I’ve come to the conclusion that, there’s no way the affluent of the world are going to drastically change the content of their diet, not for their own health’s sake, not for the environment and least of all for ethic’s sake. David Suzuki eats meat for heaven’s sake! Al Gore eats meat! So, how are the rest of us, who are far less passionate of a cause going to change our diets for environmental reasons?

The solution, I believe, is that those of us who are not third world people should switch to organic, local, free range, grass fed food. Many vegans would not agree. As I went from vegan to vegetarian again, I’ve been making the switch to organic foods, and it’s a lot less restrictive, and the quality of food is much better. With a little research I’ve found local farms that sell organic, free range eggs and dairy products. These farms are what farms were like before agribusiness turned meat, eggs and dairy production into a house of horrors. I believe, I’m doing a lot more for animals if I chose to support these idealic farms.

I think the Slow Food movement is onto a lot of good ideas for society. Thanks Peter, and Roz for your responses! I feel we aren’t a lost cause anymore. There is hope.

As with so many things, I think it’s a question of balance. Many of the problems have arisen because there are so many of us, and because we have gone to such extreme measures to create and protect our food supply, by using chemical fertilizers and poisoning our competitors (insects, grubs, rodents, etc.).

One of the books that has most influenced me in this area is “Ishmael” – a fascinating perspective on man’s role in the intricate web of life – what it is compared with what it was designed to be. I was going to say it changed my view of the world, but in fact I think it would be more accurate to say it reminded me of what I already knew on some more intuitive level. A very worthwhile read and highly recommended.

And a happy New Year to you too!

Best wishes in 2009!

Any research into English land use will show precisely why some animals were bred for food: not all land is arable. We can’t simply plow it all into wheatfields. There are a lot of meadows which are best served as pasturage. There are also low woodlands, and non-arable areas of farms upon which chickens, goats, pigs and other meat animals can be kept.

Domesday survey talks repeatedly about keeping pigs in the woodlands. They would root around for their own food, and, then be slaughtered. Yet grazing is far better use then cutting down the woods to make more plowable acres.

If we plowed the whole world and made it into a large wheatfield (or beanfield, etc.) we’d destroy a tremendous amount of the ecosystem in a wholly different way. Plus, much of that would be unsustainable because of underlying soil conditions. We’d have to ship in fertilizer. i.e., we’d either need artificial nitrates, or a lot of animal poop.

Hence the crop rotation, to allow some to go fallow, to be fertilized naturally, and then plow on the second or third fields while the other land recovers.

Many farms in poor soil areas will grow short grasses, which are fine for animal grazing, but are unsuitable for crops.

There was a great study done in 2007 about the difference between a low-fat vegetarian diet and also, one with a bit of dairy and limited meat. Surprisingly, the dairy and limited meat won out in terms of “efficiency”:

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2007/10/071008130203.htm

While it would be great to pull in 100 bushels of grain from every acre put to plow, we must face the facts that not all of the earth is capable of sustaining that sort of output. And the various agricultural tricks we try to pull to keep highly efficient output also imbalances the system.

We can learn a lot from the practices of Domesday and beyond. A few chickens, goats and cows make sense now and then.

Note: this is purely a “human footprint” analysis, and does not address the ethics of eating other beings, plants or animals.

We are none of us perfect – there is always more that we could do. I have significantly reduced the amount of animal protein that I eat, but I find it too hard to sustain my training programme and rowing for 12 hours a day on a purely veggie diet. It just doesn’t work for me.

And just to put it in perspective, I don’t think that my personal dietary preferences are grounds for your fears that the entire planet is “a lost cause”. I am actually very optimistic – yes, we face an enormous challenge, but there are many signs that we are equal to that challenge IF we put our collective mind to it – and soon.