Report out of the UK.
Eat less meat and dairy: official recipe to help health of consumers – and the planet
The first official recommendations for a diet that is both healthy and good for the environment are published today, and they are likely to be seen as an assault on the UK’s current food system.
To fight climate change and tackle the growing crisis of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease and cancer, British consumers must cut down on meat and dairy produce, reduce their intake of processed foods and curb waste.
These are the three priorities identified in a report by the government’s independent advisory body on sustainability, the Sustainable Development Commission (SDC), which calls for radical changes in patterns of consumption.
Well, so I won’t do my usual dance. I’m not going to scream & shout. Not going to call him…. I’m not even going to suggest that we alter our evolution by making non-meat eaters the new meat (kidding…for now).
Funny thing is, the video is really only about half objectionable. He’s got some things right. What he’s got way, way wrong is that this requires more government NOW! What it requires is people getting off their asses (oops)…it requires people taking some responsibility for their own food affairs, getting out to local farms & farmer’s markets, educating themselves, getting to know their food and the good folks who can produce it for them.
Then, tell your family and friends. Problems can melt away. Otherwise, the government strong-armed food system is soon going to resemble the government strong-armed financial system.
And that went well.
(HT: commenter William)
I think you forgot “Government strong-armed medical system”
Dear Sir,
You have now gone too far. I do not read your blog for polite, limp-wristed Upper-This-Side commentary on Euro-ecogastronomical happenings. No, I read it for food porn, man talk and wild, profanity-infused rants on diet (that and Sous Vide recipes). But, this latest post has left me stunned. Please more carefully select your words next time.
Hah!
I’ll try to keep everyone as satisfied as I can, Guy.
Richard, A little too much holiday cheer (?)
You show a bit more dimension to your game. Still trying to decide if that’s a good thing. Nevertheless, thanks for your consistent efforts. Cheers.
Some sensible recommendations among those from the SDC. But they are a bit conflicted: they say:
“The way that farmland is used would have to change.
Grass-fed rather than grain-fed animals are a more
sustainable use of resources, …
They recommend “… cutting processed food and
reducing consumption of intensively-produced meat
and dairy foods …”
“… an increase in consumption of foods produced with
respect for wildlife and the environment [that’s us!]”
But, despite this, they still recommend:
“To fight climate change and tackle the growing crisis
of diet-related diseases such as diabetes, heart disease
and cancer, British consumers must cut down on meat
and dairy produce …”
Our physiologies have not changed – we are still hunter-gatherers in terms of dietary needs, metabolism etc., but now we are being asked to change our way of eating to one less attuned to the needs and expectations of a Homo sapiens body. Seems to me the need for change lies elsewhere. Perhaps there are too many people on the planet, perhaps certain intensive food production techniques are too linear and we need to restore natural cycles.
Going back to Richard’s post of 7 December, I’ll own up to being one of those who favours (on my terms, not necessarily in ways others expect) “eschewing the modern [selectively]”. Some would say I also “romanticize the primitive” (though I see it more as living in tune with our genome, including where this conflicts with norms of comfortable modernity). But I cannot accept that any imperative exists for me to adopt a non-palaeo diet for my very palaeo body just because there are too many people on the planet.
Richard: “… it requires people taking some responsibility for their own food affairs, getting out to local farms & farmer’s markets”. How about growing some of their own food?
Good point, Keith. If one can, growing one’s own food is probably optimal. When I was a teenager, we were fortunate to have a 5k sq ft garden, a compost heap, rabbits for meat, chickens for eggs — and about 80 or so cornish cross broilers every spring, and for a time, a goat for milk.
And, we hunted deer & birds, and fished regularly.
Lot’s of work, but rewarding on many levels. Someday I hope to put that experience into practice once again.
Dude… move back there ;)