Tag: plant-based diet

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The times they are a changin’

Eat less meat

Back in 2008, VHS had an opinion piece published in the Globe & Mail, calling for a reduction in meat consumption for animal welfare, environmental and health reasons.

At the time, we weren’t hopeful that governments, mainstream media or other power brokers were likely to take the issue seriously, despite the overwhelming evidence of the problems caused by meat production and consumption.

But last week, there was a hopeful sign of change when the foremost nutrition advisory panel in the United States officially called for Americans to eat less meat to protect their health and the environment.  (Animal welfare is not in the panel’s mandate, but its advice, if heeded, would likely save many animals from suffering and slaughter on factory farms across the U.S.)

Another welcome sign of the times was an amazing article in the Globe & Mail this week by nutritionist Leslie Beck.  Quoting celebrated Canadian scientist Dr. David Jenkins, the article laid out the compelling reasons why a vegan diet benefits human health, the environment and animal welfare.

So far, there is no indication that Health Canada, which produces Canada’s Food Guide, will follow the U.S. example of recommending a cut in meat consumption.  But with more articles like Leslie Beck’s it may only be a matter of time before Canada catches up.

See our our Eat Less Meat page for more information on this issue.

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From margins to mainstream: meat-free eating is on the rise

According to a recent Globe & Mail article, vegan cuisine has moved into the mainstream.  Certainly, no one can fail to notice the emergence of vegan and vegetarian restaurants (along with more meat-free options in conventional restaurants) and the availability of meat and dairy substitutes in supermarkets.  While the overwhelming majority of people are still carnivores, adopting a plant-based diet is no longer on the freakish fringe of lifestyle choices.

Using Google books Ngram Viewer, a digital tool that can track the historical frequency of words in a database of about six million books, it’s possible to see how the concept of meatless diets has advanced in our culture in recent decades. The charts below are roughly indicative, tracking several relevant terms:

 

 

Ngram veg track

 

Although “vegetarian” appears to dip after 2000:

 

 

 

 

Ngram Vegetarian to 2008

Rising concerns about the impact of meat consumption on animal welfare, the environment and health have no doubt played a role in increased public interest in plant-based diets. But despite this trend, global consumption of meat is accelerating because of increased demand in Asia.

Animal activists, environmentalists and health advocates promoting lower meat consumption have their work cut out for them.

VHS is committed to encouraging a plant-based diet and lower meat consumption to help end factory farm cruelty and reduce animal suffering and slaughter.

Check out our Eat Less Meat program.

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Op-ed: Time for Canada to be a plant-protein superpower

 

Our latest opinion editorial, published online in the Georgia Straight, describes the rise of the plant-based food industry and the opportunity it presents for Canadian agriculture.  It’s a ‘good news’ story – turning to plant-based foods means fewer animals living on factory farms and facing slaughter.

To see more VHS opinion pieces click here.

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Canada – a plant protein superpower?

Pulses beans peas lentils chickpeas

Not long ago, we had an article published in the Vancouver Sun about the importance of Canada’s pulse crops (lentils, chickpeas, dried peas and beans). It may seem odd for a humane society to be enthusiastic about a somewhat obscure agricultural product, but these humble legumes could save millions of animals from factory farm misery.

How? – by helping to meet the growing global demand for protein that would otherwise be met by raising and slaughtering animals.

It’s not just that pulses can be part of a more compassionate, plant-based diet. It’s that they can do so in an environmentally-friendly, sustainable way. And what’s more, they are a highly-nutritional, healthy food.

These benefits give pulses a huge advantage over meat production, which is wasteful, environmentally damaging and unsustainable.  While many studies suggest there are serious health problems associated with meat-heavy diets, there is growing evidence that pulses contribute to good health.

But here’s the problem: Most Canadians (and Americans) don’t make pulses a big part of their diet.  Canada, although it is one of the world’s top producers of pulses, exports most of these crops to other countries. As one food journal put it, Canadian pulses are ignored at home, adored abroad.

Fortunately, Pulse Canada, a national association of pulse growers, is working (along with similar provincial groups) to promote pulses to Canadian consumers and raise awareness of all their benefits.  The federal government, to its credit, has also invested in supporting these efforts.

But the meat industry in Canada gets far more support (including funding for producing beef, pork and poultry and meat processing) despite concerns about its impact on our environment, our health and on animal welfare.

That’s a shame because there is considerable evidence that trying to address the growing global demand for protein with more meat production is unsustainable.

Meanwhile, the market for meat alternatives has been growing and many of these include pulses as an ingredient. For example, Canadian company Gardein uses pea protein in its meatless products, as does Beyond Meat, a U.S. start-up. And demand for some traditional uses of pulses, like chickpeas for hummus, has boomed.

We think Canada should be investing more in cruelty-free, environmentally-friendly, healthy pulses instead of factory farming and unsustainable, unhealthy industrial meat production.

We’re already a world leader in pulse production. Why not aim to be a sustainable protein superpower?

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Unfamiliar with cooking pulses?  Here are some links to great pulse recipes:

Pulse Canada (some recipes contain meat, but vegetarian options can be selected with filter)

Saskatchewan Pulse Growers (some recipes contain meat)

Alberta Pulse Growers (Vegetarian recipes can be selected)

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VHS bus ad now on Metro Vancouver routes

087Our ad “Food, Friend, Why?” is now on Translink diesel buses throughout Metro Vancouver.  The ad raises an important and provocative moral question: why do we eat one animal and befriend another? Most of us wouldn’t dream of eating a cat or a dog, but when one considers the intelligence and sentience of farmed animals, it doesn’t make sense to consider cows or pigs or chickens as somehow so different.

