspx>.
"WorldwideHunger." An End to World Hunger: Hope for the Future. Think Tank.Web. 03 Feb. 2012. <http://library.thinkquest.org/C002291/high/present/stats.htm>.
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