Food shortages may force world into vegetarianism, claim "experts"

We grow weary and suspicious when leading experts claim

that food supplies are near catastrophic shortages, and that the world's population will have to switch almost completely to a vegetarian diet over the next 40 years.

Humans get about 20% of their protein from animal-based products now, but this may need to drop to just 5% to feed the extra 2 billion people expected to be alive by 2050, according to research by some of the world's leading water scientists.

"There will not be enough water available on current croplands to produce food for the expected 9 billion population in 2050 if we follow current trends and changes towards diets common in western nations," so say Malik Falkenmark and colleagues at the Stockholm International Water Institute (SIWI) said.

"There will be just enough water if the proportion of animal-based foods is limited to 5% of total calories and considerable regional water deficits can be met by a … reliable system of food trade."

Accepting a vegetarian diet will increase the amount of water available to grow more food in an increasingly climate-erratic world, the scientists said. Animal protein-rich food consumes five to 10 times more water than a vegetarian diet. One third of the world's arable land is used to grow crops to feed animals. Other options to feed people include eliminating waste and increasing trade between countries in food surplus and those in deficit.

"Nine hundred million people already go hungry and 2 billion people are malnourished in spite of the fact that per capita food production continues to increase," they said. "With 70% of all available water being in agriculture, growing more food to feed an additional 2 billion people by 2050 will place greater pressure on available water and land."

The report will be featured at the annual world water conference in Stockholm, Sweden, where 2,500 politicians, UN people and researchers from 120 countries get together to discuss global water and the world becoming vegetarians.

Wait, here it comes, the discussion about overeating  and waste is at fever pitch, and the threat of food production may face future constraints because of the lack of water.

"We will need a new recipe to feed the world in the future," said one of these guys.

"We've witnessed again and again what happens to the world's poor – the majority of whom depend on agriculture for their livelihoods and already suffer from water scarcity – when they are at the mercy of our fragile global food system," said Dr Colin Chartres, the director general.

Fine, we consider ourselves warned.

Chicken Little would be proud.

Paul McCartney wants a National ‘Vegetarian Day’ in India

We hear that Sir Paul McCartney wrote a letter to Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh asking him to declare a national Vegetarian Day in India.

Sir Paul declared “the move could save animals while helping to protect both the environment and people’s health,The letter also promised “it would be a celebration of life.”

He prefers the date of January 12 because that's the anniversary date is the of the founding of the Indian branch of PETA.

McCartney writes that such a declaration would “save countless animals, reduce the environmental devastation caused by the meat industry and help participants clear their arteries and their consciences.”

Sorry Paul, we eat lots of meat and our conscience is just fine.

We were wondering if India needs a national “Vegetarian Day.

It seems 42% of the country’s 1.2 billion people are already vegetarians, and Hinduism promotes Ahimsa, a principle that says that killing things is not nice.

Billionaires Pankaj Oswal and Radhika ban workers from eating meat on their property

Construction workers have been told by Indian-born billionaire Pankaj Oswal and his socialite wife Radhika, that any food containing meat must not be consumed on the site.
Construction, Forestry, Mining and Energy Union Western Australian assistant secretary Joe McDonald said the ban was "absolutely wrong".
"She still wants them to build her $70 million mansion, but she's telling them what they're going to eat . . . it's wrong," he said.
"I respect everybody's right to practice their religion, but I totally disagree with anyone forcing it on others.
"That has caused more wars and destruction throughout the world than anything else I know of.
"If people are working on the job and they want to have a ham sandwich or a bacon and egg sandwich, they should have one."

Mr Oswal, who is in New York this week helping Mrs Oswal prepare for the launch of her vegetarian fast-food chain, Otarian, defended the meat ban, saying "This is our home".
Mrs Oswal has previously accused the meat industry of "raping the earth".
"Meat eating is creating bad karma and you are also creating a vicious cycle," she said.
"It's destroying us environmentally, economically and socially. I'm putting my money where my mouth is. I've always been a vegetarian so I have always felt strongly about it.
"First, because of religious reasons, but then later because I realized the greater good associated with it."
The family does not eat meat out of Hindu tradition - although Radhika has previously said that the family is also keen to promote vegetarian diets as a sustainable option.

