The following letter was submitted to the Listener as a response to recent articles on humane farming and healthy diets. It appears they were unwilling to publish the letter.
The culture of meat and milk consumption is cruel, unsustainable and unhealthy.
“Humane death” and “humane dairying farming” are both oxymorons. Never is it humane to prematurely end a healthy life, nor is it humane to forcibly extract secretions from an artificially distended mammary gland, (a cow’s udder).
Less than half the world's population eat meat, yet this requires farming and slaughtering 70 billion sentient beings a year. This vast plague exploits 75% of all available farm land, proving to be the prime cause of forest destruction; it uses 75% of all antibiotics produced and contaminates the majority of all available potable water. Production and processing of the 70 billion animals discharges 51% of all human caused global warming gasses, more than all transport and power generation combined.
Those living a whole food plant based lifestyle, on average, live nine years longer and with less non communicable diseases (NCD) than their carnist (sic) counterparts and there is an abundance of examples of plant-pure athletes outperforming their meat eating competitors.
New Zealand has the highest incidence of breast, prostate, colon cancers, and broken hips, per capita in the world. Is it pure coincidence that we are also one of the top consumers of meat and milk products?
Confusion in regard to fats and cholesterol is reminiscent of the tobacco industry’s 60 years of obfuscation after lung cancer was linked to smoking in 1932. In a like manner the damage caused by the meat and milk eating culture to animals, human health and the environment has been well proven for many years, but this truth is continually being hidden, in the interests of profit.
We must be sceptical of promotions of diets which both please those who enjoy the status quo and enhance sales of meat and milk.
The culture of meat and milk consumption is cruel, unsustainable and unhealthy.
“Humane death” and “humane dairying farming” are both oxymorons. Never is it humane to prematurely end a healthy life, nor is it humane to forcibly extract secretions from an artificially distended mammary gland, (a cow’s udder).
Less than half the world's population eat meat, yet this requires farming and slaughtering 70 billion sentient beings a year. This vast plague exploits 75% of all available farm land, proving to be the prime cause of forest destruction; it uses 75% of all antibiotics produced and contaminates the majority of all available potable water. Production and processing of the 70 billion animals discharges 51% of all human caused global warming gasses, more than all transport and power generation combined.
Those living a whole food plant based lifestyle, on average, live nine years longer and with less non communicable diseases (NCD) than their carnist (sic) counterparts and there is an abundance of examples of plant-pure athletes outperforming their meat eating competitors.
New Zealand has the highest incidence of breast, prostate, colon cancers, and broken hips, per capita in the world. Is it pure coincidence that we are also one of the top consumers of meat and milk products?
Confusion in regard to fats and cholesterol is reminiscent of the tobacco industry’s 60 years of obfuscation after lung cancer was linked to smoking in 1932. In a like manner the damage caused by the meat and milk eating culture to animals, human health and the environment has been well proven for many years, but this truth is continually being hidden, in the interests of profit.
We must be sceptical of promotions of diets which both please those who enjoy the status quo and enhance sales of meat and milk.