Comments evanvoo has made

  • Don't forget about the workers

    While I applaud Ikea's wonderful environmental initiatives, please remember the human cost of keeping prices so low. Over half of Ikea's products are manufactured in developing countries, where workers are not (or barely) paid a livable wage, are required to work overtime for little or no extra pay, and are prevented from engaging in collective bargaining.

    http://www.corpwatch.org/article.php?id=14272

    ErinOn An interview with IKEA sustainability director Thomas Bergmark posted 2 years, 9 months ago 9 Responses

  • Yay!!!

    Such great news! I am thoroughly impressed with your and your wife's resolutions (especially with #3, which is very important, albeit initially difficult).

    My favorite cookbooks are:

    1. The Post Punk Kitchen by Isa Chandra Moskowitz
    2. Vegetarian Cooking for Everyone by Deborah Madison
    3. Cooking With Peta by Peta
    4. The Garden of Vegan by T. Barnard and S. Kramer
    5. World Vegetarian by Madhur Jaffrey

    I would also highly recommend Becoming Vegan by Brenda Davis.

    As far as eating out, you'll usually find the most options (other than at all-vegan or all-veggie restaurants, of course) at ethnic restaurants, such as Thai, Indian, Ethiopian, Chinese, Korean, etc.

    This is so great! I hope you find, as I did, that you gain so much more than you lose by choosing a more humane and environmentally friendly diet. Nothing tastes as good as a clear conscience feels.

    ErinOn That's it for me and industrial meat posted 2 years, 9 months ago 46 Responses

  • I'm shooting for 200 comments

    Biodiversivist: To limit your calculations to CO2 doesn't make logical or scientific sense. You would have to factor in the fact that livestock uses much more of the earth's entire land surface than plant based agriculture (and thus is a major cause of deforestation); it creates a large amount  of methane (37 per cent of all human-induced methane); and it generates a large amount of nitrous oxide (65 per cent of all human-related nitrous oxide), which has 296 times the global warming potential than that of CO2. And the list goes on...

    So I say you're full of bologna.
    :)

    I have to agree with Kevcon about what seems to be a majority of my fellow environmentalists. I guess what really irks me is the fixation on fossil fueled transportion (which is, inarguably, bad for the environment and should be avoided when possible), when scientific evidence points to the fact that animal agriculture is the environment's #1 enemy. If you count the number of times Grist writers advocate people getting rid of their car, versus eliminating their consumption of animal products, it's hugely biased towards the former. If I wasn't familiar with all the scientific research that supports that the consumption of animal products is worse than all transportation combined--as, I would think, the large majority of the public isn't--then based on Grist's and other environmental organizations' priorities I would be really surprised to find that out.

    So I think maybe we should ask ourselves this: Are we using our time, energy, money, and educational outreach power in the best possible way, to help the environment as much as possible? I would say no, and I tend to think that the self-interests of many environmentalists--i.e., their reluctance to forgo certain gustatory pleasures--is responsible.

    I don't mean to imply that it's an either/or proposition, or that people who aren't perfect environmentalists should not be allowed to dole out advice. I'm just advocating for as much focus on and recognition of the implications of a non-vegan diet as environmentalists give issues involved with car driving and other forms of transportation.

    ErinOn Why the vegetarian critique of meat-eating should make meat-eaters squirm posted 2 years, 10 months ago 103 Responses

  • I completely agree with Tom and Bart.

    It is difficult to observe the billions of dollars spent towards marketing the crap companies pawn off as healthful "food," and essentially bribe those who are supposed authorities on health and nutrition (i.e., USDA, ADA, scientists, nutritionists and dietitians), and then feel that the culpability lies, in most part, with the consumer. When politics and huge corporate interests come into play, science--and all of us--lose out.

    As Michael Pollan describes in the essay Bart referenced above:

    "Epidemiologists also had observed that in America during the war years, when meat and dairy products were strictly rationed, the rate of heart disease temporarily plummeted.
    Naïvely putting two and two together, the committee drafted a straightforward set of dietary guidelines calling on Americans to cut down on red meat and dairy products. Within weeks a firestorm, emanating from the red-meat and dairy industries, engulfed the committee, and Senator McGovern (who had a great many cattle ranchers among his South Dakota constituents) was forced to beat a retreat. The committee's recommendations were hastily rewritten. Plain talk about food -- the committee had advised Americans to actually "reduce consumption of meat" -- was replaced by artful compromise: "Choose meats, poultry and fish that will reduce saturated-fat intake."