Below is a view of  the construction site.

The riverfront mansion being built over eight blocks will feature seven bedrooms, 11 bathrooms, a fitness centre, beauty salon, dance area, meditation room, telescope room, waterways, extensive gardens, parking for 17 cars and a swimming pool 10 times the size of an average backyard.
But beneath the Oswals' ostentation lies a tale involving allegations of some unpaid bills, claims of broken promises and eccentric behaviour.
The Oswal's property, in Perth's top suburb Peppermint Grove, and is expected to be worth about $70 million when complete.
It is set to be the biggest home in the country on the most expensive block, which is alone worth $22.7 million.

Prove you're not anti vegan

After the interesting debate following the post: "Plants like everything else fights to survive," we received a few orchestrated suggestions from our vegan friends to watch someone named Elaine on youtube.
The offer was for us to make a video proving we don't hate vegans or vegetarians.
We don't recall ever saying we hated vegans or vegetarians, but not to be bothered with minor details, the emails still challenged us to decide what kind of people we are.
Apparently we need to prove if we are kind or if  we are killers.
It seems the debate unnerved a few people and now some vegetarians want us to explain ourselves.
We watched the video and sorry people, we aren't sure what Elaine is talking about, she was all over the place.
She make one thing clear however, debate is forbidden unless we compromise our standards and make a video proving we aren't anti vegan.
Really, what does she care?
But, here's our suggestion instead:
Elaine needs to read the post "Plants like everything else fights to survive,"and all the comments, then she needs to make a coherent video.

Here she is:

Plants like everything else fights to survive

We have been told, over and over,  if we want to save the planet, we have to stop murdering and eating our kill. (maybe someone should explain this to the plant, eating the fly in the video above).

We told you about the Swiss  government and their ethics panel weighing in on the "dignity" of plants and said that the arbitrary killing of flora is morally wrong.
The concept of what could be called "plant rights" is being seriously debated.

A "clear majority" of the panel adopted what it called a "biocentric" moral view, meaning that "living organisms should be considered morally for their own sake because they are alive." Thus, the panel determined that we cannot claim "absolute ownership" over plants and, moreover, that "individual plants have an inherent worth." This means that "we may not use them just as we please..."

We also discussed findings that suggest plants and vegetables when under threat, communicate the approaching danger to other plants nearby; and also call in help from other creatures.
Biologists at the University of Turin and the Max Planck Institute in Jena reported to have found evidence that plants sensed — and reacted to — the presence of hungry, leaf-chomping enemies.
Their response was to release an odor, similar to lavender, warning other plants to the presence of enemies
Wasps, the natural enemies of many predators, were drawn by the odor to the plant, killing the intruder or injected it with eggs that later killed it.

Then we learned about garden vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes, and how they have been found to be deadly killers on a par with Venus fly traps, along with 50% of other Garden Vegetables,
according to research.
The research shows that they capture and kill small insects with their sticky little hairs on their stems and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the animals decay and fall to the ground.
At first it was thought that the murderous act was developed where the soil was poor quality, but even the home grown garden varieties have this ability, and they use it.
The researchers, publishing their finding in the ‘Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society’, said: “We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think.
“We are accustomed to think of plants as being immobile and harmless, and there is something deeply unnerving about the thought of carnivorous plants," they added.

(watch the below video)

Many claim the moral high ground about eating, ignoring, the fact, we all kill to live.
When it comes to eating, death is a part of life.
Plant life kills, animals kill, insects kill, people kill, it's what we do to to stay alive, but let's not pretend to be superior just because we choose to kill something over another.
We respect animals and vegetables because they sustain our lives.
What we eat we do so with a sense of respect, for it is providing us sustenance.
Human beings kill for food, so do all inhabitants of nature, it's the food chain, and it teaches us there is no exception .
For those misguided individuals who believe you are contributing to a better world for animals by not eating meat, simply do not understand the basics of nature.
This means we eat our food with a sense of respect because it has an impact upon this world.
We agree, we should value our food for what it offers us.
It is the lack of respect for what sustains us that is wrong.
It is wrong to keep the food we eat them locked up in cages, pumping them full of hormones to simply make money.
But this doesn't make eating meat wrong.
It makes the process wrong.
Is there a moral justification for the killing other animals for food? - Yes. It's natural behavior. Animals kill other animals without concern for the rights of the animals they are killing for food.
We could argue the point, whether this is ethical or not, but remember, nature will continue to be the way it is, it doesn't care.
We will continue with our ethical position, and we don't really care what yours is, unless it interferes with ours.

