The Dairy Revolution: Vegan CEO of Miyoko's Kitchen Is Also Helping Dairy Farmers to Transition
08 January
Business
This is part one of a three-part interview series with Miyoko Schinner, CEO and Founder of plant dairy startup, Miyoko's Kitchen.
Food Tank sat down with Miyoko Schinner and her two rescue dogs, Koan and Kaiti, in the office of her company's 30,000 square-foot facility in Petaluma, CA. The first thing she wants to tell our readers may come as a surprise given her company's mission to revolutionize dairy by "creating a new economy based on plants" instead of other animals.
<p>"We want to help American farmers by going to ones who are struggling. The average dairy farmer makes $30,000 a year." <a href="https://downloads.usda.library.cornell.edu/usda-esmis/files/h989r321c/44558m869/j3860f20k/mkpr0319.pdf" target="_blank">Almost 3,000 dairy farms closed down in 2018 alone</a>, and <a href="https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/best-advice-u-s-dairy-farmers-sell-out-fast-you-n887941" target="_blank">42,000 dairy farms have gone out of business since 2000</a>. Miyoko continues, "We'd like to partner with some of those struggling dairy farmers and actually help them transition to becoming our supply chain, to growing crops for us, such as potatoes. We need a very specific potato with a certain starch profile. We need farmers to grow those potatoes and we would help them monetarily transition … We would take the money out of our marketing budget to help them transition to a new livelihood and then they would have an ensured livelihood because they would be supply chain for us. These are some of the programs that we want to initiate over the next year." Miyoko thinks it's important to "have the courage to cross the aisle and talk to people who may seem like enemies."</p><p>But why would a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vegan" target="_self">vegan</a> cheese company want to reach across the aisle to help the competition? Well, because far from any kind of vegan utopia, Miyoko lives in Nicasio, California, or "ag land" as she calls it. In 2015 she started an animal sanctuary in the area called <a href="https://www.ranchocompasion.org/" target="_blank">Rancho Compasión</a>, where 70 rescued farmed <a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/animals/" target="_self">animals</a> now reside. Visiting the sanctuary, surrounded by ranches where animals are still raised for food, one realizes that Miyoko's ideals live on the ground, where she builds upon current infrastructure to transition toward what she believes is a more compassionate <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/food" target="_self">food</a> system.</p>
<p>Miyoko's Kitchen is no different: the offices, R&D kitchen, and impressive production facility all sit right next to the corporate office for an animal-dairy company. In the parking lot, the pungent smell of cows comes from nearby farms.</p><p>As an ethical and political vegan, Miyoko believes that "the dairy industry is ugly," forcibly separating calves from their mothers at birth and keeping cows in a constant cycle of pregnancy and lactation for five years, then selling them for hamburger meat once they're "spent."</p><p>Miyoko explains: "And I do speak out about it, but I don't want to call the people in the industry evil or bad. It's the practices, it's the industry … The fact is the people in the industry, such as the farmers in my neck of the woods, a lot of them consider themselves to be good people. They're good Christians who are just feeding America, just doing what their ancestors have done. This is how people have eaten in the Western world for a long time. So now their livelihood's being threatened, they believe, by people in our sector. And so rather than being the threat, I want to show them that we're the solution. I want to show them that this is coming from a place of compassion."</p>
<p>Miyoko recalls one particular rancher from whom she rescued Angel, a former dairy cow who is now a lifetime member of Miyoko's extended interspecies family at Rancho Compasión.</p><p>"I was speaking to this rancher and he said, 'Yeah, I just couldn't retire. I kept putting off retirement because I kept thinking if I retire, how am I going to feed America?'"</p><p>"To him, he was feeding America … He was doing the good deed. There are a lot of people like that. There are of course the more conniving ones that are bigger. But a lot of the smaller farmers selling their milk to the co-ops are just farmers trying to pay their bills and struggling. And so why not partner with them? Why not transform America that way? Why not tell that story to inspire Americans?"</p><p>"That's how I look at revolutionizing things on a true scale, not just ignoring them and saying, 'Well, we're going to bulldoze over you and create a new economy that's based on plants. So screw you.' That's not the approach we want to take. How can we actually revolutionize the entire dairy landscape? We can revolutionize by helping farmers transform their dairies into new enterprises and then we're helping ourselves and we're helping them. We're helping the world."</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from <a href="https://foodtank.com/news/2020/01/the-dairy-revolution-vegan-ceo-working-to-help-dairy-farmers/" target="_blank">Food Tank</a>.</em></p>From Your Site Articles
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U.S. Sen. Cory Booker speaking with attendees at the 2019 California Democratic Party State Convention at the George R. Moscone Convention Center in San Francisco, California on June 1. Gage Skidmore / Flickr / CC BY-SA 2.0
New Jersey senator and presidential hopeful Cory Booker put forth the Farm System Reform Act of 2019, in recognition of the environmental impact of industrial agriculture, which would put a stop to any new factory farms, as The Hill reported.
<p>The bill will reform the agriculture system by breaking up monopolistic practices in the industry and holding large corporate farms accountable for the environmental impacts of their practices, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/474685-booker-proposes-moratorium-on-expanding-large-factory-farms" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p>
<p>The proposal takes particular aim at <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/factory-farming" rel="noopener noreferrer">factory farms</a>, or concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs), which are notorious for their detrimental environmental impacts, as well as the inhumane treatment of animals. Not only would the bill ban any new CAFOs, but it requires phasing existing ones out by 2040, according to the <a href="https://whistleblower.org/blog/senate-bill-to-overhaul-concentrated-animal-feeding-operations/" target="_blank">Government Accountability Project</a>. The bill will allocate $100 billion over a decade to entice farmers who want to transition out of running CAFOs.</p>
<p>CAFOs are known to generate an enormous amount of manure and waste, which frequently contaminates nearby <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/groundwater" rel="noopener noreferrer">groundwater</a>. They are also known to give farmers little freedom to change since farmers are often handcuffed by binding contracts with large corporations. The Department of Agriculture defines a CAFO as having 1,000 cattle, 700 dairy cows, 2,500 pigs, 125,000 chickens or 82,000 laying hens, as <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2019/12/cory-booker-announces-legislation-to-scale-back-factory-farms/" target="_blank">Modern Farmer</a> reported. </p>
<p>Sen. Cory Booker's proposal aims to hold corporations responsible for pollution and other harm caused by their factory farm suppliers, even though the factory farms are independently owned and in a contract with the large corporations, according to <a href="https://thehill.com/homenews/senate/474685-booker-proposes-moratorium-on-expanding-large-factory-farms" target="_blank">The Hill</a>.</p>
<p>"Our independent family farmers and ranchers are continuing to be squeezed by large, multinational corporations that, because of their buying power and size, run roughshod over the marketplace. We need to fix the broken system – that means protecting family farmers and ranchers and holding corporate integrators responsible for the harm they are causing," said Booker, in a <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1036" target="_blank">statement</a> put out by his office. "Large factory farms are harmful to rural communities, public health, and the environment and we must immediately begin to transition to a more sustainable and humane system."</p>
<p>Booker's <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1036" target="_blank">statement</a> cited data from the Center for Disease Control and Prevention that found large CAFOs produce as much as 1.4 billion tons of waste each year, but don't need to maintain a waste treatment facility. Their steady dramatic increase in numbers recently put rural communities at risk of severe environmental hazards and threatens the viability of family farms.</p>
<p>Furthermore, the crowded conditions of livestock means antibiotics have been overused, leading to the spread of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/antibiotic-resistance" rel="noopener noreferrer">antibiotic resistant bacteria</a>. That phenomenon pushed the American Public Health Association to urge federal, state and local governments as well as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/public-health" rel="noopener noreferrer">public health</a> agencies to impose a moratorium on all new and expanding CAFOs last month, according to Booker's <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1036" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p>
<p>"Senator Booker's Farm System Reform Act pushes back on the concentration of animal production and the devastating impact that has had on our rural communities," said Randy Dugger, Indiana Farmers Union Vice President, in a <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1036" target="_blank">statement</a>. "Independent family farmers deserve an opportunity to be prosperous again. By providing fairness and transparency in the market, along with a significant investment to help those trapped in a broken system to get out, this bill can make a huge difference."</p>
<p>The bill also calls for restoring country-of-origin labeling for <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/beef" rel="noopener noreferrer">beef</a> and pork and expand to <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dairy" rel="noopener noreferrer">dairy</a> products. It would tighten labeling regulations so consumers know where meat was grown, slaughtered and processed, which would stop the Department of Agriculture from labeling imported meat as "Product of USA." Currently, meat grown, slaughtered and processed in Brazil, but packaged in the USA can be labeled as Product of USA, as <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2019/12/cory-booker-announces-legislation-to-scale-back-factory-farms/" target="_blank">Modern Farmer</a> reported. </p>
<p>"I have seen first-hand how hard it is to challenge the multinational corporations who control the meat industry," said Mike Callicrate, a Kansas rancher in a <a href="https://www.booker.senate.gov/?p=press_release&id=1036" target="_blank">press release</a>. "Farmers and ranchers need a marketplace that compensates them fairly and Senator Booker's Farm System Reform Act is a big step in the right direction. Things like country of origin labeling on meat, updates to the Packers and Stockyards Act, and resources to get folks out of a system that is bankrupting them will make a big difference."</p>
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World Must Reach 'Peak Meat' by 2030 to Fight Climate Crisis, Scientists Say
13 December 2019
Climate
A group of scientists is warning that livestock production must not expand after 2030 for the world to stave off ecological disaster.
