Those who care about animals and the planet will love Dr. Patrice Green's op-ed in the Thursday, July 19, Baltimore Sun, headed, "Save the Planet with a Vegetarian Diet." (p15a)
She tells us that "most people are neglecting one of the most important steps toward stopping global warming: adopting a vegetarian diet."
We read:
"Animal agriculture, a major source of water pollution and deforestation, has become one of the biggest culprits in global warming. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations released a report this year showing that farmed animals are a top contributor to today's serious environmental problems, including greenhouse gases.
"The report found that livestock produced 35 percent to 40 percent of all methane emissions (which have 23 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide), 65 percent of nitrous oxide (which is 320 times as warming as carbon dioxide) and 64 percent of ammonia, which contributes to acid rain.
"Nearly 30 percent of the Earth's land surface is used for grazing animals, and that number is expected to increase with the global livestock sector growing faster than any other agricultural subsector. That's because in almost every region of the world, consumption of animal products is on the rise.
"This trend has another disturbing consequence. The global increase in meat consumption has caused rates of obesity, diabetes, heart disease and other diet-related illnesses to soar."
She writes about how easy it is to go veg, and about the terrific health improvements she sees when people in her practice change their diets.
You'll find the article on line at: http://tinyurl.com/38xct6
It will take you just a moment to go to that link, scroll down the page, and give the story a five star rating. Please do!
You can also post a comment. Those doing wonderfully on veggie diets should also consider quick letters to the editor to keep this discussion alive on the editorial page. The Baltimore Sun takes letters at letters@baltsun.com and advises, "Be sure to include contact information, including your full name and both day and evening phone numbers."
Yours and the animals',
Karen Dawn
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You may forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwards DawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signing up. It is free.)
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Date: Thu Jul 19 19:29:51 2007
