A vegetarian diet leaves more food for the poor
It’s been the leading story in major newspapers and TV news programs for weeks. More than 100 million people are being driven deeper into poverty by a “silent tsunami” of rising food prices, according to World Food Program Executive Director Josette Sheeran. A dozen countries have experienced food riots and strikes.
The resulting hunger afflicts nearly 1 billion people, mostly women and children. It kills an astonishing 24,000 per day. It’s not just a problem for strangers in faraway lands. It affects millions of Americans, and some U.S. stores are already rationing food.
The good news is that even a small shift toward a plant-based diet in the U.S. and other developed countries would free up enough land, water and fuel to feed everyone. More than 80 percent of U.S. agricultural land grows animal feed. A plant-based diet requires only 16 percent to 20 percent of the resources of the standard American diet.
Each of us can start abating the scourge of world hunger today by reducing our consumption of meat and other animal products and by supporting food distribution agencies.
Nathan Ross
Greensboro
Comments (10)
To report abuse of the comment feature on this site, please use the feedback form at the bottom of any page.
"It affects millions of Americans, and some U.S. stores are already rationing food."
That's right, you know, I heard CostCo and Sam's Club were limiting customers to 4 20 lb. bags of imported rice a visit. Oh no!
Anyway....
Posted on May 4, 2008 3:46 AM
"That's right, you know, I heard CostCo and Sam's Club were limiting customers to 4 20 lb. bags of imported rice a visit."
Rationing American style! The fattest nation on earth.
Posted on May 4, 2008 8:09 AM
http://www.vegetariansareevil.com/child.html
Posted on May 4, 2008 8:13 AM
Another form letter.
http://www.google.com/search?q=A+plant-based+diet+requires+only+16+percent+to+20+percent+of+the+resources+of+the+standard+American+diet.&ie=utf-8&oe=utf-8&aq=t&rls=org.mozilla:en-US:official&client=firefox-a
I'm starting to think the N&R just doesn't care about it and are instead playing a lottery to fill space next week. This Nathan Ross guy might live in Greensboro, but he didn't have to do one single thing to contribute this letter other than buy a stamp or turn on his computer (he didn't even care enough about the issue to rephrase the form letter and make it his own), but the editors likely printed it knowing they can gamble on reply LTEs, thereby gaining something someone actually wrote for a future LTE.
It's lazy, lacks intelligence, and it's sad to watch our further and very local progression towards it, but hey, welcome to the modern news industry.
Roger
Posted on May 4, 2008 8:50 AM
Why is it most 'vegetarian' letters printed in the N&R are form letters? Is there something in meat that adds a higher degree of creativity to the brain?
Posted on May 4, 2008 9:01 AM
"the scourge of world hunger"
What ever happened to the scourge of global warming as the biggest threat to the existence of man? Congress made a rush to encourage the production of corn ethanol, so American farmers went out and converted much of their farm land, which was being used to produce food to be sent overseas, to produce corn for ethanol. (It is more profitable.) This has contributed to a shortage of food worldwide. So our desire to reduce greenhouse gases has backfired and help create a food shortage. Perhaps, if some people would stay out of the business of manipulating our world, things would return to normal?
Posted on May 4, 2008 9:20 AM
Nathan, history has proven that among those who preceeded us here on the planet, the meat eaters had larger brains than the grass and leaf eaters. Thanks for confirming that!
Posted on May 4, 2008 10:17 AM
This is indeed a form letter. And I think the N&R published this same letter not very long ago, or at least one nearly exactly like it. Sloppy editorial choices in this column. But it is the one place where the lede isn't buried several paragraphs down. That's something, I guess.
Also, in the land of BBQ, good luck with that whole vegetarian thing. I'm staying on the side of Anthony Bourdain and delicious smoked meat.
Posted on May 4, 2008 10:20 AM
This is indeed a form letter. And I think the N&R published this same letter not very long ago, or at least one nearly exactly like it. Sloppy editorial choices in this column. But it is the one place where the lede isn't buried several paragraphs down. That's something, I guess.
Also, in the land of BBQ, good luck with that whole vegetarian thing. I'm staying on the side of Anthony Bourdain and delicious smoked meat.
Posted on May 4, 2008 10:20 AM
Hilarious. If ever a letter announced itself as a form letter, this is the one.
If the scourge of world hunger is ever abated, you can bet the scourge of population explosion will become the new rallying cry. The important thing to remember is that there's always a scourge.
Posted on May 5, 2008 12:35 AM