Also with regards to the methane emitted by humans vs ruminants like cattle, there was a show on BBC called “Ethical Man Goes Vegan” where the reporter went vegan for a month. As part of the show, he interviewed an expert on the matter who was studying how to bring down methane in cattle. The man assured him cattle give off about 500 ml of methane each day, whereas the average human gives off about 0.5.

We also have to consider water. Across the globe scientists are predicting massive droughts. Here in the west, they are predicting lake mead and lake powell are liklye to be dry by 2021 and that the Colorado River which feeds them will not have enough water to meet its contractual obligations by 2012. This could tip off a resource war like we see in third world countries. On my parents ranch, my brother has already been chased by a man (a nieghbor) weilding a pitch fork when my brother found him syphoning water off the hay meadows. And my brother tells me that it takes up to 12 times their water rights to grow the hay for their “sustainably grown, grass fed cattle.” And they have — relatively speaking — excellent water rights.

“Saving Water from Field to Fork” tells us that 70 percent of water use is agriculture and vegetarian diets are far more efficient. Univ of Calif at Davis report called Water Inputs to California Agriculture made to the Water Education Board found that one serving of beef uses 1200 gallons of water to grow, one serving of chicken used 330, and one complete, nutritionally balanced vegan meal of grains, beans and two vegetables used only 98 gallons of water.

And if that is not enough to convince you you need to start cutting back on the meat, consider that according to the UN FAO, of the 2 billion tons of grains being grown during the 2008 season, 1 billion will be fed directly to humans, 100 million (5%) will be used for biofuel, and 760 million tons will be fed to animals. Since it takes around pounds of grains (more or less depending upon climate) to grow one pound of beef, 5 pounds for one pound of pork/ham and 2 to grown one pound of chicken, it is highly inefficient to feed the food to animals when there are people starving in the world.

30 years ago we thought if we wanted to smoke, it was our right, our choice. Today we realize that one individual’s right to smoke ends and another individuals right to health and right to avoid second hand smoke.

I believe we are at the place where our right to eat meat needs to end — where it puts competitive prices on grains so that the poor cannot afford to compete for grain with the rich who feed the grain to their animals, and where it takes away from society’s ability to have clean water and where it threatens to destroy our ability to live on the planet. That time is now.

The Times of India may have discovered the source of the problem.
http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/HealthSci/Eating_veggies_shrinks_the_brain/articleshow/3480629.cms

Something is not right here.

Also point 5: Might I suggest the Karl Radek solution: “Of course I support the multiparty system. One party in power, the other parties in jail.”

Yes, but it’s big hit is muttonburgers. (Yech!)

OTOH, I avoid fast food in general and McD. in particular. (But that’s my choice.)

[insert grave nod here} Ahh, I see. Thank you.

Well, he did also say it would take him 6 lifetimes to reduce his carbon footprint to what it should be. An interesting thought that. I wonder if he will come back as some kind of plant. I can’t see him coming back as another tranzi beauracrat and having any hope whatsoever of reducing his CO2 footprint. But I wish him luck. Hopefully he’ll get started on his next life soon so we can all see if it works.

I don’t believe in reincarnation myself, so I guess I am stuck with the bad karma of having an oversized footprint. *sigh* Oh well.

No, not cows! I speak of trans-national beauracrats (aka tranzis) of course. We could really save the planet by stopping up both ends of those people!

The ideas that I outline are not new. Nor are they my own – enlightened environmentalists have been discussing these concepts for many years. We in the environmental community have been making incremental progress in enacting this agenda. But, given the magnitude of the problem and the erosion of the political will, it is necessary to accelerate the implementation of this plan. Please join me in enacting this urgent plan before it is too late.

You first.

My proposal, rid the planet of environmentalists.