As the politically driven spread of Western culture continues, many previously vegetarian countries have taken on a Western diet. American and British food corporations send "rations" to impoverished nations, but with malicious intention. I read several years ago that Nestle gave mothers in India free samples of their baby formula under the auspices of "aid." However, this aid led to the mothers depending on the formula once their own milk had dried up due to discontinued breastfeeding. They were forced to purchase formula, an unnecessary expense.
Western Food culture and its exchange across the globe has very little to do with exchange of culture or sharing resources, and everything to do with capital gain. Coca-Cola is now thoroughly entrenched in the "global culture." Cow's milk is given to children in Africa. Beef is on the menu at restaurants in India.
It wasn't until the 1950s, after Occupation that Japan became inundated with American cuisine. The dairy free, low-meat traditional diet became supplanted by beef, cheese and beer production. Today, few people in Japan (especially in the urban areas, such as Tokyo) eat a traditional diet and because of this heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments associated with meat eating has increased.
Along with the disintegration of local food cultures comes rising food costs due to fuel prices, decreases in land used for plant production, and resources wasted on producing meat.
The news companies say that fuel costs are to blame for the price increase, but the true culprit is much more difficult to admit. Our diet has endangered the entire world. Not only is meat nutritiously lowly, the resources needed to produce it actually decrease food stores. Instead of consuming grains and water directly, we feed our foodstuffs to animals that are then slaughtered and yield less food than we initially contributed. It is simply illogical to continue this process with a burgeoning population. Meat eating is not sustainable for large numbers of people.
Countries that once primarily grew grains, fruits and veggies, have given up their farms to grow grass for grazing cows. Beef brings in more money than grain. Also, many of the supposedly "starving" nations have plenty of land for cultivating their own food, however the U.S. inhibits this through economic regulation and instead many of these nations grow cash crops for U.S. consumption (coffee, cotton, tobacco, hemp, sugar cane, chocolate, etc).
I truly believe that no person can call themselves an environmentalist without giving up meat, one of the big threats to food sustainability. Livestock waste more than anything. We waste water, food, land, and time on a product that leads directly to malnutrition. It is not possible for any human being to eat carnivorously, but our bodies have no problem adjusting to a vegan diet (detoxing may be the only initial reaction). Vegans reduce waste through not eating meat, live longer, healthier lives, and do not contribute to unnecessary suffering. The only answer to the food crisis is a return to sustainability and I wish it would change in our immediate future. It's not probable that things will change now, but more people convert to veganism every day and I live in the hope that meat consumption will end for good.
Western Food culture and its exchange across the globe has very little to do with exchange of culture or sharing resources, and everything to do with capital gain. Coca-Cola is now thoroughly entrenched in the "global culture." Cow's milk is given to children in Africa. Beef is on the menu at restaurants in India.
It wasn't until the 1950s, after Occupation that Japan became inundated with American cuisine. The dairy free, low-meat traditional diet became supplanted by beef, cheese and beer production. Today, few people in Japan (especially in the urban areas, such as Tokyo) eat a traditional diet and because of this heart disease, diabetes, and other ailments associated with meat eating has increased.
Along with the disintegration of local food cultures comes rising food costs due to fuel prices, decreases in land used for plant production, and resources wasted on producing meat.
The news companies say that fuel costs are to blame for the price increase, but the true culprit is much more difficult to admit. Our diet has endangered the entire world. Not only is meat nutritiously lowly, the resources needed to produce it actually decrease food stores. Instead of consuming grains and water directly, we feed our foodstuffs to animals that are then slaughtered and yield less food than we initially contributed. It is simply illogical to continue this process with a burgeoning population. Meat eating is not sustainable for large numbers of people.
Countries that once primarily grew grains, fruits and veggies, have given up their farms to grow grass for grazing cows. Beef brings in more money than grain. Also, many of the supposedly "starving" nations have plenty of land for cultivating their own food, however the U.S. inhibits this through economic regulation and instead many of these nations grow cash crops for U.S. consumption (coffee, cotton, tobacco, hemp, sugar cane, chocolate, etc).
I truly believe that no person can call themselves an environmentalist without giving up meat, one of the big threats to food sustainability. Livestock waste more than anything. We waste water, food, land, and time on a product that leads directly to malnutrition. It is not possible for any human being to eat carnivorously, but our bodies have no problem adjusting to a vegan diet (detoxing may be the only initial reaction). Vegans reduce waste through not eating meat, live longer, healthier lives, and do not contribute to unnecessary suffering. The only answer to the food crisis is a return to sustainability and I wish it would change in our immediate future. It's not probable that things will change now, but more people convert to veganism every day and I live in the hope that meat consumption will end for good.
