How to sum up Heather Mills?

Look at me!!! No seriously, Look at me!!!

I feel sorry for her next ex-husband.

That billboard seem more anti-environment that pro-.

The message that billboard promotes is that you can’t take care of the earth in some parts of your life unless you’re willing to go “extreme green” throughout your whole life. That’s the message preached by the anti-environmentalists.

Environmentalists should be teaching that anybody can save the planet by just taking simple easy steps that either haev no effect or improve your life.

Looking at that ad a little more it doesn’t make much sense. Why is there fire in the picture? The earth is going to catch on fire if I have a cheeseburger?

I will lose a leg if I have a double cheeseburger? This may be the dumbest ad I have ever seen.

It’s about deforestation. It’s about selling meat to McDonalds. It’s about using land efficiently.

About half of the mature tropical forests, between 750 to 800 million hectares of the original 1.5 to 1.6 billion hectares that once covered the planet have been cleared.

The cattle industry produces vast amounts of strain in the environment. It is energy inefficient, pollutes water, occupies many acres of land, and deteriorates the health of the people who abuse its consumption.

The energy return ratio (as food energy per fossil energy expended) of the most energy efficient factory farming of meat is 34.5%, while that of the least energy efficient plant food is 328%. Fossil energy is utilized from before a cow is raised until it is eaten. This account for the necessary energy to clear land from its original vegetation, to grow cow feed, to operate slaughterhouses and transportation. Forty pounds of soybeans are produced by the same amount of fossil fuels required to produce one pound of meat. All these factors indicate the inverse relationship between meat production and fossil energy savings.

The meat industry consumes over half of all water used for all purposes in the United States. Most of this water is used to irrigate cattle feedlots. Water utilized to produce 1 pound of meat amounts to 2,500 gallons. In comparison, the water utilized to produce 1 pound of wheat amounts to 25 gallons.

(Cows will get their revenge in the form of heart disease)

It’s been 17 years since I ate cow, it’s just the wrong kinda fat.

Heather Mills is a walking joke.

Thanks for explaining the fire part. I can see that after you explain it.

I don’t eat a lot of beef. Not because of the earth, because they are healthier alternatives for me.

But after years of having a cheeseburger once every five or six months, I have been eating more cheeseburgers. I wonder if people resent these over the top ads and end up doing the opposite?

What about the petroleum that went into making her prosthetic limb??? (too much?)

Anyway, I say bring global warming on if the alternative is eating rice and beans for the rest of my life. Besides, while it may not be truly natural, there is an ecosystem at play.

Assuming we did get rid of all the livestock in the world, that would probably require an increase in the production of produce, no? While I’m no farmer, I was under the impression that animal feces was a big component in fertilizer. Not to mention, overproduction of agricultural goods could lead to desertification over the long run, especially without the minerals and nutrients found in cow pooh.

Between this idea of going to an animal free diet, and the notion that we can “grow our way” out of our addiction to petroleum, I think people forget that there is only so much we can grow before the land starts to become unusable.

Sean, I’m in love with you!

Sean,

I don’t advocate for anybody to take up a vegetarian diet (and have already said this ad will do more to hurt the environment than to help it), but your arguments against it fall flat. It takes far more “produce production” to make one hamburger than than to make a vegetarian buffet. Livestock have to eat, and it takes a heck of alot of food to make a cow big enough for slaughter.

If you want to eat meat, I’m all for it, but eat it because you like eating meat. Don’t try to justify it with myths about food production.

I’ve said many times over, “It’s no longer the Ice Age, so we don’t have to rely on what’s dumber and slower than us to survive. We can grow our own food.”

And it’s true, factory farming is devastating to our environment. And the simple truth is that the VAST majority of meat products are a result of factory farms.

Incidentally, Sean, I eat more than just rice and beans. That said, I’m as much a target of this campaign as anyone else because I do consume some dairy and egg products.

Quite simply, factory farming is using the last arable land in this world to grow animals to eat instead of growing food to eat. It doesn’t make a lot of sense. It’s not my personal goal to make everyone stop eating meat (because I prefer to set realistic goals), but meat should be a lot more expensive and high-quality vegetables should be a lot less expensive than they currently are.

