Home News Sustainable Earth Eating Digest – 8-23-23

Sustainable Earth Eating Digest – 8-23-23

Posted on August 23, 2023

Study Dispels Myth That Animal Foods are Needed to Meet Global Protein Requirements

A recent study for the T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies by Nelson Huber-Disla reports that although we have a bad habit of conflating protein with animal foods, in reality protein deficiency is rare in those eating a calorie-sufficient diet. According to the National Health and Nutrition Examination Survey, the average American adult “has consistently obtained almost 16% of their calories from protein for several decades,” which is nearly twice the required amount to meet or exceed the needs of 97.5% of adults. In addition, a 2019 review using data from the EPIC-Oxford study found that lacto-ovo-vegetarians and vegans consumed significantly more protein than the recommended daily allowance. According to the author, we need to revise our thinking; rather than defending the plant-based diet’s ability to provide adequate protein, we should focus on the unsuitability of animal-based food. “Despite requiring 77% of the currently available agricultural land for its production, livestock only accounts for 37% of the world’s protein supply.”

Top Source of Methane in California is Vast Cattle Feedlot

The Brandt Company cattle ranch is the largest single point source of methane emissions in California, releasing more methane than any oil or gas well, refinery or landfill. The ranch’s 139,000 beef cattle produce an estimated 9,167 tons of methane annually from their belching and manure; in essence, the ranch’s emissions of methane — a greenhouse gas 81 times more potent than carbon dioxide — is equivalent to the annual greenhouse gas emissions of 165,000 cars. Nonetheless, the ranch doesn’t appear in any state or federal greenhouse gas emissions database because the Environmental Protection Agency’s Greenhouse Gas Reporting Program, “which was established in 2007 to provide a detailed accounting of emissions, site by site, from ‘all sectors of the U.S. economy,’ exempts agriculture.” A similar state reporting program in California that began in 2008 gives farms and ranches a similar pass. According to the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, curbing emissions of methane is the single best way to combat climate change in the near future.

Non-Dairy Milk Sales Have Grown 49% in Europe in the Last Two Years, With the Greatest Growth in Germany

A study just released by the University of Hohenheim on the acceptance of plant-based milks in six European Union nations shows that the sale of these alternate milks grew 49% between 2020 and 2022. The highest growth was in Germany, due to high levels of awareness of animal welfare, health and the environment.Newsletter written by Jane DeMarines (SEE)  and Jerilyn Schweitzer.

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