KILLER TOMATOES

Garden vegetables such as tomatoes and potatoes have been found to be deadly killers on a par with Venus fly traps, along with 50% of other Garden Vegetables,
according to research.

What we have suspected for a long time now, tomatoes and other plants are carnivorous predators who kill insects in order to feed themselves.
The research shows that they capture and kill small insects with their sticky little hairs on their stems and then absorb nutrients through their roots when the animals decay and fall to the ground.
At first it was thought that the murderous act was developed where the soil was poor quality, but even the home grown garden varieties have this ability, and they use it.
The unusual suspects include, tomatoes, petunias, ornamental tobacco plants, some varieties of potatoes and shepherd’s purse, a relative of cabbages. Researchers at Royal Botanical Gardens Kew, which carried out the study, now believe there are hundreds more killer plants than previously realized.
Professor Mark Chase, of Kew and Queen Mary, University of London, said: “The cultivated tomatoes and potatoes still have the hairs. Tomatoes in particular are covered with these sticky hairs. They do trap small insects on a regular basis. They do kill insects."
“We suspect in the domesticated varieties they are getting plenty of food through the roots from us so don’t get much benefit from trapping insects.

Let's face it, they like to eat meat, like most of us do!

The researchers, publishing their finding in the ‘Botanical Journal of the Linnean Society’, said: “We may be surrounded by many more murderous plants than we think.
“We are accustomed to think of plants as being immobile and harmless, and there is something deeply unnerving about the thought of carnivorous plants," they added.

Okay vegetarians, now what?

Lord Stern: Give up meat to save the planet

We get confused.
There is Sir Paul McCartney, Sir Mick Jagger, Sir Elton John , so we though Sir Stern of Brenford was just another aging rock star.

But no, Lord Stern, the author of the influential 2006 Stern Review is tackling global warming and telling  People they need to become vegetarian if the world is to conquer climate change.

Lord Stern of Brentford says "Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better."
He predicted that people’s attitudes would evolve until meat eating became unacceptable.

He said that he was deeply concerned that popular opinion had so far failed to grasp the scale of the changes needed to address climate change, or of the importance of the UN meeting in Copenhagen from December 7 to December 18. "I am not sure that people fully understand what we are talking about or the kind of changes that will be necessary."

The UN suggest that meat production is responsible for about 18 per cent of global carbon emissions, including the destruction of forest land for cattle ranching and the production of animal feeds such as soy.
We might want to point out that Lord Stern said he was not a strict vegetarian himself.

World Vegetarian Day

We don't know how this slipped by us but it was World Vegetarian Day on October 1.
It was the annual kick-off of Vegetarian Awareness Month.
The goal was to make a difference by informing others about the benefits of vegetarianism.
The claim is that you will be helping to create a better world because vegetarian diets have proven health benefits, save animals’ lives and help to preserve the Earth.

Face, Eyes or Parents

We see that the Eve post has brought up some interesting viewpoints.
We thought maybe this could help.

UPDATE: Franis left the following comment: "It seems back in 1999 peta launched a campaign to saying that Jesus was a vegetarian. They put up billboards claiming "Jesus was a vegetarian. Show respect for God's creatures - follow Him."
We checked it out and sure enough, here it is.

Vegetarian Can Mean So Many Different Things

Rapper, sometimes actress, Eve seems a little confused as to what "vegetarian" means. While having fun at the Blush Boutique Nightclub at the Wynn in Las Vegas she asked if room service could be ordered and brought to the nightclub. The staff did everything they could to help, but it all came to a standstill when she said she wanted 'something vegetarian, like grilled cheese or chicken fingers.'