Animals
Are They Beavering Away?
The COP26 climate summit is underway so let’s hope world leaders are working as diligently as Canada’s national animal in fixing the climate crisis and biodiversity loss. The re-wilding of beavers in Britain isn’t uniformly welcomed, especially when they flood farmers’ fields, but their work ethic and engineering skills help manage ecosystems, store carbon, purify water, cycle nutrients and control storm-water flooding. This keystone species mates for life, has its offspring work in the family business and provides habitat for birds and other animals. They are prolific builders carrying mud and stones with their fore-paws and timber with their teeth, to build and maintain dams and lodges. They are action-oriented experts at getting things done. And great role models for COP 26!
Food
Satisfying the Plant Curious
With the news that the menus at COP26 feature plant-based food, a company in Vancouver is clearly on-trend by delivering plant-based dishes to people interested in trying plant-based foods. “Plant Curious” sources plant-based cheeses, meats, pancakes, desserts etc., from local vendors, and makes them available to people who are open to trying alternatives to animal-based protein. Although there are more and more plant-based options available in grocery stores, there is an abundance of delicious plant-based foods produced by small-scale, local artisanal vendors that people may not discover. The specially curated food boxes can be picked up or are delivered to households every two months for people who want to incorporate more plants into their diets.
the Climate Crisis
Remember Sputnik? Here Comes Spudnik
As millions of people around the world transition to climate-friendly foods, China is tapping the lowly spud to help win the climate race. Four staple crops, rice, wheat, corn and potatoes, anchor Chinese diets. A new study says a dietary shift to potatoes, grown with lower emissions, less water and land than the three other staples, could cut GHG crop emissions in China by 25%. Potatoes are drought resistant and adaptable to new growing regions, and so more climate proof. While not a high climate impact food like meat or dairy, even modest crop emission reductions would be significant due to the amount consumed. China has been promoting the dietary shift for a while but the study provides new evidence that choosing to eat spuds will definitely be greener.
words of wisdom
“We have built a civilization based on a world that doesn’t exist anymore.
“We are conducting an unprecedented experiment with our planet … The temperature has only moved a few tenths of a degree for us, until now, just small wiggles in the road. But now we are hitting a curve we’ve never seen before.”
— Katherine Hayhoe, climate scientist at Texas Tech University
“We are on a catastrophic path … We can either save our world or condemn humanity to a hellish future.”
— Antonio Guterres, secretary general of the UN
on the horizon
Photo: Animal Free Research UK
Animals Are Not a Proxy For Humans in Medical Research
Biomedical testing on animals is cruel, ineffective and just bad science, according to the science director for Animal Free Research UK. Dr. Jarrod Bailey says that the current approach doesn’t work because more than 90% of drugs and therapies tested on animals fail to deliver human health benefits. He is part of a growing campaign to modernize medical testing by convincing governments and medical science researchers that better options exist.
Globally, 200 million animals undergo lab testing annually for purposes ranging from medical research to toxicity, chemical, agrochemical or cosmetic testing. Mice are the most common subjects (57%) but other animals — including dogs and cats — are experimented on too.
“We need to get our heads around the scientific truth … that you cannot reliably use any one species to inform the biology or risk of diseases suffered by another species,” Bailey told the Canadian Animal Law Conference recently.
Animal Free Research UK (AFR), a science-driven advocacy group, argues there are more accurate, faster and cheaper research technologies available that will modernize biomedical research to compile crucial data, improve human health and phase out animal testing.
Laboratory innovations such using human cells and tissues, artificial intelligence and organ-on-a-chip technology — which simulates the activities, mechanics and physiological responses of human organs and systems — are more relevant to human diseases and greatly reduce the drug development failure rate.
