US research center urges adoption of vegetarianism, meaning an animal-free diet.

Dr. Hope Ferdowsian, Associate Director of the US-based Washington Center for Clinical Research, a subsidiary of the nonprofit vegan group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, has warned that people in the US are setting a harmful example to developing nations by following a largely meat-based diet. She stated that besides the adverse health effects, there are other risks as well. Dr. Ferdowsian said, “The world's population is projected to top 9 billion by the middle of this century. If the global community tries to provide each of those people with the 200 pounds of meat eaten by the average American each year, we will face economic and environmental disaster.”

Thank you, Dr. Ferdowsian, for sounding the alarm on this worrisome trend. We pray all people will quickly embrace a meat-less diet to ensure sufficient food and environment balance on our planet.

http://www.themonitor.com/opinion/food_11808___article.html/stream_brings.html

Mangrove forests are necessary buffers for natural disasters.
 
According to a new report by the Mangrove Action Project (MAP), the large-scale destruction of life and property by Cyclone Nagris in Myanmar could have been lessened through the conservation of the country’s mangrove forests, which had provided natural buffer zones along the coastlines of the Irawaddy Delta. During the last century, over 80% of Myanmar’s mangroves have been destroyed. Concerned about the region’s vulnerability to weather extremes due to global warming, MAP’s Executive Director Alfredo Quarto, said, “We must re-establish the mangrove buffer zones that previously protected people and property from storms and tsunamis.”
We gratefully thank you, Mr. Quarto and MAP, for this timely report. May we all take immediate action to restore Mother Nature’s perfect design.


Pesticide blamed for massive decline of German bee population. 

German beekeepers in the agriculturally rich Baden-Württemberg region are faced with the unexplained loss of hundreds of bees each day. Last weekend alone, thousands perished. Beekeepers believe that the widespread use of the new pesticide clothianidin is responsible. Fellow beekeepers and officials in France, Italy and the Netherlands have all noted similar declines, which some have stated is due to the pesticide’s use. Bees are an integral part of environmental health and in Germany alone, they pollinate 80 percent of the country’s crops.
We pray scientists and governments are able to quickly find a solution to save the bees. May farmers find earth-friendly pesticide alternatives to boost their crops while protecting our vital and treasured co-inhabitants.
http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,552556,00.html