A <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(19)30245-1/fulltext" target="_blank">letter</a> published in <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/home" target="_blank">Lancet Planetary Health</a>, signed by more than 50 leading scientists in the field, calls for meat production to peak by 2030, after which governments need firm commitments to stop expanding livestock production, to reduce the most resource-intensive livestock production, and to start "replacing livestock with foods that simultaneously minimize environmental burdens and maximize public health benefits—mainly pulses (including beans, peas, and lentils), grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts, and seeds."
<p><a href="http://www.ecowatch.com/tag/meat" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer"></a>The scientists warn that a coordinated effort from the world's governments to identify and reduce the largest sources of emissions is needed to reduce the risk of global temperatures exceeding the "safe" limit of 1.5-2 degrees Celsius above pre-industrial levels, as <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/12/world/peak-meat-2030-lancet-intl-scli-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a> reported.</p><p>"The reduction we need means we need deep transformation in every sector," said Helen Harwatt, an environmental social scientist at Harvard Law School and lead author of the letter, to <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/12/12/world/peak-meat-2030-lancet-intl-scli-scn/index.html" target="_blank">CNN</a>. "To reduce to 1.5 C, we need to remove massive amounts of CO2 from the atmosphere. We're suggesting agriculture transitions to optimal systems, and that's plant-based."</p><p>In addition to reducing carbon dioxide emissions, it's important to cut back on methane, a powerful greenhouse gas that cattle and sheep notoriously emit during digestion. </p><p> Furthermore, carbon-capturing forests are destroyed to create room for livestock and to grow grains for intensively raised animals, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/12/peak-meat-climate-crisis-livestock-meat-dairy" target="_blank">The Guardian</a> reported. More than 80 percent of farmland is used to raise livestock, but it produces just 18 percent of calories. </p><p>Researchers have found that the best way to store large amounts of carbon is to reduce <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/meat">meat</a> and <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/dairy" rel="noopener noreferrer">dairy</a> intake and for people to shift to a plant-based diet so land is returned to forest, according to the <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/12/peak-meat-climate-crisis-livestock-meat-dairy" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>.</p>
<p>"If the livestock sector were to continue with business as usual, this sector alone would account for 49 percent of the emissions budget for 1.5°C by 2030, requiring other sectors to reduce emissions beyond a realistic or planned level," the scientists wrote in their <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(19)30245-1/fulltext" target="_blank">letter</a>.</p>
<p>The <a href="https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(19)30245-1/fulltext" target="_blank">letter</a> notes that decreasing livestock production will reduce the carbon footprint left by animal husbandry. The UN estimates that raising animals for meat accounts for nearly 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, which is twice as much as the fashion industry, according to <a href="https://www.cbsnews.com/news/world-must-hit-peak-meat-by-2030-to-avoid-climate-change-crisis-scientists-say/" target="_blank">CBS News</a>. </p>
<p>"Ruminant meat is 10 to 100 times more damaging to the climate than plant-based food," said Pete Smith, at the University of Aberdeen, UK, a senior author of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change report on land use and climate change, to <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/12/peak-meat-climate-crisis-livestock-meat-dairy" target="_blank">The Guardian</a>. "As a planet, we need to transition away from a dependence on livestock, just as we need to transition away from fossil fuels, if we are to have any chance of hitting the goals of the Paris climate agreement. Livestock numbers need to peak very soon and thereafter decline substantially."</p>
<p>The scientists also pointed out that the land being used to raise cattle is needed to fight the <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/climate-crisis" rel="noopener noreferrer">climate crisis</a>. A growing body of research has found that trees are one of the best weapons we have to capture excess carbon. A <a href="https://science.sciencemag.org/content/365/6448/76?hwshib2=authn%3A1562396078%3A20190704%3Ac3ad5971-c185-4942-9acd-92aa24c51c06%3A0%3A0%3A0%3AS1lvoYPtq07c7tMzRommqA%3D%3D" target="_blank">study</a> published in July found that planting 500 billion trees, which we have the space to do if we reduce land used for livestock, can remove nearly two-thirds of the CO2 people have pumped into the atmosphere since the industrial revolution, as <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change-planting-trees-2639092782.html?rebelltitem=1#rebelltitem1" target="_self">EcoWatch</a> reported.</p>
<p>"Food demand is expected to increase massively as our population expands toward 10 billion," said professor Matthew Betts at Oregon State University and another author of the letter, as <a href="https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/dec/12/peak-meat-climate-crisis-livestock-meat-dairy">The Guardian</a> reported. "Reducing human demand for resource-intensive animal protein would considerably slow the rate of global forest loss, with huge benefits for biodiversity and ecosystem services, in addition to carbon storage."</p>
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Flat-lay of friends eating vegan and vegetarian Thanksgiving or Friendsgiving dinner with pumpkin pie, roasted vegetables, fruit and rose wine. Foxys_forest_manufacture / Royalty-free / iStock / Getty Images
Thanksgiving can be a tricky holiday if you're trying to avoid animal products — after all, its unofficial name is Turkey Day. But, as more and more studies show the impact of meat and dairy consumption on the Earth, preparing a vegan Thanksgiving is one way to show gratitude for this planet and all its biodiversity.
