Eating ecologically and ethically

[Corey]

Sorry don't watch Internet video too energy intensive. OK what food can be found locally from North central USA that can substitute that is relatively priced as meat?

Is there a text version? I am open minded so long as it will help re balance the Ecosystem. And the total cost is not to high such as bio fuel and biomass fuels.

[Cerberus]

Hi Corey, thanks for being so open-minded. This link explains things fairly briefly:

PCRM--Health--The Protein Myth

Protein deficiency is extremely rare, and generally only seen in extremely poor countries where starvation is the issue.

Generally if you focus on eating whole grain foods (less processing, higher nutritional content) like wholegrain breads, pasta, brown rice, beans, nuts, eat a little tofu or other soy products like TVP (which makes great addition to stews together with lentils, peas, carrots etc and some type of soy sauce or even Braggs Aminos for flavour) you will fill yourself up easily. It is far cheaper to eat plant-based protein if you keep it simple. Also make sure you include fresh fruit and vegetables, lots of them. I notice you said this was hard to get where you live.. are there any local markets? Asian grocery stores often have good quality produce and are often cheaper than supermarkets. A wide variety of whole fresh foods is the key to good nutrition.

The beauty of eating like this is you bypass the entire recycling of these foods through the meat industry, thus saving a whole production step. Whatsmore, so much of the grain industry presently used to feed livestock could be used to feed people instead. In the US, some 70-80% of grain produced goes to feed livestock. Imagine how well that could be utilised to feed the starving millions. In Australia, that figure is around 60%, but we don't have the massive feedlot systems that the US has... yet, but they are on the increase, particularly to supply the export industry to countries like Japan.

Second hand bookstores can be a good place to find books for info. There is heaps of info on the net too, and recipes etc.

Here is an excerpt from the book.. the Introduction:

http://www.thechinastudy.com/PDFs/Ch...dy_Excerpt.pdf

Here is a brochure you can download that gives a good overview of eating healthy plant based foods:

http://www.veganoutreach.org/guide/gce.pdf

[Bowman]

Surely it should just come down to eating a balanced diet and taking full personal responsibility for the sustainability of your diet? The way it's farmed/caught, the way it's processed, the way it's transported, the way it's packaged, the way it's sold, the way it's cooked, even the way you wash the dishes.

[Corey]

We do have Asian foods the problem from here is that the bulk of it is shipped from over seas and I have personally encountered expensive wild type rice to be contaminated with mold and unfit for consumption. Not only that too many miles involved. I am smack dab in the middle of the corn/wheat belt USA. I do get most of my produce from the farmers market and I try to get it from the Hmong, Asians, and Cambodians. I been tempted to say to them to up there prices a little since they are selling at about 1/2 of the white counterparts. They put in just as much effort and more in some cases. I only think it is fair they get what they put into producing it.(They use a lot more hand labor without all of the oil using equipment that others use, which is a big plus.)
I have been kind of eating as you describe its the lack of variety that gets me so been resorting to cold cut turkey and keeping it to 1 serving or less per meal.
I have cut milk to 1/4-1/3 fat free cheese but in limit because its expensive income keeps it in check. I rarely eat eggs.
I been working a general supplement in just to be safe. One bottle will last me 1 year or more so I think the energy intensiveness of producing it is worth while to a point.
been eating a lot of whole grain bulk lately fave is 1/2 cup oatmeal, 1/3 cup of 7 grain hot cereal, which has flax in it(which is ground at a mill somewhere in the USA), some dried apple some shredded unsweetened coconut, few died blue berry, 2 or 3 types of raisin, and little pecan or walnut. I refuse to eat almond because of the mono farming practice and the toll it is taking on our honey bee populations.

Bowman I do for I only get 834$ per month after rent of 240+phone of 28 the rest been going to food. I have about 100$ left each month which is saved in case of bike breakdowns or such.

[Cerberus]

Corey, that grain mixture sounds great and very wholesome.

As far as Asian grocers being cheaper for fresh produce, I think they are supporting their own community by keeping food at a realistic price. The Asians who live around here have little home market gardens for their greens and such, and I think that is why they seem to be able to sell so cheaply. As far as rice goes, I eat very little of it, as it is so water intensive to grow. It uses the most water out of all grains grown. In Australia, rice production causes salinity problems, which no doubt you are aware, is a big problem over here.

Other grains I find highly nutritious and cheap are quinoa (pronounced keen-wah), which is really a seed from a green spinach family plant. Is great as a side dish, you cook it with equal parts water until the water has absorbed.. takes about 10 mins. Then I mix in some freshly chopped herbs and green onions and add some salt and pepper and a dash of olive oil.