I think people forget that there is only so much we can grow before the land starts to become unusable
Sean, exactly what do you think the animals that you’re eating are eating? We could just plant things to eat and cut out the middlecow, you know.

And I’d be less pissed at the meat industry if they’re run off of manure and chemicals wasn’t f’ing up my salads.

Between this idea of going to an animal free diet, and the notion that we can “grow our way” out of our addiction to petroleum, I think people forget that there is only so much we can grow before the land starts to become unusable.

Strong points.

We are living in a unique time in history. Never before have so many people had so many answers to so many problems. And most of them are wrong.

It is not possible to grow enough of any crop to get off the oil tit. It is a fantasy. Ethanol is a fraction of total energy output. I am not much of a boycotter, but I will not purchase Ethanol. Talk about poor land and water use, Ethanol is negative in every way. Except of course for ADM and a few farmers.

While I’m no farmer, I was under the impression that animal feces was a big component in fertilizer.

Um… not so much in the manufacture of stuff like ammonium nitrate, I’m afraid. Most mass-produced chemical fertilizers are inorganic.

Dolphin,

So, you are saying that animal manure is not used in the production of plants and vegetables?

Personally, I’d love it if more cows were grass fed (as in Argentina) as opposed to grain fed…in fact, if I weren’t poor, and it was available, I’d probably buy it…but animal dung still plays a vital role in the circle of life.

…meat should be a lot more expensive and high-quality vegetables should be a lot less expensive than they currently are.

YES! Amen! Lesley, I am in love with you, too!

It is not possible to grow enough of any crop to get off the oil tit. It is a fantasy. Ethanol is a fraction of total energy output. I am not much of a boycotter, but I will not purchase Ethanol. Talk about poor land and water use, Ethanol is negative in every way. Except of course for ADM and a few farmers.

Agreed. Ethanol is a total scam. I find it offensive that we’d use land to grow fuel instead of food when thousands of people starve to death every day around the world.

Sean, the farming business produces far more manure than is necessary to grow crops. And, actually, it’s so loaded with hormones and antibiotics that it’s actually toxic waste. Plus, there’s already plenty of shit in the world; we don’t need it coming from factory farms.

Question for MCB vegans and vegetarians, why do you do it? Is it for your health? Your weight? Moral reasons? Or to save the Earth? Or E.), all of the above?

Um… not so much in the manufacture of stuff like ammonium nitrate, I’m afraid. Most mass-produced chemical fertilizers are inorganic.

Fair enough, but I’d imagine that many of the same folks who want to see the meat industry eliminated are also some of the same people exclaiming the virtues of organic farming.

Ginger-pick a side!!!

I’m kidding, of course.

Number 9, I’m not sure how many of us there are around here, but I’m a vegetarian (not a vegan) for a combination of health and religious reasons. My primary goal is not to “save the Earth.” And, frankly, I don’t think that the campaign in question is an effective one. Shaming people who are otherwise stewards of the planet is not an effective motivational tool. Some numbnut must’ve skipped that day in business school.

If God hadn’t wanted us to eat animals, he wouldn’t have made them taste like meat…

Sorry - I’m having a weird day, and that saying always makes me laugh.

Ginger-pick a side!!!

Ah, but I see good points on both sides! Plus, the both of you are so incredibly cute, that I just can’t choose!

Seriously, that is why I brought this up. I see great points in both sides. If I could afford it, I would go vegetarian. I would still eat dairy, though.

But this woman is serious when she suggests using milk from rats!

With a little research I find out I am part vegetarian more than half of the time. What has change my diet the most is the reduced availability of decent seafood.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Semi-vegetarianism

Well, I don’t know about milk from rats, but some of the farm raised rats in China sound delicious!

Personally, I like meat, I love the way it tastes, and have yet to find a vegetable that gives me as much pleasure as a steak. But hey, if you all want to eat less meat, I’m all for it, as the price may very well go down, and thus allow me to purchase more of it.