<p>A <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/vegan" target="_self">vegan</a> Thanksgiving doesn't have to be a sacrifice. A plant-based feast can be just as delicious as a traditional holiday meal. Here are some tips for putting together an animal-free spread that still gives your tastebuds plenty to be thankful for.</p>
1. Meatless Turkey
<p>The traditional centerpiece of the Thanksgiving meal may feel like the most intimidating element to swap out, but there are plenty of faux-turkey alternatives on the market. Juliet Lapidos <a href="https://slate.com/news-and-politics/2009/11/what-s-the-best-vegetarian-turkey-hint-it-s-not-tofurky.html" target="_blank">sampled four back in 2009</a> and rated the Gardein Stuffed Veggie Turkey Roast as the tastiest. The product is now sold as the <a href="https://www.gardein.com/products/savory-stuffed-turky/" target="_blank">savory stuffed turk'y</a> or <a href="https://www.gardein.com/products/holiday-roast/" target="_blank">holiday roast</a>. Gardein's replacement turkeys got a bill of approval from <a href="https://www.thespruceeats.com/gardeins-savory-stuffed-turky-3376903" target="_blank">The Spruce Eats</a> for their natural ingredients and realistic appearance.</p><p>You also don't have to bother with fake meat at all. <a href="https://wellvegan.com/recipe/6-turkey-alternatives-for-a-vegan-thanksgiving" target="_blank">Well Vegan</a> suggests an all veggie-take on the turducken: the Butternut Squash Vegducken. This dish stuffs a zucchini inside an eggplant inside a butternut squash for "a flavor combination that's perfectly suited for the season."</p><p>Epicurious has the original <a href="https://www.epicurious.com/recipes/food/views/vegducken" target="_blank">vegetarian recipe</a>, plus tips for <a href="https://www.epicurious.com/expert-advice/vegan-thanksgiving-vegducken-recipe-article" target="_blank">turning it vegan</a>.</p>2. Animal-Free Gravy
<p>Gravy is another dish that screams animal product, but there are actually tons of recipes that don't require meat juices.</p><p><a href="https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-gravy/" target="_blank">Alison Andrews of Loving It Vegan</a> shares a recipe for a gravy made in 30 minutes from garlic and onions, vegan butter, flour, coconut milk, vegetable stalk and soy sauce.</p><p>People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) also has <a href="https://www.peta.org/living/food/celebrate-vegan-holiday/" target="_blank">lots of gravy recipes</a> that emphasize different flavors, from <a href="https://www.peta.org/recipes/roasted-garlic-gravy/" target="_blank">Roasted Garlic Gravy</a> to <a href="https://www.peta.org/recipes/red-wine-shallot-gravy/" target="_blank">Red Wine and Shallot Gravy</a>.</p>3. Dairy-Free Mashed Potatoes
<p>You don't need milk and butter to make your mashed potatoes nice and creamy.</p><p>"They're extremely easy to veganize," <a href="https://simpleveganblog.com/vegan-mashed-potatoes/" target="_blank">Iosune of Simple Vegan Blog writes</a>, "you just need to use oil or vegan butter instead of regular butter (extra virgin olive oil is my favorite choice) and any unsweetened plant milk instead of cow's milk or cream (soy milk works so well), that's all!"</p><p>Iosune explains how you can make your own <a href="https://simpleveganblog.com/vegan-butter/" target="_blank">vegan butter</a>, too. All you need is plant-based milk, lemon juice, coconut oil, a neutral oil like sunflower oil, nutritional yeast (if you can find it) and salt.</p>4. Vegan Casseroles
<p>Side dishes are probably the easiest holiday foods to conceive of as vegan, since they tend to be veggie-based anyway. But that also means there are lots of exciting recipes out there to try. <a href="https://www.vegkitchen.com/12-comforting-easy-vegan-casseroles/" target="_blank">VegKitchen</a> suggests several, but the most seasonal include Quinoa, Broccoli and Vegan Cheese, Roasted Sweet Potato Mac and Cheese and Vegan Green Bean Casserole.</p><p>"Vegan casseroles are always comforting," VegKitchen writes, "and it's nice to know that they're also good for you, not starchy and heavy like the old-fashioned kind."</p>5. Earth-Friendly Pumpkin Pie
<p>Pumpkin pie is a holiday classic, but many traditional recipes call for cream or eggs. Then there's the fact that it's usually topped with whipped cream.</p><p>However, you can have the full pumpkin pie experience without any animal products. <a href="https://lovingitvegan.com/vegan-pumpkin-pie/" target="_blank">Loving It Vegan</a> shares a recipe that uses canned pureed pumpkin for the filling, and <a href="https://www.bbcgoodfood.com/recipes/vegan-pumpkin-pie" target="_blank" rel="noopener noreferrer">the BBC Good Food</a> walks you through the process of making the filling from pumpkins or squash directly.</p><p>There are also plenty of vegan whipped-creams options out there, <a href="https://www.peta.org/living/food/dairy-free-vegan-whipped-cream-brands-recipes/" target="_blank">according to PETA</a>. You can buy one of the many ready-to-spray varieties for sale or make your own from chilled coconut milk, sugar and vanilla.</p>From Your Site Articles
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By Anne-Sophie Brändlin
October 16 marks World Food Day this year, a day celebrated every year by the United Nations' Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO).
World Food Day is a call to make healthy and sustainable diets affordable and accessible for everyone, while nurturing the planet at the same time.
<p>But how can this be achieved?</p><p>One way, according to a new study, would be to introduce different ways for countries across the world to adapt their diets.</p><p>Researchers at the U.S. based Johns Hopkins Center for a Livable Future looked at diets in 140 countries across the world and measured the ecological impact of their food production in order to identify ways to mitigate climate change.</p><p>The study, called <a href="https://clf.jhsph.edu/sites/default/files/2019-09/country-specific-dietary-shifts-mitigate-climate-and-water-crises.pdf" target="_blank"><em>Country-specific dietary shifts to mitigate climate and water crise</em><em>s</em></a> found that an important first step would be to shift Europe and the United States away from a diet heavy in meat and dairy.</p><p>But study co-author, Martin Bloem, notes that the solutions needed are not one-size-fits-all.</p><p>"The situation for poorer countries is not the same as for high-income countries and the solutions for high-income countries are much more straight-forward," Bloem said.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/world-food-day-how-changes-in-our-diet-can-help-mitigate-climate-change/a-50796472" rel="noopener noreferrer" target="_blank">Deutsche Welle</a>.</em></p>
<img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMTk5OTYzNS9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxOTY5MjM1NH0.t8i2qDgacEVw-iTHCYMxos1MzJITHNt3-rhzqFyZfX4/img.jpg?width=980" id="4cfbc" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c739bf4332c8f07bfef8e5495a2ca32f" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Why Meat and Dairy Are Bad for the Climate
<p>Livestock are responsible for almost 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the <a href="http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/" target="_blank">FAO</a>.</p><p>Cattle is the biggest culprit. Raised for both beef and milk, cows represent about 65 percent of the livestock sector's emissions, followed by pork (9 percent), buffalo milk (8 percent), and poultry and eggs (8 percent).</p><p>A byproduct of cow digestion is methane (CH4) and accounts for the majority of livestock emissions. The greenhouse gas is estimated to be at least 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide.</p><p>But livestock production is also responsible for other greenhouse gas emissions, such as nitrous oxide (N20) and carbon dioxide (CO2), mainly through the production of their feed, which often involves large applications of nitrogen-based fertilizers.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMTk5OTYzOC9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYzNTIxNTgyOX0.8F1SHHSaID2I5npqGimiUuE48Gm07i4YFeYXefmCcUY/img.png?width=980" id="d7c92" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a607bc1060e3439bbc0d90f560485117" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />The Opposite Approach to Combat Hunger?
