NUTRISPEAK by Vesanto Melina

The documentary An Inconvenient Truth is superb. The film, featuring former US vice president Al Gore and his travelling show about global climate change, received a standing ovation at the Sundance Film Festival in 2006. The documentary does an outstanding job of presenting material in a manner that holds audiences spellbound, inviting the participation of mainstream North Americans in a way that is likely to get results.
While the documentary dramatically summarizes a mass of material about the plight of our dear planet Earth, and reveals how our actions create negative impact, it misses one inconvenient truth: the documentary fails to recognize the impact of dietary choices on global warming.
I have long been baffled by the fact that environmentalists have routinely disregarded dietary issues, and until three years ago, few articles linking food choices with climate change appeared in scientific publications. Is it because a truth that calls for a change in our daily eating habits hit too close to home?
As 2006 came to a close, the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) issued a report entitled Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options, which stated that cattle in the meat and dairy industries generate more global warming greenhouse gases than can be blamed on transportation and vehicle use combined.
According to Henning Steinfeld, chief of the livestock information and policy branch at FAO, and senior author of the report, “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.”
Livestock accounts for 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide, most of which is derived from the immense quantities of manure that is an essential by-product of raising livestock. This gas has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2.
Livestock industries are responsible for 37 percent of all human-induced methane, which is 23 times as warming as CO2. Methane is produced by the digestive system of ruminants – beef and dairy cattle and sheep – which also produce 64 percent of the ammonia, thereby contributing significantly to acid rain. Cattle-rearing is a major source of land and water degradation as well.
The UN report recognizes with optimism those consumers who are using their growing voice and spending power to exert pressure for change. *In this context, the report acknowledges trends toward organic food, sustainable agriculture, vegetarian diets and healthier eating habits.
While many Canadians are cutting back on meat, this is not representative of the trend worldwide. The UN report notes that, with increased prosperity, every year people consume more meat and dairy products globally. At current rates, global meat production is projected to more than double from 229 million tons between 1999 and 2001 to 465 million tons in 2050, and milk production is expected to increase from 580 million tons to one billion tons.
Of course, with these dietary changes, rates of cardiovascular disease, hypertension, colon cancer, hormone-related breast and prostate cancers, obesity and diabetes are also increasing in developing countries.

What can you do?

Start cutting back on meat and dairy products, if you haven’t already. Even if you don’t become entirely vegetarian, every plant-based meal is a vote of love for the planet. You’ll be doing future generations, and your own health, a huge favour. You can also join Earthsave Canada, a lively, local, non-profit organization that hosts regular dine-outs, dinners and educational events. (www.earthsave.ca) or 604-731-5885.

Vesanto Melina is a registered dietitian and consultant in Langley, BC. Her books Becoming Vegetarian (Melina and Davis, Wiley Canada) and Becoming Vegan (Davis and Melina, the Book Publishing Company) provide the foundation for a nutritionally-adequate, plant-based diet. Becoming Vegetarian also provides a core group of delicious and simple recipes. (www.nutrispeak.com) (vesanto@nutrispeak.com) 604-882-6782.

Resources:
1. An Inconvenient Truth: The DVD is available for purchase at (www.climatecrisis.net) or at your video store.
2. Livestock’s Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options (Steinfeld et al, 2006) Food and Agriculture Organization, United Nations. See the full report at (www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/A0701E00.pdf) (*See page 299.) View the executive summary at (www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/A0701E00.htm#sum).

Ed: Read part two of this article in the February issue of Common Ground.