    Similar instances of this sort of corporate and political corruption abound, and have understandably led to increasing cynicism with the government, doctors, and dietitians who dole out "scientific" advice on nutrition.

    And to "Dietitian not Dietician:" FYI, per the American Heritage Dictionary, "dietician" is, indeed, a correct spelling.

    -Erin
    On There's nothing healthy about the American Dietary Association's addiction to corporate cash. posted 2 years, 10 months ago 60 Responses

  • TVP, Non-GMO soy, meat vs. soy

    Wow, I had no idea about TVP. I remember hearing rumblings a couple years ago about something being "bad" about TVP, but apparently I forgot to look into it. Well, that's certainly one product I will not be buying or eating again. Thanks for sharing that info.

    I would like to note for those who might not know, if the soy or soy product is labeled organic, it is not GMO. Relatedly, a frighteningly high percentage of corn and corn derived products--which seem to be as ubiquitous as soy products in processed foods--are also GMO (unless, again, they are labeled organic). Luckily, such a large proportion of vegan foods--such as many varieties of veggie burgers--are organic, so it's really quite easy to avoid GMO soy. Of course, I completely agree that it is almost always best to stick to whole foods, and to keep consumption of processed foods to a minimum.

    I do, however, still tend to believe that, if deciding between local meat and highly processed vegan food, the latter is preferable from an environmental point of view. I have yet to read the UCS book, though, so perhaps I'm wrong. I was a little confused with Umbra's post, as after laying out all of the science and numbers that demonstrate meat's enormous toll on the environment, she asserts (with no science or numbers) that:

    "There is some indication in these studies that sustainably raised, locally procured meat-based diets can hold their own, environmentally, against heavily processed, far-shipped veggie diets. So I prefer to believe that eating my local bacon is better than eating frozen veggie burgers, not just gastronomically but ecologically."

    Perhaps this would be more convincing if I knew what "some indication" is, and what the phrase "can hold their own" means. But if the facts to which these phrases refer are less than compelling, then it would seem the "I prefer to believe" part sums up the basis of her claim. But, again, I still have yet to read the report.

    --Erin
    On Why the vegetarian critique of meat-eating should make meat-eaters squirm posted 2 years, 10 months ago 103 Responses

  • Environmental impact of soy foods vs. meat

    Ms. Umbra herself has addressed this issue in a past column: http://www.grist.org/advice/ask/2005/10/12/meat/

    It turns out that meat loses in every category--even versus GM, conventional, highly processed soy products. So if you wish to follow the least harmful diet for the environment, it's best to forgo the meat in favor of anything, in any form, that is plant-based.

    That being said, please opt for non-GMO, organic, local soy products when possible!

    --Erin
    On Why the vegetarian critique of meat-eating should make meat-eaters squirm posted 2 years, 10 months ago 103 Responses

  • One comment on kosher slaughter

    I respectfully disagree with the assertion that kosher slaughter is more humane than conventional slaughter. The main concern isn't necessarily how the animals are actually killed, but rather the stressful and painful methods of restraint that are used in many plants. Typically, a cow's (or other animal's) rear leg is shackled, and he is hoisted into the air, upside down, where he hangs for several minutes before the slaughterer slices his trachea and esophagus and he bleeds to death. Anyone who has ever seen an 1,000 lb. cow hung by one leg, writhing and bellowing, will never forget it.

    Renowned animal scientist (and enthusiastic meateater) Temple Grandin, who has visited numerous ritual slaughter plants, has written: "After visiting one plant in which five steers were hung up in a row to await slaughter, I had nightmares. The animals were hitting the walls and their bellowing could be heard in the parking lot. In some plants, the suspended animal's head is restrained by a nosetong... [S]tretching of the neck by pulling on the nose is painful. Suspension upside-down also causes great discomfort."

    --ErinOn Why the vegetarian critique of meat-eating should make meat-eaters squirm posted 2 years, 10 months ago 103 Responses

  • Self-righteousness and suggestions

    David: I agree that some people who choose to be vegan can at times come across as judgmental and self-righteous. Please remember, though, as Greg pointed to, most of us come from a good place -- i.e., we seek to relieve what we see as unnecessary animal suffering and the degradation of the planet. It is frustrating to be engaged in a rational discussion about the politics of animal consumption, and be accused of being self-righteousness, judgmental, or having no sense of humor. As any history aficionado can tell you, these insults were repeatedly, relentlessly hurled against slavery abolitionists and women's rights advocates -- in large part, I think, just to shut them up. If you are feeling personally attacked please just say so. It is not necessary or helpful to reflexively accuse the offending person of being a perfect, smug representative of everything that is wrong with all self-righteous vegans, and then use it as one of the reasons why you don't want to go vegan. As anyone who belongs to a minority will tell you, it sucks to bear the responsibility of being an entire group's spokesperson.