Stars from Harry Potter and Downton Abbey re-enact a historic moment of protest in the UK animal protection movement. Photo: Cruelty Free International
65% of Britons want animal testing phased out, according to a recent YouGov poll. The #TargetZero petition, sponsored by Cruelty Free International, Animal Free Research UK and OneKind, prompted a debate in the British parliament last month which was an important airing of the issue and a potential catalyst for further government action.
Internationally, the EU Parliament has called for EU nations to do the same, with the Netherlands, Denmark, and Switzerland already transitioning to animal free research. So, too, is the US, but change is painfully slow. The US EPA has committed to stop using animals for toxicity testing but only by 2035. Canada is lagging even further behind, but the Canadian Centre for Alternatives to Animal Methods is working to change that by developing and promoting non-animal, human biology-based platforms for biomedical research, education, and chemical safety testing.
Photo: Animal Free Research UK
Defenders of the status quo argue that sacrificing animals for testing is necessary to save humans from disease but given the high failure rate of animal-based research and the new advances in science, this is a false equivalence. Check out the Five Myths of animal testing.
Bailey says that investing in R&D for new medical science techniques will contribute £2.5 billion to the UK economy by 2026. But the most potent catalyst for change is patients concerned that medical science is delivering too few medical breakthroughs and not fast enough.
“Patient groups are voicing their frustrations with where research has been for the last forty years. Where is the understanding of the diseases that we are involved in, where are the new treatments and drugs and therapies?” Bailey said.
He believes the campaign will reach critical mass when more people understand the health benefits of modernizing biomedical research so they can be more confident they won’t “get Parkinson’s or breast cancer … or any of these awful diseases that we all fear. “
deeper dive
Universal Meals program. Photos: pcrm.org
A Solution to the Dinner Guest from Hell?
More and more people are changing the way they eat — reasons from allergies to personal health, to environmental and ethical concerns, are causing people to make different choices. Plus, increasingly diverse populations exhibit a wide range of dietary preferences and these come into play whenever they board a plane, attend a business meeting, stay in a hotel, dine in a cafeteria, meet friends at a restaurant or arrive at the front door for dinner!
So what’s the answer?
“Universal Meals” is an initiative by the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in the US — a leader in promoting good nutrition — created by its founder and president Neal Barnard, MD, who spends a lot of time on airplanes and in hotels and restaurants. Barnard concluded his team’s nutritional expertise could address travelers’ dietary needs and so he launched the Universal Meals program to help influence menu offerings at restaurants, hotels, airlines, universities, hospitals, and other businesses and institutions that prepare food for the public.
It consists of a simple set of guidelines that addresses a wide range of dietary requirements and can be implemented anywhere food is served. To accommodate gluten-free diners, people who have allergies or are lactose intolerant, vegetarians, vegans, and the dietary requirements of Jewish, Muslim, and Orthodox Christians’ practices, the guidelines omit:
All animal-derived ingredients, including meat, fish, eggs, and dairy products;
Gluten, including wheat, barley, rye, triticale, and contaminated grains;
The eight most common allergens in the United States (milk, eggs, wheat, tree nuts, soy, fish, shellfish, and peanuts), plus additional common allergens such as celery, lupin and mustard; and
Alcohol
People omit certain ingredients from their food for different reasons, yet it’s often the same ingredients that they choose to avoid. Universal Meals takes advantage of the overlaps to generate the widest possible acceptance.
To further boost acceptance, the Physicians Committee enlisted some of the best chefs in the world including the Culinary Institute of America to develop the recipes.
The priorities were taste and compliance with the guidelines, rather than healthfulness, but it turns out that the Universal Meals program is also very healthy. A Physicians Committee dietitian used the Alternative Healthy Eating Index (designed by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health) to compare the nutrient quality of a day’s worth of Universal Meals (which scored 88 out of a possible 110) with the average American diet (which scores between 33 and 41).