<p>But with over 800 million people still going hungry every day, impact on the climate cannot be the only guide for what people eat, the study points out.</p><p>Animal source foods, specifically milk and eggs, are in fact a valuable source of protein and nutrients like calcium, which are especially important for young children and pregnant women.</p><p><em>Read more: </em><a href="https://www.dw.com/en/pakistan-struggling-to-eradicate-malnutrition-in-children/a-49294026" target="_blank">Pakistan struggling to eradicate malnutrition in children</a></p><p>"Some countries, such as Indonesia, India and most of the African countries may actually need to dramatically increase their greenhouse gas emissions and water use, because they have to combat hunger and stunting," Bloem said.</p><p>In these countries, there is still a 40 percent rate of stunting, a side effect of undernutrition that results in lower than average growth in children.</p><p>Stunting also has a major, long-term impact on the cognitive abilities of the children.</p><p>"It's irreversible by the age of two, so stunting has huge implications for the human capital in those countries. That's why it's very critical that we prevent stunting and we need animal source foods for that," Bloem said. "We cannot keep that out of the equation when talking about climate protection." </p><p>Another solution, according to Bloem, would be to fortify certain products, like cereal. This would help reduce the need to get nutrients through animal products. It's a practice already in use in many developed countries, but so far hasn't been applied in many poorer countries.</p>Fish Could Make All the Difference
<p>Diets in which protein came predominantly from low food chain animals – such as small fish and mollusks – were found to have nearly as low of an environmental impact as a vegan diet.</p><p>"Small fish are really critical for poor people, particularly in Africa and Asia, as that's one of the main sources for protein and calcium, because the milk intake is very low in those countries," Bloem said.</p><p>"But 80% of all the fish produced nowadays actually comes from Asia and is imported in Europe and the US. And the feed for some of these bigger fish we import are actually those smaller fish, which means the poorer people have no more access to this vital source of protein and calcium." </p><p>Researchers also determined that a diet that reduced animal food consumption by two-thirds – termed by study authors as going "two-thirds vegan" – generally had a lower climate and water footprint than vegetarian diets that included eggs and diary, but not fish.</p>Where You Get Your Food From Matters
<p>Researchers also found that local production wasn't always the best way to go from a climate perspective.</p><p>The production of one pound (0.45 kilograms) of beef in Paraguay, for instance, contributes nearly 17 times more greenhouse gases than one pound of beef produced in Denmark. Often, this disparity came from deforestation to create grazing land, according to the study.</p><p>"So a food's country of origin can have enormous consequences for the climate," Bloem said.</p><p>"In Europe the soil is much more fertile, for instance, which makes the production there more efficient. So trade could actually be good for the climate if food is produced in places where the climate impact is the lowest," Bloem said, adding that this is the case even when emissions from transportation are factored in.</p><p>The study concludes that middle- and low-income countries need to be guided and supported by developed countries to avoid environmental mistakes the planet is already paying for. </p><p>"It needs to be a close collaboration between developed and developing countries. It's a joint problem. We are all in this together," Bloem said.</p><p>Another way industrialized countries could reduce their impact on the climate is <a href="https://www.dw.com/en/fighting-climate-change-by-tackling-food-waste/a-48384916" target="_blank">reducing food waste</a> — one-third of all food produced worldwide ends up in the bin, with Europeans on average throwing away 95 kilograms (209 lbs) of food per person, per year. In low-income African countries south of the Sahara, it's only 6 kilograms (13 lbs).</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMTk5OTY0OS9vcmlnaW4ucG5nIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYxODE4NDE2Mn0.uQPcuPUg8AcuSSDvgd87IJOJRFtn6bLm_MBs7P4yJJQ/img.png?width=980" id="3a3ed" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="d80706920d88c1ee328e8b9ea51cb4d9" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />Context Is Key
<p>But despite the findings, one key conclusion of the report is that there aren't always straight-forward answers, according to Bloem.</p><p>"That's why we conducted analyses in all these different countries so that you can see what the most optimal way is for each individual country – but also the entire world to deal with diets and health criteria, as well as climate and sustainability," he said.</p><p>In the end, the study came up with nine plant-forward diets, ranging from no red meat to pescatarian (a vegetarian diet that includes seafood), lacto-ovo vegetarian (a vegetarian diet that includes dairy and eggs), to vegan, which are to be presented to policymakers in each country.</p><p>At the same time, the study urges people in the Western world to do more. </p><p>Baby boomers in the developed world, for instance, on average spend less than 10% of their income on food, while the same generation in countries like Nigeria, Kenya or Bangladesh spends 50 to 60% of their income on food, according to Bloem.</p><p>"For us in the Western world, we can pay more for our food so that we can pay for the unintended consequences."</p>From Your Site Articles
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This map highlights by geographic region the leading underlying driver of food loss and waste. WRI analysis based on FAO (2011) and HLPE (2014)
The UN set a global goal to cut food loss and waste in half by 2030. Alarming figures show just how big of a challenge remains.
<p>Nearly a third of all food produced in the world goes uneaten each year — an amount that costs the global economy $940 billion and emits 8 percent of planet-warming greenhouse gases. At the same time, 1 in 9 people is undernourished.</p>
<p><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate </em><em><a href="https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/08/10-step-plan-world-cut-food-loss-and-waste-half-2030" target="_blank">World Resources Institute</a>.</em><br/></p>
<p>A massive challenge requires massive action. A <a href="https://www.wri.org/publication/reducing-food-loss-and-waste-setting-global-action-agenda" target="_blank">new report</a> by the World Resources Institute‚ and produced with support from The Rockefeller Foundation, and in partnership with United Nations Environment, Natural Resources Defense Council, Iowa State University, The University of Maryland's Ed Snider Center, The Consortium for Innovation in Postharvest Loss and Food Waste Reduction, Wageningen University and Research, and WRAP — lays out a Global Action Agenda to overcome the world's food loss and waste problem.</p><p>Simply put, this Global Action Agenda calls on governments, companies, farmers, consumers, and everyone in between to play their role in a three-pronged approach:</p><ul><li><strong>Target-Measure-Act</strong>: Set food loss and waste reduction targets, measure to identify hotspots of food loss and waste and to monitor progress over time, and take action on the hotspots.</li><li><strong>"To do" list:</strong> Pursue a short to-do list we've identified per player in the food supply chain as "no regret" first steps toward taking action.</li><li><strong>10 scaling interventions</strong>: Collaborate in 10 areas to ramp up deployment of Target-Measure-Act and the "to do" list.</li></ul>
10 Ways to Scale Action
<p>To accelerate momentum, here are 10 interventions that can rapidly spur deployment of a Target Measure Act approach and actor-specific actions.</p><h4>1. Develop national strategies for food loss and waste reduction.</h4><p>Only a handful of nations have established strategies to reduce food loss and waste, including the United Kingdom, the Netherlands and Ethiopia. National strategies help align public policies, private sector actions, farmer practices and consumer behavior toward a shared goal, so it's critical that more nations create strategies to halve food loss and waste.</p><h4>2. Create national public-private partnerships.</h4><p>Reducing food loss and waste requires action across the entire food supply chain as well as supportive public policies. No single institution can drive a 50% economy-wide reduction on its own. Public-private partnerships have an emerging track record, having launched in countries like the Netherlands, United Kingdom and United States. In the UK, the Courtauld Commitment has been signed by 53 retailers, who have committed to measure and reduce food waste. If such partnerships emerged in the following countries, then 20 of the world's largest agriculture exporters would be covered, representing 45 percent of the world's population: Argentina, Belgium, Brazil, China, France, India, Italy, Malaysia, Mexico, New Zealand, Poland, Thailand and Turkey.</p><img lazy-loadable="true" src="https://assets.rebelmouse.io/eyJhbGciOiJIUzI1NiIsInR5cCI6IkpXVCJ9.eyJpbWFnZSI6Imh0dHBzOi8vYXNzZXRzLnJibC5tcy8yMTA2Njc3MC9vcmlnaW4uanBnIiwiZXhwaXJlc19hdCI6MTYwNzYyNjE4NH0.eaYxIQ1_k7f_D1SHkwAxiROgiMaIXGIwVdKebSZIY9M/img.jpg?width=980" id="746fe" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="c7addb2691c121e91fc0e202fa5f22a1" data-rm-shortcode-name="rebelmouse-image" />
Thailand farmer rows boat laden with fruit and vegetables to market.
