More than 2.5 million Australians, or roughly
12 percent of the population, are eating
virtually no meat, according to a new report
by market research company Roy Morgan.
The number represents a strong uptick in
Australians who eat completely “or almost all”
vegetarian food—up from 1.7 million in 2012.
Talk about Aus-some news.New York City will slash its beef purchases by 50 percent and
completely eliminate processed meat from the menus of city
hospitals, schools, and jails if Mayor Bill de Blasio’s proposed
OneNYC2050 initiative is passed. The $14 billion initiative, dubbed by de
Blasio as the city’s own Green New Deal, focuses on reducing the city’s greenhouse
gas emissions by 30 percent by 2030 and achieving full carbon neutrality by 2050.
We’re loving that New York state of mind.1 million
The number of plant and animal species
at risk of extinction due to human
activity, according to a report by the
Intergovernmental Science-Policy
Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem
Services. The UN-backed report, the most
comprehensive of its kind ever written,
identifies human-caused deforestation,
overfishing, hunting and poaching,
climate change, and pollution as the main
drivers of this mass extinction, while
highlighting other shocking statistics.The percentage of greenhouse
gasses that are caused by land
clearing, crop production, and
fertilizationThe percentage of the world’s
ocean area that is covered by
industrial fishing operationsThe percentage of freshwater
resources that are devoted to
crop or livestock productionThe increase in greenhouse
gas emissions seen since 198025%
55%
75%
100%
A PLANT-BASED DIET
may be the key to living
longer, according to a new
study published in The Journal
of Nutrition. The study shows
that those who follow a vegan
diet have the highest levels of
antioxidants, omega-3 fatty
acids, isoflavones, and the
anti-inflammatory compound
enterolactone—all powerful
fighters of disease, especially
when compared to semi-
vegetarians and meat-eaters.CHEDDAR’S NOT BETTER
In a new interactive guide on how different foods are
affecting climate change, the New York Times explains
how certain cheeses, like cheddar and mozzarella, can have significantly
larger carbon footprints than chicken and pork due to the roughly 10
pounds of milk it takes to produce just one pound of cheese. So if you
care about the planet, it’s probably time to cut the cheese.“Factory farms are
responsible for 1.4 trillion
pounds of animal waste in
America. They are a threat
to the water we drink and
the air we breathe, and it
is unbelievable to me that
Republicans in Congress
have been working overtime
to exempt factory farms
from environmental laws.”—Presidential candidate Bernie SandersNEWS/now
20 VegNews SUMMER 2019