Greetings
thoughtful viewers.
As the season of spring
approaches on March 20,
it is a great time for us to
re-examine our lifestyles,
and commit to making
necessary changes for
the betterment of the Earth.
Often giving us
a starting point
to reconsider
the choices we make
is the news media.
Today’s selection
of media reports shows us
how our individual diet
is linked to global
environmental degradation,
and what some people
are doing about it.
The recent analysis
by Dr. Robert Goodland,
former World Bank Group
lead environmental
advisor, and Jeff Anhang,
research officer and
environmental specialist
for the World Bank Group,
finds that livestock
and their byproducts
account for at least half
of all human-made
greenhouse gases.
Their discovery
is detailed in the article,
“Livestock and
Climate Change,”
published in
the November/December
2009 issue of
World Watch Magazine,
a periodical magazine of
the renowned environmental
research group,
the Worldwatch Institute.
“…our analysis shows
that livestock and
their byproducts
actually account for
at least 32,564 million tons
of CO2 equivalents
per year, or 51 percent
of annual worldwide
GHG emissions.
This is a strong claim that
requires strong evidence,
so we will thoroughly
review the direct
and indirect sources
of GHG emissions
from livestock.
Some of these are obvious
but underestimated, some
are simply overlooked,
and some are
emissions sources
that are already counted
but have been assigned
to the wrong sectors.
Data on livestock
vary from place to place
and are affected by
unavoidable imprecision;
where it was impossible
to avoid imprecision
in estimating any sum
of GHGs, we strove
to minimize the sum
so our overall estimate
could be understood
as conservative.”
The areas that are
not previously considered
and updated include
the lifecycle emissions
of farmed fish production,
CO2 from
animal respirations, and
an actual corrected tally
that resulted in
a more than doubling
of the reported number
of livestock animals
on the planet.
Moreover, livestock’s
methane emissions
were factored in
as being 72 times
more heat-trapping
in the atmosphere
than CO2,
instead of 23 times
the warming potential
as previously calculated.
In the article,
the authors also suggest
that people replace
livestock products
with plant-based fare,
or analogs.
This will result in
“quick reductions
in atmospheric GHGs,”
along with
many other benefits.
“Meat and dairy analog
projects will not only
slow climate change
but also help ease
the global food crisis,
as it takes a much smaller
quantity of crops
to produce any given
number of calories
in the form of an analog
than a livestock product.
Analogs would also
alleviate
the global water crisis,
as the huge amounts
of water necessary
for livestock production
would be freed up.
Health and nutritional
outcomes among consumers
would be better than
from livestock products.”
Today, animal farm
pollution has surpassed
human-made chemicals
as a destroyer of the air
and waterways.
Besides adding overly
concentrated amounts
of nitrates which
throw off the balance
of river ecosystems,
they exude antiobiotics,
hormones, and
harmful bacteria.
In a recent article titled,
“Manure becomes pollutant
as its volume
grows unmanageable,”
Washington Post
staff writer
David A. Fahrenthold
assesses the problem
of farm animal waste.
“Animal manure,
a byproduct
as old as agriculture,
has become an unlikely
modern pollution problem,
scientists and
environmentalists say.
The country simply
has more dung
than it can handle:
Crowded together at
a new breed of megafarms,
livestock produce
three times as much waste
as people, more than
can be recycled as fertilizer
for nearby fields.
That excess manure
gives off air pollutants,
and it is the country's
fastest-growing
large source of methane,
a greenhouse gas.
And it washes down
with the rain,
helping to cause
the 230 oxygen-deprived
"dead zones"
that have proliferated
along the U.S. coast.
In the Chesapeake Bay,
about one-fourth
of the pollution
that leads to dead zones
can be traced to
the back ends of cows,
pigs, chickens and turkeys.”
“And it can give off
a smell like a punch
to the stomach.
“You have to cover
your face just to go from
the house to the car,”
said Lynn Henning, 52,
a farmer in rural Clayton,
Mich., who said
she became an environmental
activist after fumes
from huge new dairies
gave her family headaches
and burning sinuses.
The way that modern
megafarms produce it,
Henning said, “Manure is
no longer manure.
Manure is
a toxic waste now.”
According to
many researchers,
reducing animal products
in the diet is
imperative to preventing
further catastrophe
in terms of the climate
and the environment
we depend on to live.
There are some still
who have concluded
that adopting
a plant-based diet is
the most effective solution.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television.
We’ll be right back
with media reports
on the vibrant activities
by different groups and
individuals promoting
the planet-saving veg diet.
Welcome back to today’s
program highlighting
mainstream media coverage
on the increasing
public awareness
of the vegan lifestyle
as a key to the health
and survival of humans
and the planet.
Regarding the efforts
in promoting
the meatless diet, the city
of Ghent in Belgium
is one of the pioneers.
It is the first municipality
of the world to introduce
a weekly Veggie Day.
Following Ghent’s example,
the cities of Hasselt
and Mechelen in Belgium
have also designated
every Thursday
as a veggie day.
In German, the city
of Bremen introduces
“Veggie Thursday”
in January 2010.
On the other hand,
Sao Paulo, Brazil,
Tel Aviv, Israel,
the Baltimore
Public Schools, USA,
and many government
agencies and schools
in Formosa (Taiwan)
have joined
the Meatless Monday
initiative, which is
first proposed by
the USA institute,
John Hopkins’
Bloomberg School
of Public Health.
The US’ Massachusetts City
and New York City’s
schools are also
on their way in realizing
this laudable objective.