Bowman, yes, it is simply an issue of balanced diet that has minimal impact in many ways, including maintained health. The thing that horrifies me after reading the China study is that so much disease that is currently accepted as normal or "genetic", such as cancer, is easily prevented by avoiding animal protein.

The author explains the misconception of meat as a high quality protein. It seems that high quality protein (that contains the complete strings of amino acids in one serve, as opposed to less complete plant proteins that take more time to be assimilated in the body) triggers aggressive cell division. This is fine if there are no lurking carcinogens, but let's face it, we are exposed to more carcinogens in this day and age than ever before. Therefore, the faster cell turnover prevents the cells with damaged DNA from being normally removed from a person's system in time. Slower assimilation of proteins from plant foods actually allows the body to get rid of damaged DNA before it has time to turn to reproduce and eventually become a tumour.

The long term effect of this, of course, is the huge burden of ill health that is being seen in Western Societies. Quite simply, the more meat that is eaten, the more disease that is seen.

This issue alone is frightening when we consider that previously low meat-eating societies are being encouraged to take up meat eating as display of cultural wealth. And where is all this extra meat going to come from? Well the livestock industry is rubbing it's hands together in glee. The governments are trying to dull down the revelations of science that are being uncovered, as they don't want a mass hysteria about meat-eating that will impact on the meat industry. Meanwhile, the little person is fed a great walloping dose of lies and truly believe they are doing the right thing by increasing animal proteins in their diet, either that, or they are ignorant (and intentionally kept so by the powers that be) as to the detrimental effects of this on their health.

One would think, logically, that Government agencies would ideally act in the interest of the masses and immediately implement changes in dietary recommendations to prevent the enormous health burden that is looming on the horizon. But no. They are just people too, and love their texas t-bone... it's a cultural icon. :(

Sorry for ranting.. but I just feel this is a really important issue from so many angles.

[Homer]

I though I would post back with my go at being vegetarian.

It has been 2 weeks and I just got my blood test results. My iron, calcium are all the same but I guess it has only been 2 weeks so it maybe stores, but get this my cholestorol is now 2.8 down from 3.9. (I don't think cholestorol lowering drugs can even reduce it that quick)


My energy levels are fine, the first week I did feel like meat so I tried those Sanitarium mock meats in the supermarket and they hit the spot. By the 2nd week I figured the mock meats were just phycological so I tried lentil pies and vegetable lasagne, and of course Aussie favourites like baked beans and vegemite on toast. It's great , tasty food, low cholestoral and massively reducing my carbon footprint.

I also noticed in my Googling that I am in the company Einstein and Plato, and a few Olympic Gold medalists, that picked me up a bit cause my mates we're getting me down with hippy comments and I have to say I have not seen one hippy at the vege cafe's I tried, just everyday people.

[Corey]

cerberus its more than the meat we are using chemicals and GM in our crops that have been banned in your country which is another reason for the cancers. China as far as I know is using the same thing we are in order to become an industrial nation. Also in regards to China is that its the way they are burning coal... Its a black fog of unburned coal they do not burn it as hot as we do or grind the coal as fine as we do. One of the reports out of china's leadership blame the coal burning as the culprit to the cancer. As far as I know they have not changed there diet much either. Which is better than ours. I thought I had left links here to show what the air quality in china is like.

I am still searching for local grains that are organic hard to find. I know the produce from china is contaminated from January to February I was eating produce from there and I was sick the whole time. Irritable bowel syndrome, acid reflux, heart rhythm /rate problems. It was from all the garbage(chemicals/pollution) that went into producing it there. Started eating local and organic exclusively and within 3 days it all stopped. Doctors never did figure it out, had to find the cause on my own. During this time ate very little meat as well so I know it wasn't from that.

[Homer]

I just had sex twice in one hour, it is like I am getting younger LOL, I reckon it must be this new vege diet I am on, makes sense less cholestorol more blood flow

[FabianPattberg]

Thank you for sharing this with us Homer!

[Cerberus]

Err... *ahem* yeah. LOL

Corey, the China study compares regions in China according to dietary change as far as I am aware. I will have another look and see if they controlled for this. The found the same things in the Phillipines though too. The children with the "healthiest" western diets were the ones getting liver cancer from aflatoxin from peanuts. The consumption of peanuts was the same, but it was the meat and dairy foods that were different (same city environment). (Prior to this, it was thought that a lack of animal protein was the way to combat malnutrition. Turns out that vegetable protein is far superior for long term health.) They believe that the type of protein from animal foods has the ability to turn tumour growth "off" or "on", regardless of the presence of the carcinogen. It's quite complicated to read about.

The China Study is a part of a huge epidemiological dietary study that is still ongoing. The entire project is also known as the Oxford Study, and the evidence is growing.