November 2023 Newsletter
Posted on November 12, 2023
Interview with SEE President Edgar Ndjatou
Q. SEE (Climate Diet) is entering its 3rd year of operation with you as President. Do you see sufficient progress—it does seem that the discussion of meat reduction in regard to climate change (SEE’s mission) is more widely known than a few years ago.
A. Yes! I totally agree! SEE has helped bring more awareness to how meat reduction can have positive impacts on climate change. There has definitely been more awareness and movement by individuals to change their personal diets to do their part to practice meat reduction. The hope is that as more people make these individual decisions, it will start to have a bigger impact on the global market for livestock agriculture.
Q. Follow-up question: Do you see areas where SEE could have provided more influence?
A. I believe that the growth potential for SEE to further its mission is aligning with businesses that are bringing to market food products that use less or no meat or otherwise, promote a reduced meat diet. Further, SEE should continue its efforts to educate different populations on how to prepare meals that do not require meat but still provide the same nutrients.
Q. Follow-up question: Do you see areas where SEE could have provided more influence?
A. I believe that the growth potential for SEE to further its mission is aligning with businesses that are bringing to market food products that use less or no meat or otherwise, promote a reduced meat diet.
Replacing 50% of the chicken, beef, pork, and milk products consumed by humans with plant-based alternatives could reduce agricultural greenhouse gas emissions by 31% by 2050 as compared to 2020 levels, according to a study reported in EcoWatch. Results also suggested that agricultural land use would be reduced by 12%, and forest loss would stop. Such a consumption shift is actually a realistic goal, a researcher posited, particularly if market development causes good alternative products to be affordable and accessible to more people. Such development would counter an otherwise expected rise in global demand for animal products due to income and population growth.
‘Lamb Mowers’ Provide Eco-Friendly Expert Lawn Service
A Northern Virginia permaculture farm entrepreneur employing sheep is proving that baaad business can be good business, as featured in the Washington Post. Cory Suter, the self-described “Chief Shepherd” of Lamb Mowers, says it’s really about returning to the technology of olden times when horses and sheep did lawn care. “We’re trying to practice
regenerative agriculture in the suburbs. Instead of fighting with the natural system, we’re working with it.” The sheep clip the grass tops, leaving about four inches of blade, which is just right to maximize root growth and shade out weeds, according to Michigan State University Extension. Sheep pellets dissolve into rich fertilizer with rain or watering. Switching from lawn mowers to sheep cuts net emissions by more than a third, according to a cited study.
GOOD Meat Makes Cultivated Chicken, Named One of TIME’s ‘Best Inventions of 2023’
Time Magazine’s annual roundup of Best Inventions includes GOOD Meat’s cultivated chicken, vegconomist reported. The product is grown from single cells in bioreactors, eliminating the need for slaughter and reducing environmental impact and risk of food-borne illnesses. GOOD Meat received US regulatory approval for its cultivated chicken this past March and served it for the first time at the China Chilcano restaurant in Washington in July as part of an event paying homage to Willem van Eelen, the “godfather” of the cultivated meat industry.