In the article, “Diet Change:
Save the Planet
With Meatless Mondays,”
published by
The Huffington Post,
Joshua Rosenthal,
founder of the Institute
for Integrative Nutrition,
USA, encourages
every major school system
to join the trend.
“If every major school
system in the country
adopted Meatless Mondays,
with the children
enjoying local produce
of a plant-based variety,
the progress
would be tremendous.
If every family then
extended that commitment
to their dinner table,
we could see the impact
of a movement
on our health,
the health of our children
and the environment.
The possibilities
are endless!”
The Meatless Monday
Campaign
has been supported
by an impressive list
of celebrities.
Just recently
British music executive
and television producer
Simon Cowell agreed to
give up meat once a week
to answer the call
of Leona Lewis, a longtime
vegetarian pop star.
Meanwhile,
another vegan singer,
Long Kuan, and other
Chinese popular celebrities
produced a short
environmental film called
“Please Be Veg
on Monday”
to raise public awareness
on the urgency
of planetary warming
and the emissions impact
of livestock.
Moreover,
the former Beatles,
Sir Paul McCartney,
an enthusiastic advocate
of animal rights and
the Meatless Monday
Campaign,
brought his message
to the hearing
“Less Meat=Less Heat”
of the European Parliament.
Sean Stoweel gave it
a full report in the show
“Macca: Eat less meat
to cut CO2” on BBC One.
“On the eve of the
Copenhagen world summit
on climate change,
Sir Paul took
his meat-free message to
the European Parliament
after being invited there
by Yorkshire MEP
Edward McMillan Scott.
Sir Paul's campaign,
backed by
Mr McMillan Scott,
claims one day’s
less meat-eating a week
could have a major impact
on efforts
to cut CO2 emissions.”
“Sir Paul said gases
released today from cows
‘belching’ methane
would be ‘degrading’ the
climate for decades to come:
‘People are confused
about what they can do –
they can try
one meat-free day a week.
It’s kind of interesting
once you get into it.’”
Recently, Mr. Grant Butler,
a food and arts writer
for The Oregonian,
the largest newspaper
in the Pacific Northwest
region of the USA,
decided to adopt a vegan
diet for the entire month
of February.
He chronicled
his experience, inviting
readers to follow him
on his engaging
and informative blog
and on Twitter.
The title of his first entry
was “Going vegan:
A lifelong carnivore
gives up meat, eggs, dairy.”
“It's a greener way to eat.
All of the good intentions
of recycling newspapers
and hauling reusable
bags to the grocery store
don't amount to much
if I continue to eat
in an unsustainable way.
While attending last fall's
Veg Fest,
a fantastic annual event
celebrating all things
vegan, ‘compassion’ and
‘kindness’ were buzzwords.
These are values I
aspire to in other aspects
of my life, so why not
embrace them in the way
I eat?”
Through the month,
Mr. Butler,
an experienced cook himself,
recommended resources,
places to dine out,
products, and tips
for his readers.
By the third week,
he noted significant
physical benefits,
including better sleep,
more energy,
and weight loss
reaching 12 pounds.
“I continue to
physically feel great, and
I have so much energy
that I'm not needing
that afternoon coffee
or diet cola fix
to get through the day.
The weight is cascading
off of me like water
over Niagara Falls.”
At the end
of his vegan trial month
on March 1,
The Oregonian journalist
wrote a new entry.
The following are excerpts
from “Staying vegan:
After a month
of plant-based eating,
the adventure continues.”
“With a turn
of the calendar page,
my official month
as a vegan is over.
But don't expect to see me
bursting through
the doors of a steakhouse
tonight or tossing
a pound of bacon
into my grocery cart
any time soon.
I'm sticking with it.”
“The best thing about
my vegan exploration,
though, has been the
dialogue that's developed
directly with Portlanders,
and through the miracle
of the Internet, with vegans
around the globe.
I never expected to get tips
and encouraging words
from readers as far away
as Melbourne, Cape Town
and Kuala Lumpur.
It's great to know
there are so many people
out there who are
concerned about
animal welfare
and the environment.”
“It's a conversation that
will remain ongoing…
I'll share the tips
and insights I pick up.
In the meantime,
look for upcoming stories
on vegan fashion,
and more restaurant
and cart discoveries.”
We deeply appreciate all
journalists, media groups,
and others worldwide
for doing your part
to inform people
about the vital message
of being veg
for our planetary survival
and families’ well-being.
May we all heed the call
and embrace the healthy,
compassionate, and
sustainable vegan diet.
Thank you,
gracious viewers,
for your company today.
Please stay tuned
to Supreme Master
Television
for Words of Wisdom,
coming up
after Noteworthy News.
Blessed be your wise deeds
and considerate hearts.
You can read
the full articles
cited in today’s program
for free online:
Greetings thoughtful viewers. As the season of spring approaches on March 20, it is a great time for us to re-examine our lifestyles, and commit to making necessary changes for the betterment of the Earth. Often giving us a starting point to reconsider the choices we make is the news media.
Today’s selection of media reports shows us how our individual diet is linked to global environmental degradation, and what some people are doing about it.
The recent analysis by Dr. Robert Goodland, former World Bank Group lead environmental advisor, and Jeff Anhang, research officer and environmental specialist for the World Bank Group, finds that livestock and their byproducts account for at least half of all human-made greenhouse gases. Their discovery is detailed in the article, “Livestock and Climate Change,” published in the November/December 2009 issue of World Watch Magazine, a periodical magazine of the renowned environmental research group, the Worldwatch Institute.