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satisfi ed with what we have participated in creating. Margaret
Mead summed it up nicely: “ A small group of thoughtful people
could change the world. Indeed, it ’ s the only thing that ever has. ”
If everyone reading this bought more organic foods, there would
be less acreage contaminated by toxins, less collateral damages,
and fewer resulting diseases. This is playing the responsibility game
in a big way, and we get to choose now as the time to take off our
blinders and realize that our health extends beyond our bodies... and
that we are all connected. This line of reasoning is not radical; it is
simple algebra, rooted in the fundamental laws of quantum physics
and spirituality. As Coach Foster said, “ Read the clues! ”
Reducing Your Carbon Footprint:
Eat Organic and Less MeatAs we weave our industrialized web of modern agricultural concerns,
we learn other appalling facts about what our excessive animal con-
sumption has created. In Livestock ’ s Long Shadow , a report from the
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, a shocking side
effect of excessive animal consumption was revealed: global live-
stock production is creating about one - fi fth of all greenhouse gases,
which is even more than the amount created by automobiles!
Mark Bittman, the author of Food Matters: A Guide to Conscious
Eating , translates the environmental damage from our overreliance
on eating meat into this analogy: “ In terms of energy consumption,
serving a typical family - of - four steak dinner is the rough equivalent
of driving around in an SUV for three hours while leaving all the
lights on at home. ”
If you aren ’ t dramatically concerned yet, you will be! Globally
speaking, livestock is the fastest - growing sector of agriculture;
since 1980, the numbers of pigs and poultry have quadrupled and
those of cattle, sheep, and goats have doubled! Although Americans
are already big meat consumers, eating approximately half a pound
of meat per day, the developing world ’ s meat intake is rising fast
and has tripled since 1970. Overall global meat consumption is