Shun meat, says UN climate chief

[Andy Hunt]

Hear hear! Ban cake and chocolate!

I think you might run into some opposition with that idea . . .

[JonB]

I'll give up meat when they ban flying and cars.

I'm not waiting till then. Not while there's worse things around that you can blame on dead animals and silly people.

Vegan/vegetarianism does not protect you from food bourne disease
(Been in that game a long time). The conditions for pathogenic growth are well understood and there are just as many issues with non-meat products.


Botulism

Last botulinum death in the UK was from mushrooms preserved in oil.

BSE

Arguably UK food chain is safest in the world on this now. We spend a lot of effort on it.

Listeria

Salad materials and soft cheese 2 most common sources

Salmonella

Poultry commonest, but beansprouts put in a good showing

e. coli

unpasteurised apple juice was a winner in the states.
any manured soil is a potential source

Clostridium perfringens

in the soil. Can get into anything.

Alimentary toxic aleukia

?

Campylobacter

poultry major issue, granted, but unpasteurised dairy products
put in a good showing. .

Staph

Any food handled by people stored poorly.

Trichinosis

Don't eat raw horse.

etc
etc

Bacteria are true democrats. They don't care who they kill.

[rushdy]

I'm just not convinced it's possible to really thrive without some animal products as part of your diet.

Oh. That's told me, hasn't it?

I've got nothing at all against vegetarianism/veganism, after all we're all trying to solve the same problem of what human beings really do well on. It just happens that's the conclusion I've come to. The important thing is really taking an interest in what you eat and trying to improve it. Not everyone does that.

On the subject of sugar though. It's perfectly possible to enjoy your food without it, although as it is an addictive substance isn't it strange that all the things people love so much are chock full of it? Chocolate in its present form is totally removed from the cocoa based drinks of the Mayans. Cake too is quite a recent invention and prior to the introduction of refined sugar would have been very different. A bit of raw honey will actually do you a lot of good, the same can't be said of sugar. As an experiment - try looking at the labels of food you buy. It really is in everything, they put it in bread, cereal, soup, bacon, sausages, even cigarettes. Lovely.

[Mark]

For me its quite simple - humans are naturally omivores.
That is why God/evolution gave us pointy canine teeth.

The vast majority of the global population will always want to eat some meat in their diet, regardless of mostly Western vegetarianism & veganism. Look at China - the first thing the population wants to do with greater disposable income is eat more meat.

The problem lies with mass production & transport of food (meat & vegetables) to feed 6.7 billion people.

Which is worse for the environment / climate - a locally reared organic chicken or the equivalent weight of green beans flown in from Kenya, grown on deforested land and drenched in artificial fertilizers & pesticides ?

All you can do is become more informed and control what you buy/grow/eat as an individual.