There’s been some controversy among vegetarians about some high-profile veg*ns falling off the wagon. This was just a start: http://www.foodandwine.com/articles/why-vegetarians-are-eating-meat

There’s as much infighting among veg*ns (how we express the whole group) as there is in any political party, lemme tell you. We’ve all come to our lifestyle for different reasons. Few are the exact same.

And Ginger, anyone can afford to be vegetarian, but it does take a little more effort. Most people don’t have the time.

Great article Lesley. Our family spends extra for free range without hormones and antibiotics. Also interesting is that free range cattle have more Omega-3 and less saturated fat than the factory farm cattle.

I only wish that there were more local free range offerings.

Incidentally, if you think about it, it’s kinda odd that we’ll drink milk that comes from goats and cows, but most of us are pretty grossed about drinking milk from humans. It really should all be equally ewww-inducing (oops–forgot to list sheep, too).

So, you are saying that animal manure is not used in the production of plants and vegetables?

Now that you mention it most fertilizers used today are synthetic with no organic material at all.

I’d imagine that many of the same folks who want to see the meat industry eliminated are also some of the same people exclaiming the virtues of organic farming.

Organic farming doesn’t mean manure. Manure is one option but most permaculture experts would tell you it’s not the best one available. And even if you choose to use animal waste as fertilizer, worm casings are more effective than cow pies.

Question for MCB vegans and vegetarians, why do you do it? Is it for your health? Your weight? Moral reasons? Or to save the Earth? Or E.), all of the above?

Well I’m neither vegan nor vegetarian, but I don’t eat red meat and really only have chicken about twice a week or so (I don’t eat pork or fish simply because I don’t like them). I do that much for all the reasons you listed plus for spiritual reasons.

Personally, I like meat, I love the way it tastes

I can speak only for myself, but I think that’s just fine. I don’t advocate that anybody goes vegetarian who doesn’t want to. Easting meat because you like the way it tastes is fine by me. Eating meat because you worry that plants will cease to be fertilized and vast gardens will devolve into desert wasteland is factually wrong.

Personally, I don’t eat land animals for health reasons and eat fish occasionally, (the low contaminent species like sole, flounder, haddock).

Recombinant Bovine Growth Hormone is manufactured by Monsanto Company - the same company that produces the toxic sweetner aspartame (which causes headaches and vertigo).

There have been no long term studies of BGH’s effects on humans. The congressional General Accounting Office has warned of the potential human health hazards from the consumption of milk or beef derived from BGH-treated cows. The Consumer’s Union went on to state that the FDA should not have even approved it.

The presence of rBGH in the cow’s blood stimulates production of another hormone, called Insulin-Like Growth Factor-1, or IGF-1. It is IGF-1 that is directly responsible for increasing milk production. IGF-1 is not destroyed in the pasteurization process nor during human digestion and is therefore biologically active in humans, being associated with breast, prostate, and colon cancers.

My advise is, if you have to eat it, go organic. Organic butter and milk are usually available even at Kroger. I personally don’t drink cows milk. Soy milk is grrreat.

Incidentally, if you think about it, it’s kinda odd that we’ll drink milk that comes from goats and cows, but most of us are pretty grossed about drinking milk from humans.

Personally, I think Cow’s milk tastes disgusting unless there is some chocolate in there, and as I haven’t had any breast milk since I was an infant, I can’t really speak to its flavor.

But really, you could use the same argument for eating meat.

umm so like - i just wanna kinda know why she’s bearing her shoulder and has that whole vogue think going on. seemed silly to me.

Often times you hear people, probably people like Heather Mills, complain about moralists running the government and enforcing morality. But in reality, people like Ms. Mills are more self-righteous and supportive of a government that compels than any evangelical ever was.

Can you all not see that all of this translates into more government and less freedom? That’s what you always get with radical moralists, who consider their form of morality to be more important than liberty.

I’ve been a vegetarian for almost twelve years and, while I think Heather is crazy for a thousand other reasons and I had a running bet with my Dad for $20 to guess when her leg would fall off on Dancing with the Stars, the all-or-nothing criticism is a weak one.