Making Universal Meals, Well, Universal
For Universal Meals to be adopted by as many people, businesses and institutions as possible, and to help consumers understand what Universal Meals means for them, the Physicians Committee has developed a free, comprehensive toolkit, including:
Menu guidelines in an easily understandable format;
Practical, delicious recipes for every meal plus dessert, including many that have been scaled for institutional use (50 servings);
Consultation with experts to increase public confidence that their nutrition, health, religion, and cultural mandates have been taken into account in all Universal Meals recipes; and
Additional media and tools (such as flyers that can be used in cafeterias or adapted for consumer education, and a resource called Easy Swaps that helps chefs learn how to convert their own recipes into Universal Meals-compliant versions).
As institutions adopt Universal Meals, the potential benefits are enormous. It’s good for businesses who can ensure that clients and customers feel well cared for, and it’s good for people who are made to feel welcome. No-one has to say sorry!
nurture nature
Photo: Ossi Saarinen www.instagram.com/soosseli
‘Faux gras’
Michelin-starred, French chef Alexis Gauthier had a change of heart. His London restaurant was serving 20 kilos of foie gras a week and "I’d tricked myself into believing that it wasn’t all that bad. Until, one day, animal activists protested outside of my restaurant ... When I eventually gave in to watching their footage I was repulsed", Gauthier told Plant Based News. The birds are force-fed for weeks using a metal tube so their livers swell to 10x their natural size. Working with plant-based cooks from BOSH!, Gauthier created a plant-based, animal-free alternative. The response was overwhelming. “People want good food, they don’t want brutality”, Gauthier said. Foie gras production is illegal in the UK and it is said to be looking at a ban on imports too (which 79% of Brits support). “I never lost a single customer. My business did not suffer, and now the animals don’t either,” says Gauthier.
Good news
New Doc Takes An Even-Handed Approach to the Perils of Our Food System
A new documentary “Eating Our Way To Extinction”, is a powerful tour of the destructive contribution of the global food system to the twin threats of biodiversity loss and the climate crisis. The film, narrated by Oscar-winning actor Kate Winslet, shows how what we eat and how it is produced affects the environment, species extinction, our health and the health of the planet.
Featuring legendary oceanographer Dr. Sylvia Earle, Oxford University scientists and food system experts Dr. Thomas Poore, Dr. Marco Springmann and Dr. Tara Garnett, and health expert Dr. Michael Greger, the feature-length film also explores how our food system exploits and destroys nature from the perspective of indigenous peoples — acknowledged experts in having achieved a balance with nature for centuries.
And it shows how eating a plant-forward or plant-based diet is the most effective action an individual can take to reduce the damage. The film has already been translated into 14 languages and is available on Apple TV, iTunes, Amazon, Google Play and VUDU.
Even Bite-sized Changes Help
To tackle the increase of meat consumption around the world that is contributing to the climate crisis and supporting factory farming, global animal welfare charity World Animal Protection’s Meating Halfway program recognizes that everyone is on a journey regarding their relationship with meat.
Acknowledging the challenges of shifting to more plant-based foods, it aims to give people the tools and resources to support them in making small but meaningful changes that will have a positive impact on the lives of farmed animals, public health, and the planet.
Denmark Has An Ambitious Green Transition Plan for Food and Farms
Denmark has launched a historic transition plan to help their farmers radically reduce emissions and support the growth of plant-based foods, making it one of the few countries to directly address the carbon footprint and climate impact of food and farming.
The new legally binding target to slash GHG and nitrogen emissions from farming by 55% by 2030, is an important part of Denmark’s overall goal to reduce emissions by 70% by 2030, one of the most ambitious climate goals in the world.
The plan, agreed to by all political parties, is considered crucial to meeting these climate targets. Danish farms, which ship dairy products and pork around the world, are one of the country’s top sources of carbon emissions.
The plan will provide $600 million in support to farmers during the transition and includes conversions of farmland to wildlife areas. The support also includes $235 million for the growth of plant-based foods, research into alternative proteins and incentives for farmers to grow plant-based crops for human consumption. It is the largest investment in plant-based research and development by any EU country to-date.