    Having said that, I greatly admire your openmindedness and your decision to try to shift towards a more plant-based diet. Yes, having a spouse and kids who regularly consume animal products certainly can make it more difficult. Perhaps it might be best to tell them about some of the discussions you've been having, and your thoughts on the environmental and animal welfare impact of one's diet. That way they might come to the same conclusions you have, and it will feel more like a communal decision and not like you've imposed a new family order.

    As far as more tips to make the transition as easy as possible:

    1. Try all the fake meat products on the market, and try to replace "real" meat with the fake ones you like best. My favorites are Morningstar Chikin' Strips, fake meatballs (great for spaghetti), Boca Burgers, Vegan Gardenburgers, Gimme Lean Sausage, and TVP (which tastes like immitation ground beef -- great in lasagne or chili).

    2. Cook with a lot of fat (e.g., olive and canola oil, Earth Balance). I could be wrong, but I think the heaviness and richness of a food lies more in its fat content than the fact that the protein is animal instead of plant derived. Remember that a ground beef burger has about 10 times as much fat as a veggie burger, and this is one of the reasons the former tastes better and is more satisfying. So I would liberally use oil and margarine and Vegenaise on just about everything, especially when you're cooking with fake meats.

    3. As other people have mentioned, try to make a couple of huge meals on the weekend, so you can have leftovers a couple days during the week.

    4. Try to think about veganism less as a deprivation, and more as a way to open yourself up to many new and different foods. It becomes sort of a fun challenge, and you end up learning about and trying more foods than you probably ever would as an omnivore.

    5. Just remember that every lit bit you can do helps, and it's not some major failure if you opt for a non-vegan food. If you ever feel like just giving up, then back off a bit and let yourself take it more slowly. At the same time, remember it's important to gently push yourself, just as you might encourage people to push themselves to drive less, even though it can be inconvenient and difficult at first.

    Mihan: It is not true that transportation "accounts for many, many more times the greenhouse gas emissions than does agriculture." Agriculture creates more greenhouse gases than all forms of transportation combined. The most recent support for this is found in the FAO's report, which can be read at: http://www.virtualcentre.org/en/library/key_pub/longshad/.... That being said, I completely agree and hope that environementalists would seek to eliminate cars from their lives. If I actually did have to choose between the two, though, I would choose to eliminate animal consumption, both because it has more of an environmental impact and because of the ethical issues involved.

    And, lest I disappoint, I'll respond to your claim that dairy is similar to vegetables in ecological impact. The manure and gas of dairy cows are no less detrimental than those of beef cattle, and, given their longer (unnatural) lifespans, and the fact that they are kept constantly pregnant in order to continue lactating (and thus creating more cows), I would think that dairy cows are actually even worse for the environment.

    --ErinOn Why the vegetarian critique of meat-eating should make meat-eaters squirm posted 2 years, 10 months ago 103 Responses

  • Some thoughts on omnivorous environmentalists

    Each time I find out that a committed, self-professed environmentalist eats meat or consumes animal products, I never fail to be somewhat surprised or disappointed. I also find it difficult to take those people very seriously as environmentalists -- especially those who devote their professional lives to this subject. Frankly, I'd take a Grist writer more seriously if I found out he drove a hummer, than to find out he eats meat.

    According to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization's recent report, this reaction is not unfounded. Livestock are responsible for more greenhouse gases that cause global warming than any other industry -- more than cars, planes and all other forms of transport put together. Livestock now use 30 per cent of the earth's entire land surface, and are a major cause of deforestation. Animal agriculture accounts for 37 per cent of all human-induced methane. It generates 65 per cent of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the global warming potential than that of CO2. In short, appealing to momentary gustatory pleasure to defend contributing to such enormous environmental degradation is, in my opinion, unjustifiable.

    That being said, I agree that--in practical terms--the question of eating meat does not have to be (although ideally it is) an "all or nothing" proposition. For those who for whatever reasons find themselves "unable" to completely eliminate animal products from their diets, even to cut their consumption by a half or a third would have an enormous impact on the environment and animal suffering. I have great respect for those who have already taken this important first step, and encourage others to continue to push themselves as much as possible.On Why the vegetarian critique of meat-eating should make meat-eaters squirm posted 2 years, 10 months ago 103 Responses