70% of the grain we raise worldwide goes to feed animals that are raised for slaughter.

Almost 50% of US water consumption and 80% of our ag land is used to support animals that are raised for slaughter.

And Sean, animals being raised for slaughter create 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population in the US. We don’t require factory farms to maintain sewage systems and, not surprisingly, they don’t… massive amounts of concentrated excrement ends up in topsoil and water supplies of the surrounding cities. I’ll take a couple dozen councilmen in our river before I’ll accept pfiesteria there.

Rainforests (like the one that’s burning in the Mills ad) are being burned at a rate of about 125,000 square miles per year to provide more land for grazing for food animals. One quarter pounder from McDonald’s takes fifty five square feet of grazing land to produce.

You’d do more to preserve our environment (including decreasing the impact on fossil fuels) by going vegetarian than by driving a Prius.

I’m not saying you should go veggie any more than I’m saying you should hang your clothes to dry or only wear recycled panties (hate to be accused of being a “moralist”) . But if you’re looking for a reason to go veggie, the environmental one is pretty compelling.

70% of the grain we raise worldwide goes to feed animals that are raised for slaughter.

Not any more. There is a new cow in town, they call it Ethanol.

All of this has made me hungry for something different.

I am thinking:

http://www.cookeatfret.com/lamb/2007/11/11/lamb-loin-chops-with-israeli-couscous/

How long before somebody recommends that we kill off half the world’s population of humans to stop global warming? They already support the prevention of development in Africa which would save lives. Wildly religious people, who see governments as a means of expressing their faith, are liable to support anything.

Enjoy that ribeye while you can, especially you live in places like the People’s Republic of San Francisco and New York City. Won’t be long before Big Brother takes it away from you.

the all-or-nothing criticism is a weak one.

Believe that if you must but I don’t think it is. The thing about taking actions to save the environment is that you actually have to do them for them to work. I bet I can convince a whole lot more people that it’s worth their while to use a cloth to dry their dishes instead of a paper towel than you can convince to out right give up meat.

You’re right when you say “You’d do more to preserve our environment by going vegetarian than by driving a Prius,” but the point really isn’t what you could do as much as it is what you will do.

Sure- I totally agree. But I don’t think one can make a comment like, “What about the petroleum that went into making her prosthetic limb?” and really be on point. I don’t think I can convince anyone to give up meat who doesn’t want to… but neither do I think Heather Mills is being too extreme by supporting an ad that points out that meat-eating is inconsistent with being an environmentalist. Being concerned about the environment, sure. Being concerned enough to stop using paper towels, got it. But being an environmentalist, nope. I think if you’re using that term to describe yourself (as the ad is targeted to) it implies you’re more extreme to begin with.

Can you all not see that all of this translates into more government and less freedom?

Reasonable people lead by example. Unreasonable people rule by ever expanding government. There are too many laws. Each of us breaks some law at some time.

Enjoy that ribeye while you can, especially you live in places like the People’s Republic of San Francisco and New York City. Won’t be long before Big Brother takes it away from you.

For San Fran, this could happen in five years. Hamburgers are the next cigarettes. You can count on that.

It is only a matter of time before ELF turns its attacks on Fast Food.

Only a matter of time:

http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/main.jhtml?xml=/news/2007/11/17/wfat117.xml

How long before somebody recommends that we kill off half the world’s population of humans to stop global warming?

Clearly, you’ve never heard of Tennesseans For Genocide.
http://sarcastro.wordpress.com/2007/10/12/save-the-planet-kill-yourself/

hey number 9, thanks for noticing… and as a meat eater i eat grass fed, locally produced meat and enkoy things like liver, kidney’s and sweetbreads - to honor the entire animal. there are meat eaters and there are mcmeat eaters… i’d say they’re a different bread.

bread = breed
obviously
sorry

I’d comment but I’m kind of busy chowing on a hamburger at the moment.

Claudia, I like your blog. Have clipped several recipes. One thing I wish I could find in Knoxville is locally produced grass fed meat and local produce. Produce I can find. A little.