WRI / Flickr
<h4><br>3. Launch a "10x20x30" supply chain initiative.</h4><p>Food losses often occur during production and, especially in low-income countries, during handling and storage. Launching a private sector campaign where at least 10 of the largest food and agriculture companies commit to act and engage their 20 largest suppliers to do the same by 2030 (hence, 10x20x30) could have a big impact. This approach leverages the relative market concentration and power of a few companies to catalyze change across the supply chain and geographies. This intervention follows a model set by retail-giant Tesco, which has secured the commitment of 27 of its major suppliers to set targets, measure progress and act.</p><h4>4. Reduce smallholder losses.</h4><p>If we're to halve food losses, efforts to assist smallholders with productivity and efficiency need a big boost---especially in reaching smallholders in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, regions that lose an estimated 26% of their food during harvesting, handling and storage. Approaches include training farmers in reducing losses, creating access to markets for smallholders and improving storage solutions. For example, as part of The Rockefeller Foundation's YieldWise initiative, farmers growing tomatoes in Nigeria were trained in improved agronomic practices and access to aggregation centers, which reduced transport time to market. Following these interventions, losses were reduced by 54%.</p><h4>5. Launch a "decade of storage solutions."</h4><p>What if the 2020s became a decade of making food storage technologies ubiquitous, affordable and climate-friendly? Doing so would tackle a huge hotspot of food loss and waste in low-income countries, helping ensure more food makes it safely to market. Innovations in solar-powered coolers and "lease-to-own" financing arrangements for villages can help.</p><h4>6. Shift consumer social norms.</h4><p>Behavioral science tells us that increased knowledge of an issue alone does not necessarily translate into changed behavior. What successful initiatives like the UK's 'Love Food, Hate Waste' campaign have shown is that you must give people information and make it easy for them to change their behavior. That's why 'Love Food, Hate Waste' ran advertisements to raise awareness and worked with retailers to get rid of offers such as 'buy one get one free' that encourage over-buying as well as to print food storage information on food packaging, making it easier for people to waste less food. What's needed is for norms in high-income countries and cities everywhere to shift so that wasting food becomes unacceptable.</p><h4>7. Go after emissions reductions.</h4><p>Reducing food loss and waste is an underappreciated greenhouse gas mitigation strategy. By tackling food loss and waste from emissions-intensive <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/beef" target="_self">beef</a>, dairy and rice, these food sectors can reduce their impact on <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/climate-change/" target="_self">climate</a>. Another strategy is for countries to add food loss and waste reduction to their national climate plans, known as Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs). To date, fewer than a dozen countries have included food loss and waste reduction in their NDCs.</p><h4>8. Scale up financing.</h4><p>Many of the promising solutions to reduce food loss and waste need an influx in financing to take off. In 2016, The Rockefeller Foundation launched the $130 million YieldWise initiative to tackle food losses in Kenya, Nigeria and Tanzania, and food waste in North America and Europe. In 2019, the World Bank launched a $300 million Sustainable Development Bond focused on food loss and waste reduction. More of such investments are needed by a wider suite of financiers, ranging from grants and blended finance to venture capital and commercial investments.</p><h4>9. Overcome the data deficit.</h4><p>Without more and better data to understand the scale and scope of the food loss and waste challenge, we risk not being able to identify hotspots, hone reduction strategies and monitor progress. Over the next five years, the world needs a concentrated push to measure the quantity of food loss and waste in a more consistent way so that data is comparable.</p><h4>10. Advance the research agenda.</h4><p>Public and private research institutions have an important role, helping answer questions that will allow the world to refine strategies for reducing food loss and waste. These are questions like: Which solutions are showing the best return on investment? What technologies are most promising? What can behavioral science tell us about how to shift social norms when it comes to food waste? And what types of infrastructure do farmers in low-income countries need to reduce on-farm and near-farm losses? </p>There Are Enormous Benefits to Reducing Food Loss and Waste
<p>Successfully halving food loss and waste would bring enormous benefits. It would close the gap between food needed in 2050 and food available in 2010 by more than 20 percent. It would avoid the need to convert an area the size of Argentina into agricultural land. And it would lower greenhouse gas emissions by 1.5 gigatons per year by 2050, an amount more than the current energy and industry related emissions of Japan.</p><p>The size of the prize is huge. So, too, must be the action to seize it.</p>From Your Site Articles
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Animal rights activists give water to pigs arriving by truck to the Farmer John slaughterhouse in the early morning hours on Sept. 27, 2018 in Vernon, California. Twice weekly Pig Vigils draw activists who oppose the slaughter of pigs for food at this facility. David McNew / Getty Images
By Ketura Persellin
You probably care a lot about how your fruits and vegetables are grown. You may not think as much about where your family's animal protein comes from, but the conditions in which most meat, poultry and even dairy is produced may give you and your kids pause — even those most likely to clamor for yet another burger or hot dog.
