Action needed to avoid farming 'crisis': Organic farming, Less meat, More Veggie

UK Association calls for food plan. To ensure the availability of nutritious food for all people in the nation, the environmental group Soil Association has released a report calling for a cohesive approach that addresses both climate change and health. The Association has proposed a six-point action plan for the national government’s consideration that includes such practices as organic farming, sustainable energy use in farming, and consuming more fruits and vegetables and less meat.

Lord Peter Melchett - Policy Director, Soil Association runs 890-acre organic farm, Vegetarian
Lord Peter Melchett (m): We need to cut our meat consumption, increase fruit and vegetable consumption, increase the consumption of pulses and grains. The quicker we get on with it, the less painful it will be, the less damage we will do to the planet, and the changes we want to make are going to improve the quality of life. And we’ve got that power, we can change things and I think that’s exciting.

UK Soil Conference quotes for news pt 2 Professor Tim Lang - Professor of Food Policy at City University, Advisor to World Health Organisation 

Professor Tim Lang (m): Meat consumption globally needs to come down; the evidence seems to point to that unequivocally; animal production is going to have to come down.

Dr. Vandana Shiva - World renowned environmental activist and author, Vegetarian (Interview with  Dr. Vandana Shiva (f): Definitely an absolute phasing out of factory farming and a minimizing of meat eating.

VOICE: The United Kingdom’s Secretary of State Hilary Benn and European Parliament Member Caroline Lucas showed support for these new initiatives.

Rt. Honourable Hilary Benn - Secretary of State for Environment, Food and Rural Affairs, Vegetarian 
Rt. Honourable Hilary Benn (m): So meeting the goal which we all share, of affordable nutritious food available for all in a sustainable way, means that we can’t carry on as we have in the past.

Caroline Lucas - Leader of Green Party, European MEP, Vegetarian 
Caroline Lucas MEP (f): Unless we act immediately to radically reduce emissions, we face a bleak future. We need a policy to encourage people to eat less meat. The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization has calculated that world livestock production creates more greenhouse gases than all the world’s motor vehicles.

And we already know that feeding grain to animals and then eating meat is a pretty inefficient way of feeding ourselves. What we need is radical structural change, a different way of farming, a different kind of food system, and a very different kind of economic system.

VOICE: Our appreciation Soil Association for your constructive efforts to change the farming practices and diet of your nation. We also thank the United Kingdom’s government leaders for their wisdom in endorsing these vital endeavors. May people worldwide be inspired to implement similar plans of sustainable living.
 
Military Enlisted to Combat Climate Change and Ozone Layer Damage

International military to assist in preventing ozone depletion. To help countries safely dispose of ozone-damaging chemicals, the United Nations is sponsoring a partnership with the military personnel of Australia, the Netherlands and the United States. Over 90 percent of these chemicals have already been phased out of use globally, and so it is only existing devices that might contain them which need to be managed. The military personnel will thus assist in both collecting and advising for their safe disposal.

Kudos, United Nations, Australia, United States, Netherlands and all military personnel for your participation in this innovative program! We salute the true soldiers of peace in benefiting both people and the environment.

How global warming will become more dangerous

Climate change accelerated by warming soil. The journal Nature Geoscience has published findings from Canada’s Toronto University Scarborough scientists, who discovered that global warming alters the molecular structure of soil, causing it to discharge more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere. The higher CO2 levels increase the Earth’s temperature, causing the soil to release more of the greenhouse gas, and the cycle thus continues. The scientists warn of the carbon release implications for agriculture as well as accelerated warming in places like the Arctic. Researchers at Toronto University Scarborough, we thank you for this important study. Blessed be all caring actions to save our incredible planet.
 
Cameroon moves to protect rarest gorilla

Cameroonian park to protect the world’s rarest primate. With technical assistance from the US-based Wildlife Conservation Society, the Cameroonian government has established Takamanda National Park. This new area is being combined with Nigeria’s neighboring Cross River National Park to offer sanctuary to 115 of the rare Cross River gorillas. The expanded region will be cooperatively managed by both Cameroon and Nigeria.

We welcome your initiative, Cameroon, Nigeria, the Wildlife Conservation Society and all others, in creating this haven for the Cross River gorilla. We pray our closely-related co-inhabitants enjoy long, abundant lives through your benevolent care.