Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler: A New York Times Article

Mark Bittman regularly writes about food for The New York Times, and his January 27 article focuses on the cheap and abundant availability of meat in the American diet, comparing it to a similar addiction for oil. Both meat and oil are subsidized commodities, he notes, and its wide availability is having some unfortunate effects.

He cites these statistics: "Americans eat about ... eight ounces [of meat] a day, roughly twice the global average. At about 5 percent of the world’s population, we “process” (that is, grow and kill) nearly 10 billion animals a year, more than 15 percent of the world’s total. Growing meat (it’s hard to use the word “raising” when applied to animals in factory farms) uses so many resources that it’s a challenge to enumerate them all. But consider: an estimated 30 percent of the earth’s icefree land is directly or indirectly involved in livestock production, according to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization, which also estimates that livestock production generates nearly a fifth of the world’s greenhouse gases — more than transportation."

Horrifyingly, with all the hunger in the world, he says, "the majority of corn and soy grown in the world feeds cattle, pigs and chickens." Deforestation, pollution, climate change, health problems for both people and the animals themselves ... all are factors that cry out for a change in how harmful our food system has become.

He concludes: "Perhaps the best hope for change lies in consumers’ becoming aware of the true costs of industrial meat production."

Read the complete article here.

Declining Biodiversity in Cattle

In a recent article in The New York Times by Andrew Rice, we read about a breed of longhorns known as the Ankole with traits suited to the hilly grasslands of western Uganda. Yet, they are being replaced by Holsteins. Rice writes, "Indigenous animals like East Africa’s sinewy Ankole, the product of centuries of selection for traits adapted to harsh conditions, are struggling to compete with foreign imports bred for maximal production. This worries some scientists. The world’s food supply is increasingly dependent on a small and narrowing list of highly engineered breeds: the Holstein, the Large White pig and the Rhode Island Red and Leghorn chickens. There’s a risk that future diseases could ravage these homogeneous animal populations. Poor countries, which possess much of the world’s vanishing biodiversity, may also be discarding breeds that possess undiscovered genetic advantages."

Read the entire article here.

Expensive Oil? It's the Cow's Fault

Super-spook R. James Woolsey, former director of the CIA and now a vice president with Booz Allen Hamilton, argues that our dependence on Middle Eastern oil is a national security concern. In a satirical piece, Woolsey imagines a conference call between the nations of OPEC and the lobbyists of Washington, D.C.'s K Street. He explains, "[OPEC's] greatest fear is that the United States will become oil-independent -- and they're concerned that the crunchy types' campaign to feed cows grass rather than corn could mean not only a healthier America but one less dependent on OPEC."

Read the entire article by clicking here.

Jared Diamond on the Consumption Factor

Jared M. Diamond, professor at UCLA and author of the best sellers Guns, Germs, and Steel and Collapse, asks in a January 2 Op-Ed piece for the New York Times, "What's Your Consumption Factor?"

He writes, "The average rates at which people consume resources like oil and metals, and produce wastes like plastics and greenhouse gases, are about 32 times higher in North America, Western Europe, Japan and Australia than they are in the developing world. That factor of 32 has big consequences."

This level of consumption cannot be maintained, he writes, as our world resources dwindle and as people in developing countries strive to adopt our high-consumption lifestyle. What is the answer?

"Willingly or not, we shall soon have lower consumption rates, because our present rates are unsustainable. Real sacrifice wouldn’t be required, however, because living standards are not tightly coupled to consumption rates. Much American consumption is wasteful and contributes little or nothing to quality of life."

Read the entire editorial.

Corn As a Fuel Having Serious Side Effects

Ethanol, a fuel made from corn, is playing a significant role in our nation's energy policy, and the growth of corn-based ethanol production raises serious questions about its impact on the environment. It takes 1.2 gallons of fossil fuel to produce 1 gallon of ethanol from corn (including the use of fossil fuels for fertilizer, tractor fuel, ethanol plant operation, among other factors). Run-off from all that fertilizer is having a serious impact.

A recent article by the Associated Press reports:

"Because of rising demand for ethanol, American farmers are growing more corn than at any time since the Depression. And sea life in the Gulf of Mexico is paying the price. The nation's corn crop is fertilized with millions of pounds of nitrogen-based fertilizer. And when that nitrogen runs off fields in Corn Belt states, it makes its way to the Mississippi River and eventually pours into the Gulf, where it contributes to a growing "dead zone" a 7,900-square-mile patch so depleted of oxygen that fish, crabs and shrimp suffocate."

Read the complete article.

Sally Fallon's Books & Blogs

We recommend another author for you to read. Sally Fallon advocates returning to a traditional diet, advising that animal fats are not necessarily the enemy, as the "Diet Dictocrats" want us all to believe. She supports organic and biodynamic farming and pasture-feeding of livestock, as you can read in her blog entry, "Splendor From the Grass ."

Sally is co-author with Mary G. Enig of Eat Fat, Lose Fat and Nourishing Traditions: The Cookbook that Challenges Politically Correct Nutrition and the Diet Dictocrats.

Book Review: The Art of Simple Food by Alice Waters

Alice Waters is likely more responsible than anyone for the revolution in the way Americans eat, cook, and think about food. She was named the most influential figure in the past 30 years of the American kitchen by Gourmet magazine, and she has “single-handedly chang[ed] the American palate” according to the New York Times. Her simple but inventive dishes focus on a passion for flavor and a reverence for locally produced, seasonal foods.

With an essential repertoire of timeless, approachable recipes chosen to enhance and showcase great ingredients, The Art of Simple Food is an indispensable resource for home cooks. Here you will find Alice’s philosophy on everything from stocking your kitchen, to mastering fundamentals and preparing delicious, seasonal inspired meals all year long. Always true to her philosophy that a perfect meal is one that’s balanced in texture, color, and flavor, Waters helps us embrace the seasons’ bounty and make the best choices when selecting ingredients. Fill your market basket with pristine produce, healthful grains, and responsibly raised meat, poultry, and seafood, then embark on a voyage of culinary rediscovery that reminds us that the most gratifying dish is often the least complex. All of her beef recipes specify grass-fed beef.

She is the owner of Chez Panisse restaurant and the author of nine cookbooks.

Grass-Fed? Not Without Grass
An article from the Washington Post

Farmers trying to build a grass-fed cattle business are facing unprecedented drought conditions, especially in the southeast. The Washington Post reports, "Since 2000, the number of grass-fed beef producers has soared from 50 to more than 1,000 to meet growing consumer demand. But the Southeast's "exceptional" drought -- the kind that comes around only once or twice every 100 years -- and extreme weather elsewhere are crippling many in the new generation of cattle ranchers. Just when ranchers should be cashing in, weather conditions have delayed production, slashed profits and slowed grass-fed beef's move into the mainstream."

Read the article here:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/10/16/AR2007101600385.html