<p>Americans eat a lot of meat and poultry — 27 billion pounds of beef were produced last year alone, most of it in "<a href="https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/interactive-graphic/confined-feedlots/" target="_blank">factory farms</a>." All those animals produce lots of manure — quite literally tons of it. The 775 animal operations in the Maumee Basin of Western Lake Erie alone produce 5.5 million tons of manure each year. The coastal plain of North Carolina has 1,500 factory farms that produce as much as 4 billion gallons of wet swine waste and 400,000 tons of dry poultry waste.</p><p>The mountains of waste smell terrible, but the stench is far from the worst problem it creates. <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/study-fecal-bacteria-nc-hog-farms-infects-nearby-homes" target="_blank">Bacteria</a>, such as from <a href="https://www.ewg.org/release/study-fecal-bacteria-nc-hog-farms-infects-nearby-homes" target="_blank">hog feces</a>, can get into the homes and lawns of neighbors and endanger their physical and mental health. And the problem is getting <a href="https://www.ewg.org/agmag/2019/03/manure-unregulated-factory-farms-fuels-lake-erie-s-toxic-algae-blooms" target="_blank">worse</a>. From 2005 to 2018, the amount of manure produced in the Maumee Basin rose by more than 40 percent.</p><p>All that waste has to go somewhere. Manure from large-scale animal farms runs off into groundwater, lakes, rivers and streams. It pollutes drinking water, hurts air quality and triggers tremendous stress for local residents. That may be one reason <a href="https://corporate.dukehealth.org/news-listing/nc-residents-living-near-large-hog-farms-have-elevated-disease-death-risks" target="_blank">life expectancy</a> in North Carolina communities near hog farms is particularly low, even after adjusting for other socioeconomic factors.</p><p>Kids may love poop jokes, but the production and consumption of animal protein is no laughing matter. You and your children might find the conditions the animals that you eat are raised in outrageous and disgusting — perhaps enough to drive even the most enthusiastic carnivore into the ranks of committed vegans. The animals live in crowded, dirty conditions often infested with flies and rodents. The water they drink or that's used to wash down the facility can get contaminated with any number of these pollutants.</p><p>Here are a few other things to consider – and point out to the kids when they clamor for yet another burger, hot dog or order of chicken McNuggets:</p><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>Not all meat is produced in a factory farm. By buying certain kinds of meat, you can avoid supporting a great deal of the harm of factory farms. <a href="https://www.ewg.org/research/labeldecoder/" target="_blank">Look</a> for grass-fed, pasture-raised or "free range" meat in lean cuts that have no antibiotics or hormones and are certified organic. Check out EWG's <a href="https://www.ewg.org/research/labeldecoder/" target="_blank">label decoder</a> for help.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>It's not just livestock raised for meat that's raised in industrial-scale animal operations — dairy cows are too. So if you're not a fan of large-scale animal production, you'll may want to change your dairy consumption habits, too. Buying organic milk, cheese and other dairy products will be better for your family's health and for the environment.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>Crowded living conditions in factory farms make animals sick, which has driven the overuse of antibiotics for livestock. This has led to the development of strains of bacteria in animals and humans that are <a href="https://www.ewg.org/research/superbugs/" target="_blank">resistant</a> to life-saving medicine — the last thing most parents want.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"> <li>Manure runoff contains chemicals that algae feed on, such as nitrates and phosphorus. They're responsible for the toxic algae blooms that <a href="https://www.ewg.org/interactive-maps/toxicalgalblooms/" target="_blank">pollute</a> many lakes and rivers (and sometimes make them off limits for swimming and fishing). If you've seen "Do Not Swim" signs recently at the beach or your area lake, or greenish scum floating on the water's surface, you're often looking at the direct consequence of industrial-scale animal production.</li></ul><ul class="ee-ul"><li>Factory farms aren't going away any time soon. The amount of red meat and poultry consumed in the U.S. fell after the Great Recession of 2008 but rebounded and was projected to reach <a href="https://www.globalagriculture.org/whats-new/news/en/32921.html" target="_blank">222.2 pounds</a> per person per year in 2018. It's expected to go up in the rest of the world, too. Dairy consumption in this country is also on the rise. Your family can do its part to avoid adding to the problem. For starters, consider going <a href="https://www.meatlessmonday.com/" target="_blank">meatless</a> (and without dairy) once a week.</li></ul>
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We are thrilled to announce our third challenge of the year in hopes of inspiring you to take part in a sustainable solution. It's simple: go vegan for 10 days, talk about it in your daily life and create social media posts about your experience using the hashtag #Vegan4TenDays. For a chance to be featured on EcoWatch's Instagram, tag EcoWatch in your stories.
Going vegan is proven to be the best thing you can do for the planet so EcoWatch teamed up with the executive producer of What the Health? Sailesh Rao and VBites head of marketing Jasper Wilkins via Facebook Live to break down the vegan lifestyle for you in a digestible manner.
<div class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="a0d6c825a6ae6473bbc10662f8bed93e"><div class="fb-video" data-href="https://www.facebook.com/EcoWatch/videos/661235747679685/" data-allowfullscreen="true"></div></div>
<p>"[Going vegan] is the absolute <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/vegan-climate-change-2558286917.html">best thing you can do</a> from a climate change perspective and an extinction perspective," said Rao. </p><p>Rao explained that one third of croplands are <a href="http://www.fao.org/3/ar591e/ar591e.pdf" target="_blank">used to graze animals</a>. "We are extracting six times as much food as we need from the planet and we are giving <a href="https://www.preventyearzero.org/research">83 percent of the food we extract</a> to the animals and then <a href="https://borgenproject.org/15-world-hunger-statistics/" target="_blank">starving 9 million</a> people to death every year."</p><p>Rao explained that we have a systematic problem driven by scarcity in a hierarchal system we have created.</p><p>EcoWatch asked Rao how we've ended up in such a system that teaches, for example, that products like <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/dairy-industry-facts-2525727633.html" target="_blank">dairy</a> are healthy for humans to consume.</p>
<p>"The FDA is part of the U.S. government. The U.S. government is pretty much influenced by industry. So the industry has convinced the FDA that we need to sell more," said Rao. "This is how they have basically convinced schools to give milk to kids, to have <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/kids-lunch-climate-change-2280516131.html" target="_self">cheese in their lunches</a> even though it is well-known that this is not good for them. So they get type 1 diabetes, and all kinds of diseases by eating excessive dairy. Unfortunately this is the system that we live in. We create diseases in people and then we fix them with pharmaceuticals and surgical procedures."</p><p>When Rao was diagnosed with arthritis at age of 40 he was taking painkillers daily, until he switched to a vegan diet. Within one month of eating vegan, he no longer suffered from the pain.</p><p>EcoWatchers engaged with the live feed by attesting to Rao's statement, such as Michael Chapman who said, "My spouse (primary and urgent care MD) is reversing his patients' diabetes and heart disease by switching them to Whole Foods (organic) plant-based diet." Another comment was from nurse practitioner Rosario M. Chayo, who said, "I encourage as Vegan as possible [when formulating diets]!"</p>
<p>The Facebook Live has almost 200 comments suggesting that people care about their impact on the planet and are willing to engage in solutions such as going vegan.</p><p>"It's so important for our own health, but obviously the health of the planet and the health of the other people and animals that we share this world with," said Wilkins as he brought up the unsustainable practice of <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/overfishing" target="_self">overfishing</a>.<br></p><p>Over the past five years Wilkins traveled the world working on humanitarian projects that were directly affected by climate change. By leading a vegan lifestyle and using social media to spread positive awareness with projects such as <a href="http://www.infocusorg.com/blog/photography-for-conservation" target="_blank">In Focus</a> and <a href="https://www.volunteerics.org/why-volunteer-ics?utm_source=instagram&utm_medium=social" target="_blank">International Citizen Service</a>, Wilkins is able to do his part to mitigate the climate crisis. Wilkins stands by veganism on the basis of animal rights, human health and the health of our planet.</p>
<p>Wilkins has seen first-hand positive effects of the vegan trend. While working for the vegan food company <a href="http://www.vbites.com" target="_blank">VBites</a>, he's seen the growth in demand for the more than 130 products offered. "More and more people now are more open to changing to a plant-based diet because now the technology is there to replicate taste. It's really good that everything is coming together at one time."</p><p>Wilkins urged viewers to understand that going vegan will create almost immediate positive results in terms of sustainability.</p><p>"It has an immediate impact on the environment by going vegan and it's something that is becoming so much easier because of the accessibility of food," he said.</p><p>If everyone were to switch to a vegan diet, one third of our land could return to its original use, a lush <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/wildlife" target="_self">wildlife</a> habitat.</p><p>"From a climate change perspective, this is the number one thing anyone could be doing," said Rao as he expressed hope.</p>
<p>Are you up for the challenge? It's simple.</p><ul><li>Go #vegan4tendays and use the hashtag on social media posts.</li><li>Create posts or stories on social that speak of the impact the challenge has made on your life.</li><li>Tag the three of us in your Instagram stories so we can consider featuring your work: <a href="https://www.instagram.com/ecowatch/" target="_blank">@EcoWatch</a>, <a href="https://www.instagram.com/infocusorg/" target="_blank">@Infocusorg</a> and <a href="https://www.instagram.com/veganworld2026/" target="_blank">@veganworld2026</a>.<a href="https://www.instagram.com/veganworld2026/" target="_blank"></a></li><li><a href="https://www.instagram.com/veganworld2026/" target="_blank"></a>Share the challenge with your friends and family.</li></ul>
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Trending
Ivan / Getty Images
By Dan Nosowitz
There has been much concern in recent years about the encroachment of factory farms onto organic territory; with the premium prices organic foods can bring, many larger farms have engaged in a race to the bottom of quality, trying to just barely squeak above the organic regulations to grab that label without adhering to the spirit of the law.