Data Points
Photo: Roman Odintsov from Pexels
50% of US consumers are familiar with plant-based products, 41% have tried them and 60% of those 41% are very, or somewhat likely to continue eating them (2020 Gallup poll). A 2020 Mintel study showed almost 50% of US consumers who eat plant-based meats, consume more than they did in 2019, and a third study showed 32% of US consumers identified as mostly vegetarian or were trying to reduce their intake of animal products. Nearly 60% of consumers believe that plant-based diets are a fundamental change in how people eat and that it will continue.
99.9% of scientists agree that humans are altering the climate and ramping up the climate crisis. A study by Cornell University, which looked at almost 90,000 climate-related studies, found that the degree of scientific certainty about the impact of greenhouse gases is now similar to the level of agreement on evolution and plate tectonics.
charting our path
Here’s What Lifestyle Carbon Footprints Looks Like
The COP26 climate summit is grappling with the question of how we transition to a low carbon world. Part of the debate is whether we need individuals to make significantly different choices, or radical changes to systems — government policies and industries such as energy, food and transportation. A new climate impact report says we need both. For example, it’ll be hard for consumers to make lower impact choices if electric vehicle charging stations or plant-based foods are not widely available.
The comprehensive report 1.5 Degree Lifestyles, from the respected, Berlin-based, think tank Hot or Cool Institute, looks at the carbon emission consequences of both individual lifestyle choices and the economic systems that support them. In a sample of 10 G20 countries, Canada is winning the race — and it’s the wrong race.
The above chart shows Canada is trailing behind other major countries in cutting carbon emissions resulting from lifestyle choices. The grey vertical bars on the left show the global carbon emission lifestyle budgets for reaching the 1.5 C Paris climate target. To do so, Canadians would need to cut their footprint by 82% by 2030. (The US emissions footprint is not featured in the report but is similar to Canada’s).
But there is hope. The report shows that while lifestyle choices such as driving fossil fuel-powered cars, eating meat, flying, and large, high energy-consuming homes generate a huge share of GHG emissions, “changing the design, production, and consumption patterns in these areas will address about 75% of environmental impacts.”
1.5-Degree Lifestyles: Towards A Fair Consumption Space For All. Hot and Cool Institute
Looking at how our food is produced and what we eat in particular: Canadians have an average food carbon footprint of 2,270 kg (CO2e per year) of which meat products make up 61%, to which beef is the largest contributor. Dairy products are second highest at 15%, mostly due to cheese and milk consumption. Cereals, vegetables, beans, nuts and fruits are 13% of the total footprint.
“Talking about lifestyle changes is a hot-potato issue for policymakers who are afraid to threaten the lifestyles of voters. This report brings a science-based approach and shows that without addressing lifestyles we will not be able to address climate change” said Dr. Lewis Akenji, the lead author of the study.
But, the report also explores policies governments can implement for system changes to pave the way for greener lifestyles, “rather than focusing on individual behaviour changes, which will not be sufficient to achieve these reductions.”
The report says there is huge potential for reducing emissions in high-income countries with measures such as: electric cars, reducing international flights, consuming plant-forward diets, low-carbon protein instead of red meat, more efficient food production and vehicle fuels, renewable off-grid electricity and renewable energy heating and/or cooling.
riveting reads
1. A story on how livestock producers are promoting a misleading emissions-measurement system that downplays the significant contribution of methane to the climate crisis (Bloomberg).
Beef industry falsely claims low cow carbon footprint
2. “Cows are the new coal,” says British investment visionary Jeremy Coller who urges countries and businesses to set climate goals that include reductions in emissions from animal agriculture (Forbes). Understanding the agricultural sector's role in climate pledges
3. The power of providing eco-information to change the way we eat (The Guardian). How green is your food?
4. An interactive piece showing the future effects of different levels of warming on various regions in the world (The Guardian). This is what the future looks like