I wish I was kidding. Hysterically, I’m not.
As reported in Tuesday’s Washington Times (h/t NBer Blonde, emphasis added throughout):
Attention chubby do-gooders, and maybe Al Gore. The global warming diet is here.
The article deliciously continued (not so witty pun intended!):
Food choice affects climate change, says San Francisco chef Laura Stec, who has penned -- yes -- "The Global Warming Diet" with Eugene Cordero, a professor of meteorology at San Jose State University.
The 250-page book is full of vegetarian fare, guides for relevant "discussion" parties, a few inconvenient truths and a cowcatcher full of scientific claims from the Union of Concerned Scientists, the United Nations and other sources.
Since I live in the Bay Area, I have to resist the obvious “Only in San Francisco” comment. That doesn't prevent you from kibbitzing as you choose.
Of course, in between the banter, you might want to take a peek at the website for this diet for even more chuckles, albeit without snide remarks about the region I choose to live in, thank you very much (emphasis, as you might imagine, added throughout):
A recent U.N. report sites livestock and food production systems as responsible for 18% of the greenhouse gases that contribute to global warming, more than cars, planes and all transportation combined. And the average meals travels [sic] at least 1500 miles to get to your dinner plate.
Wow. 1500 miles. These people must live in Al Gore’s mansion in Tennessee.
But I digress:
In December 2006, the U. N. Food and Agricultural Organization published "Livestock’s Long Shadow." The report cites livestock as a major contributor to global warming, responsible for 18% of greenhouse gases that cause climate change, "a higher share than transport." Consider this:
- It takes 10 times more fossil fuels to produce a calorie of meat than a calorie of plant protein.
- Manure and animal gases produce methane, a gas with 23 times more "global warming potential" than CO2. They also produce nitrous oxide with 296 times worse than CO2. Methane produced by cows has the impact of adding 33 million cars to the roadways.
- U. S. factory farms produce nearly one billion tons of feces and urine annually or 5 million tons a day.
I don’t know about you, but this isn’t making me hungry, or is that the point?
So, what do the authors recommend?
Individual solutions include understanding and eating local, seasonal, organic food, eating fewer, happier animal products, and supporting energy alternatives and ideas like the Chicago Climate Exchange, the first legally binding carbon emissions market, which sells greenhouse gas credits "grown" by farmers. The Global Warming Diet addresses these subjects, inspiring a "save the planet" attitude by bringing food back to a central role in our lives with easy recipes, ideas for hosting fun "discussion parties" and simple tips on how to cook a global-cooling cuisine.
I don’t know what these folks are thinking, but that rigatoni the kids and I just ate played a central role in our lives, was easy to cook, evoked wonderful discussion, albeit not at all related to global-cooling unless the chilled imported beer I had with the meal satisfied that requirement.
I certainly hope so.