<p><a href="https://www.cornucopia.org/" target="_blank">The Cornucopia Institute</a>, a watchdog group that monitors ethical agriculture in the U.S., issues periodic scorecards for organic producers. <a href="https://www.cornucopia.org/scorecard/dairy/" target="_blank">This week, they released their dairy scorecard</a>.</p><p>All of the producers on the scorecard are certified USDA organic, and Cornucopia isn't necessarily saying that any of these farms are breaking the rules of the organic seal. Instead, they're rewarding the companies that go above and beyond the organic rules, which many have argued are far too lax. (Some farmers have gone so far as to <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2018/03/the-real-organic-project-alternative-organic-label/" target="_blank">create an entirely new, alternative label</a>, so disgusted are they with the shape of organic regulation today.)</p><p>The Cornucopia scorecard rewards operations that feed cows more grass than grain, those that provide larger amounts of pasture per animal, whether the farm is owned by the farmer, whether the farm only produces organic milk (rather than a mix of organic and conventional), whether the farm was certified by a tougher agency, and operations that only milk cows once per day, among other factors. (You can out the full criteria at the <a href="https://www.cornucopia.org/wp-content/uploads/2018/08/DairyReport2018-full-report.pdf" target="_blank">bottom of this report</a>.)</p><p>Smaller farms tend to fare better than large ones; Aurora and Horizon, two of the largest organic dairy producers in the country, both scored a big fat 0, meaning they do the bare minimum to get certified and don't go beyond the letter of the law at all. But plenty of larger farms are rated highly, including Maple Hill Creamery, Stonyfield Farms and Organic Valley, all of which distribute nationwide.</p><p>Organic is not all equal; certainly, the regulations for organic are tougher than for conventional, but sometimes you might be presented with multiple organic options. Why not choose the option that really tries to do the right thing?</p><p> <em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://modernfarmer.com/2018/08/not-all-organic-milk-is-the-same-here-are-the-best-dairies/" target="_blank">Modern Farmer</a>.</em><em></em></p>
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Aquaculture Stewardship Council
By Ronnie Cummins
Factory farming and fish production are now a multi-trillion-dollar monster with a growing and devastating impact on public health, animal welfare, small farmers and farmworkers, rural and fishing communities, ocean marine life, water quality, air pollution, soil health, biodiversity and last but not least, global warming.
<p style="">Worldwide, two-thirds of all farm animals are now inhumanely imprisoned on highly-polluting factory farms, fed pesticide- and chemical-contaminated grains and GMOs, often supplemented with contaminated fish meal and oils, and routinely dosed with antibiotics and hormones.</p><p style="">In the U.S., 90-95 percent of all dairy, meat and poultry come from industrial-scale factory farms, while more than half of all fish consumed comes from factory-scale <a href="https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/03/24/why-farmed-salmon-are-toxic.aspx" target="_blank">fish farms</a>.</p><p style="">The U.S. <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/tag/industrial-agriculture">industrial agriculture</a> and fishing industry is an out-of-control system based on cruel, filthy, disease-ridden and environmentally destructive animal prisons and fish pens; labor exploitation; false advertising (most food items in grocery stores, and at least one-third of fish items on restaurant menus are falsely advertised); corporate corruption of government; and the use of massive amounts of dangerous pesticides, chemical fertilizers, <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/animal-antibiotics-health-2515861668.html">antibiotics</a>, hormones and growth promoters.</p><p style="">The production of factory-farm meat, dairy, poultry and fish is the number one cause of <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/sea-shining-sea-industrial-ag-fouls-americas-waterways" target="_blank">water pollution</a>, soil degradation, <a href="https://www.grain.org/article/entries/5390-food-sovereignty-can-stop-climate-change-and-feed-us-all%20and%20human%20diet-related" target="_blank">greenhouse gas emissions</a> and chronic diseases such as cancer, heart disease, diabetes, reproductive defects, hormone disruption and obesity. </p><p style="">World Water Day was celebrated globally on March 22. On this day the Organic Consumers Association, along with other public interest groups, <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/essays/sea-shining-sea-industrial-ag-fouls-americas-waterways" target="_blank">sounded the alarm</a> on the seriously degenerated state of our global waters and marine life and called, not only for a change in public policies, but for a consumer boycott of factory-farmed foods, which are number one source of water pollution in the U.S. and around the world.</p><p style="">What a lot of consumers may not understand, however, is that most of the fish sold in grocery stores and served up in restaurants today in industrialized nations is also factory-farmed. For example, one of the most popular fish items on restaurant menus in the U.S. is <a href="https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2013/08/14/farmed-shrimp.aspx" target="_blank">factory-farmed salmon</a> (along with equally-destructive farmed shrimp). </p><p style="">Factory-farmed salmon and fish not only threaten wild salmon and other marine species by spreading disease (and now GMO-related <a href="https://sustainablepulse.com/2016/05/22/expert-groups-slam-canadas-gmo-salmon-approval-for-human-consumption/" target="_blank">risks</a> ), but also by contaminating coastal waters and the ocean with the toxic chemicals and feed used on fish farms.</p><p style="">Salmon and other fish farms also pose a major threat to human health. In fact, according to <a href="https://articles.mercola.com/sites/articles/archive/2018/03/24/why-farmed-salmon-are-toxic.aspx" target="_blank">Mercola.com</a>, farmed salmon is perhaps the most toxic food that Americans consume.</p><p style="">Laboratory studies have shown that mice fed factory-farmed salmon become obese and develop diabetes. The likely cause of these diseases, rampant among super-sized humans as well, includes the pesticides and antibiotics that are routinely doused on fish farms, along with the feed that the fish eat, heavily contaminated with <a href="https://www.fda.gov/downloads/Food/GuidanceRegulation/UCM252404.pdf" target="_blank">PCBs</a> (a by-product in the fish feed), <a href="https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/21183436" target="_blank">dioxins</a> and other toxic chemicals. Unfortunately, PCBs, pesticides and other toxic chemicals tend to concentrate in the fatty tissues of fish and other animals.</p><p style="">Farmed fish, including salmon, have anywhere from three to six times the fat content of wild fish. This is why farmed salmon is five times more toxic than any other food regularly consumed by Americans.</p><p style="">Farmed salmon also differs substantially from <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/wild-salmon-sierra-2522468241.html">wild salmon</a>, not only because it contain 3-6 times more fat overall, but also because farmed salmon contains <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/farmed-salmon-omega-3-2033941769.html" target="_self">substantially less</a> healthy omega-3 fats than wild salmon.</p><p style="">The now common advice from natural health experts is to avoid all factory-farm fish and larger fish (who have had more time to absorb toxins), and to consume only wild Alaskan salmon, along with smaller fish species, such as anchovies, sardines and herring. For more information on what fish to consume and to avoid, see: <a href="https://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations" target="_blank">https://www.seafoodwatch.org/seafood-recommendations</a>.