I have yet to find a source for Knoxville for local grass fed beef, but could you share your sources for the Nashville audience?

As an environmentalist I have always believed the best thing across the board is to support local family farms. Factory farming is environmentally unsound and can wreck your health. The sewage issue is a tremendous pollution problem like in North Carolina on the hog farms.

Many people are learning about local food and how it reduces air pollution. Having your salad trucked in from 2,000 miles is insanity.

I also agree with William about the growth hormones. Don’t need them and don’t want them.

Here’s something I’ve always wondered about on this topic (and is not directed at anybody in specific here). I understand (though don’t agree with) why the “animals are people too” crowd get hostile towards meat-eaters, but why do many meat-eaters feel the need to constantly pick at vegetarians? If a vegetarian doesn’t cae if you eat meat what possible reason could you have to care if they don’t? Yet i see hostility towards vegetarians all the time.

http://www.grassorganic.com/
http://www.dwfarms.com/

i buy from them - a lot

Thanks Claudia. They even have a delivery in Knoxville. It is only a hour and a half drive. Our family will have a road trip, with a big cooler.

What cuts do you like?

I hope this is the future. It makes sense on every level.

http://www.grassorganic.com/smokehouse.html

in the winter cheaper cuts work well with braising and stewing. especially to even out the cost. but i am all over the board with what i buy. it just depends on what i’m into at that moment.

dolphin, I’ve often wondered why I’m so frequently met with hostility when someone finds out I’m a vegetarian. I think they expect me to be some sort of militant out to rip the burger right from their hands. I’d never do that (…because I won’t touch a burger–ha!).

Geez, I thought it was my SUV.

I don’t get the logic.

OK, so there are too many cows. It’s killing the planet. So we all quit eating beef, as Ms. Mills requests. Suddenly, voila! there aren’t too many cows? I’d think there would be more cows, as we are no longer eating them.

So do we kill off all the cows that are killing off the planet? Then, what do we do with the piles of cow carcasses? Leather chaps and jaunty leather hats for all!

Or do we just set them all free? “Be free, cows, we’ve quit eating you! Have a nice day! Be wild, as you were meant to be!”

Besides, most people I know, when put on a diet of brussels sprouts and broccoli, will produce enough methane to make a cow blush.

Or gag.

jim - that’s hilarious.

We must eat the cows. To save the planet.

Jim: http://lesleyeats.blogspot.com/search/label/vegetarian%20flatulence

I emit no gas, my brother.

Also, vegetarians taste better. Just sayin’.
(That is not an invitation to stick an apple in my mouth and roast me over a fire, though. Or an invitation for anything at all.)

And my dad looks at me so funny when I tell him that he needs to market his free range, hormone free, antibiotic free, grass fed livestock to people who will pay him 10 times what the current commercial beef market prices pay. He does not believe that it is possible. Boutique livestock farming is the way of the future.

Come buy one, beef or pork(they live in the woods and eat acorns), but not chickens (because their eggs are more valuable) you will need to be responsible for finding your own slaughterhouse and butcher, but there are lots of sources for locally produced meet in Middle Tennessee.

But remember, no petting. These animals are meant for food and not pets. Much like Claudia said, there is responsibility in being a meat eater and not just a plastic wrapped McMeat eater.

I assume jim is joking. nobody is THAT lacking in an understanding of basic economics.

Sara,

Yes, there is very little limit to the gullibility of the American public.

“I assume jim is joking”

Oh, please. Of course. Everyone knows that it is impossible for a leather hat to be “jaunty.”

Boy, I wish I could con an old Beatle out of hundreds of millions of dollars so I could buy obnoxious eye-polluting billboards talking about how everyone else is evil for eating meat. But I’m poor and male, so I’ll just eat a steak.

jim? hilarious…
you’re killing me

ron - at least you’re not eating the cheap chuck.

poor heather - hated by so very many… anyway, you know you’ve gotta be a real bitch if you have one leg and everyone still despises

you

(thought i’d finish my sentence)

Jim is just waiting for an opportunity to BBQ the cows again…

and the pigs… and the chickens… mmmm…