Debby
Well-known Member
- Location
- East coast of Canada
People spend a lot of energy, getting all wound up about how much money the government is spending on this program or that, and often end by pointing to how unfair it is that 'our grandchildren will end up paying for it'. But there are other things that our grandchildren will be paying for and there is (not) surprisingly, less concern about those issues despite the fact that right now, each and every one of us can start paying down that debt.
What I wonder is, why is there so much reluctance to embrace a better way of doing something if it means improving our own health as well as the health of the planet. We spend an awful lot of time talking about our various aches and pains and medical issues on forums like this so how do folks feel about the following study that was recently done by the University of Oxford?
'A global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds, and lead to healthcare-related savings. It could also avoid climate-related damages of $1.5 trillion (US), Oxford Martin School researchers have found........They found that adopting diets in line with global dietary guidelines could avoid 5.1 million deaths per year by 2050. Even greater benefits could come from vegetarian diets (avoiding 7.3 million deaths) and vegan diets (avoiding 8.1 million deaths). Approximately half of the avoided deaths were due to reduction of red meat consumption, with the other half due to a combination of increased fruit and vegetable intake and a reduction in calories, leading to fewer people being overweight or obese.The study projects that by 2050, food-related greenhouse gas emissions could account for half of the emissions the world can afford if global warming is to be limited to less than 2°C. Adopting global dietary guidelines would cut food-related emissions by 29%, vegetarian diets by 63%, and vegan diets by 70%, says the study.The researchers also modelled the economic benefits of dietary change and found they could save $700-$1,000 billion (US) per year on healthcare, unpaid informal care and lost working days. The economic value that society places on the reduced risk of dying could even be as high as 9-13% of global GDP, or $20-$30 trillion (US). In addition, the researchers found that the economic benefit of reduced greenhouse gas emissions from dietary changes could be as much as $570 billion (US)....'
http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-03-22...e-8-million-lives-2050-and-cut-global-warming
What are your thoughts on changing your diet for the sake of future generations and the planet?
What I wonder is, why is there so much reluctance to embrace a better way of doing something if it means improving our own health as well as the health of the planet. We spend an awful lot of time talking about our various aches and pains and medical issues on forums like this so how do folks feel about the following study that was recently done by the University of Oxford?
'A global switch to diets that rely less on meat and more on fruit and vegetables could save up to 8 million lives by 2050, reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds, and lead to healthcare-related savings. It could also avoid climate-related damages of $1.5 trillion (US), Oxford Martin School researchers have found........They found that adopting diets in line with global dietary guidelines could avoid 5.1 million deaths per year by 2050. Even greater benefits could come from vegetarian diets (avoiding 7.3 million deaths) and vegan diets (avoiding 8.1 million deaths). Approximately half of the avoided deaths were due to reduction of red meat consumption, with the other half due to a combination of increased fruit and vegetable intake and a reduction in calories, leading to fewer people being overweight or obese.The study projects that by 2050, food-related greenhouse gas emissions could account for half of the emissions the world can afford if global warming is to be limited to less than 2°C. Adopting global dietary guidelines would cut food-related emissions by 29%, vegetarian diets by 63%, and vegan diets by 70%, says the study.The researchers also modelled the economic benefits of dietary change and found they could save $700-$1,000 billion (US) per year on healthcare, unpaid informal care and lost working days. The economic value that society places on the reduced risk of dying could even be as high as 9-13% of global GDP, or $20-$30 trillion (US). In addition, the researchers found that the economic benefit of reduced greenhouse gas emissions from dietary changes could be as much as $570 billion (US)....'
http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-03-22...e-8-million-lives-2050-and-cut-global-warming
What are your thoughts on changing your diet for the sake of future generations and the planet?
) he won Mr. America plus a couple other competitions in a field of all white men and as well as being black, he was also openly gay and the magazine that normally puts the winners photo on the cover, never included his photo on that cover nor in the body of the article about the competitors and their respective placements. He was offended by that deliberate exclusion for years. And he died at the age of 80 just the way most of us want to go, in his sleep and to the surprise of everyone because he was active in the gym, pumping iron to the end. So you see, being vegan doesn't equal weak and wimpy.