</p><p style="">Another reason for conscious consumers to stop buying or consuming salmon and other factory farmed fish, as well as other large or endangered ocean species, is because our over-consumption of industrially harvested or farmed fish threatens the food security of more than three billion people across the world. Eight hundred million small fishermen and fisherwomen harvest 25 percent of the world's fish, struggling to make a living and/or to provide a significant portion of the protein for themselves and more than 3 billion people. The other 75 percent of fish are unsustainably harvested (or produced on fish farms) by large corporations in a supply chain that often <a href="http://www.etcgroup.org/content/who-will-feed-us-industrial-food-chain-vs-peasant-food-web" target="_blank">wastes</a> or throws overboard 50 percent of the catch.</p><p>While 91 percent of fish stocks in the oceans are now over-exploited by industrial trawlers, small fishermen struggle to catch just 6 percent of what their ancestors were able to catch a hundred years ago.</p><p>Consumers need to start acknowledging the relationship between our degenerative agricultural and fish production systems and consumption patterns and the other life-or-death problems that we are facing: deteriorating public health; the degeneration of our soils, forests, oceans and surface waters; greenhouse gas pollution and climate destabilization; and the economic justice impact of our consumption habits on the three billion-plus low-income people living in developing countries, and even in the U.S., especially small farmers and fisher people.</p><p style="">Many contemporary consumers have become more conscious—for health, ethical and environmental reasons—about what we purchase in grocery stores or supermarkets. This is why organic and natural foods now constitute more than 10 percent of our grocery store sales in the U.S. Unfortunately, many of us seem to forget about these concerns when we sit down in a restaurant, where we spend, on the average, one-half of all food dollars in the U.S.</p><p style="">We are what we eat. This means, among other things, we need to be just as concerned about fish and seafood as we are about the other items on our plate.</p><p style="">So ask your restaurant waiter if the vegetables are organic, and better yet local and organic, and put your money where your values lie. But don't forget to ask whether the meat, dairy or eggs are organic or grass-fed, or whether they are coming off the food service truck from factory farms. And last but not least, don't forget to do the same thing for the items on the fish menu.</p><p style="">The nation that destroys its soil, freshwater and oceans is the nation that will eventually destroy itself. Let's make every day World Water and Buy Organic Day. Cook organic, not the planet. Buy <a href="https://www.organicconsumers.org/campaigns/safeguard-organic-standards" target="_blank">organic</a> and <a href="http://regenerationinternational.org/why-regenerative-agriculture/" target="_blank">regenerative</a> food and other products today and every day.</p><p style=""><em>Ronnie Cummins is international director of the <a href="http://www.organicconsumers.org/" target="_blank">Organic Consumers Association</a>. </em></p>
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Angering Organic Farmers and Advocates, Trump's USDA Kills Animal Welfare Rule
13 March 2018
Animals
Wilfredorrh / Flickr
By Jessica Corbet
Angering organic farmers and advocates, the Trump administration announced on Monday that it will officially withdraw a rule that would have added animal welfare regulations for meat, eggs and dairy marketed as "organic."
<p style="">The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) killed the Organic Livestock and Poultry Practices (OLPP) final rule after deciding that it "exceeds the department's statutory authority, and that the changes to the existing organic regulations could have a negative effect on voluntary participation in the National Organic Program," according to a USDA <a href="https://www.usda.gov/media/press-releases/2018/03/12/usda-decides-not-impose-additional-regulatory-requirements-organic" target="_blank">statement</a>.</p><p>While Greg Ibach, undersecretary for the USDA's marketing and regulatory program, claimed that "the existing robust organic livestock and poultry regulations are effective," organic farmers, animal rights advocates and consumers who have supported the enhanced regulations—which were published on Jan. 19, 2017 and would have taken effect in May—expressed disappointment with the move.</p><p class="shortcode-media shortcode-media-twitter_embed">
</p><div id="c9084" class="rm-shortcode" data-rm-shortcode-id="NI6Z421576662317"><blockquote class="twitter-tweet twitter-custom-tweet" data-twitter-tweet-id="973277026898599936" data-partner="rebelmouse"><div style="margin:1em 0">Today, the USDA withdrew rules that established standards for organic livestock production. This puts family farmer… https://t.co/rriyLyLqoH</div> — National Farmers Union (@National Farmers Union)<a href="https://twitter.com/NFUDC/statuses/973277026898599936">1520882300.0</a></blockquote></div>
<p></p><p>"The decision nullifies 14 years of policymaking in a process mandated by Congress, and marks an about-face for the agency," Lynne Curry <a href="https://civileats.com/2017/12/18/years-in-the-making-trumps-usda-kills-organic-animal-welfare-rules/" target="_blank">wrote</a> for Civil Eats. The rule would have "specified a set of standards for organic livestock and poultry designed to minimize stress, facilitate natural behaviors and promote well-being," she noted in an update to a piece she published in December. As Curry explained:</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">Championed throughout the organic industry—from farmers to consumer groups to retailers and animal-welfare advocates—the OLPP was intended as a course correction for the $43 billion food industry, formulated to bring organic dairy, eggs and meat production into line with consumer expectations of higher animal welfare. Trust in the organic seal depended on it, some advocates insisted.</p><p style="margin-left: 20px;">But this latest USDA decision codifies the big rift between the majority of certified organic producers, who follow the spirit of the law, and the fewer, much larger producers who seek to gain market advantage, primarily by continuously confining animals that are required by law to have outdoor access. The USDA's ruling preserves the status quo, and fails to establish the USDA Organic label as the "gold standard" for organics that OLPP promised.<br></p><p>When the department moved to withdraw the rule in December, the industry group <a href="https://www.ota.com/" target="_blank">Organic Trade Association</a> (OTA) <a href="https://www.thefencepost.com/news/withdrawal-of-organic-rule-pleases-some-angers-others/" target="_blank">said</a>, "This groundless step by USDA is being taken against a backdrop of nearly universal support among the organic businesses, and consumers for the fully vetted rules that USDA has now rejected."</p><p>"It is against this overwhelming public input that USDA ignores growing consumer demands for food transparency," the group added. "It makes no sense that the Trump administration would pursue actions that could damage a marketplace that is giving American farmers a profitable alternative, creating jobs and improving the economies of our rural areas."</p><p>Monday's announcement came after the OTA <a href="https://ota.com/news/press-releases/20090" target="_blank">requested</a> oral hearings late last week for a <a href="https://www.ecowatch.com/usda-delaying-new-organic-standards-2490965779.html">lawsuit it filed</a> against the USDA for repeatedly delaying and moving to withdraw the rule.</p><p>"Failure to implement the final rule, and its welfare provisions, will lead to irremediable damage to consumer trust in the USDA Organic seal," warned Jesse Laflamme, a supporter of the OTA lawsuit and co-founder of Pete and Gerry's Organic Eggs, which partners with over more than family-owned farms in 14 states. "Our farmers will suffer severe financial setbacks."</p><p style=""><em>Reposted with permission from our media associate <a href="https://www.commondreams.org/news/2018/03/12/angering-organic-farmers-and-advocates-trumps-usda-kills-animal-welfare-rule" target="_blank">Common Dreams</a>.</em></p>
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