VHS-bus-ad-295x300

Thank you to the generous donors who made this ad possible.

 

 

 

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New shocks follow Europe’s horsemeat scandal!

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

The horsemeat scandal that has rocked Europe may be just the tip of the iceberg, as new revelations about the food supply emerge.  European consumers expressed revulsion when it was revealed that frozen lasagne and other products where contaminated with up to 100 per cent horsemeat.

But now a new shock about food products has turned the stomachs of shoppers and diners in Britain and across the continent:  It has emerged that the flesh of other dead animals, not just horses, is rampant throughout the food system.  For example, it has been revealed that dishes such as roast lamb and lamb stew actually contain the flesh of a baby animal of the same name.  Investigators have also discovered that the entrée known as veal is made from another baby animal called a calf.  There are now indications that the entire human diet may be contaminated with the flesh of a range of dead animals.

British consumers interviewed about the revelations were appalled.  “You mean every Sunday I’ve been eating one of the cute little spring lambs I’ve taken my children to see in the countryside?” said one horrified woman.

A man in a pub refused to finish his lunch when told that steak and kidney pie actually contains the organs of a slaughtered animal.  “What, you mean the kidney is actually a kidney?” said the disgusted diner.

Another diner, who said he had been sick to learn about horses being used for food because they were so sensitive and intelligent, was dumbstruck when told that his ham sandwich was made from a sensitive and intelligent animal called a pig.

Government officials have suggested that the contamination may be the work of “organized criminal gangs” who have introduced the flesh into the food chain.  There are dark rumours that this may even have happened on a global scale, with so-called “factory farms” keeping billions of animals in inhumane conditions before killing them and distributing their body parts for huge profits.

However, scientists and bureaucrats have dismissed the rumours, stating that it’s unthinkable for such a cruel system to exist.  “It’s impossible to believe that anyone could organize something so brutal on such a scale,” said one official.  “No civilized society would ever allow such a thing to happen.”

An environmental expert said such a system would also be unsustainable.  “It would use up an enormous amount of resources, pollute our air, land and water and contribute to climate change through massive releases of greenhouse gases,” he said.   “The human race would never be so self-destructive.”

And health officials say that if people were eating a diet heavy in animal flesh we would be seeing high rates of obesity, cancer, heart disease and diabetes.  “It just couldn’t happen,” said one medical expert.  “It would be almost suicidal for society to take up such a diet and we’re a lot smarter than that.”

 

 

 

 

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Why we say “eat less meat”

Visitors to the VHS website will note that we have a project called ‘Eat less meat,’ which provides information on the consequences of meat production and consumption.  It explains the animal suffering caused by factory farming and also refers to the negative impacts on the environment and human health. And, obviously, it encourages people to respond to these issues by eating less meat.

For some, especially ethical vegans and vegetarians, eating “less” meat may seem a tepid response to a system responsible for the slaughter and abuse of billions of animals.

It’s absolutely true that veganism, abstaining from all animal products, is the best response to factory farming and other forms of  animal cruelty.  If all human beings were vegan an immense amount of animal suffering would simply disappear.  It’s something worth aiming for, as both a personal goal and as an ideal for human society.

VHS’s position is that any movement toward that goal should be encouraged and that no one who falls short should be demonized.  So a heavy meat-eater who reduces meat consumption or a flexitarian who becomes a vegetarian or a vegetarian who becomes a vegan should all be applauded.  They are all on the same path and they are all making a difference.

Animal advocates, academics and philosophers are currently engaged in complex debates about human responsibilities toward animals and the moral issues surrounding meat consumption. Sadly, these debates can be bitter and divisive, leaving the animal rights movement fractured and fractious.

To outside observers it can sometimes appear that the debate is about competing for moral purity rather than addressing animal suffering.  Negative stereotypes of vegans and vegetarians, often fostered by the media, portray them as intolerant, humourless zealots.  Such misconceptions, though unfair and untrue, do have to be taken into account when encouraging people to address farm animal suffering by moving toward a plant-based diet.  Perceptions matter.

There is some evidence that omnivores resent ethical vegetarians because they perceive (inaccurately) that they are being harshly judged.  It is possible that the very people the animal rights movement wants to engage on this issue are being turned off by this perceived “holier-than-thou” attitude.  They feel demonized as morally inferior before anyone can even begin a discussion with them about the benefits of reducing or eliminating meat consumption.

That’s why VHS advocates eating less meat.  Anyone can do that.  And, once you start, it’s not hard to reduce meat consumption one step at a time.  There has never been a time when cutting out meat was so easy.  There are more meatless options in supermarkets and restaurants than ever.  There are more vegetarian and vegan cookbooks available and a wealth of online information on plant-based diets.

There are also plenty of studies showing why reducing meat consumption is good for human health, the environment and, of course, animals.  More people are becoming aware of these facts.  By becoming one of them and taking whatever steps you can to address the issue, you can make a difference.

 

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Red meat is bad, but don’t switch to chicken or fish

Eating red meat increases the risk of premature death says a major new report by the Harvard School of Public Health.

This latest study showing that red meat consumption is a health hazard will likely be welcomed by opponents of factory farming. After all, anything that potentially reduces the demand for meat should be good news for animal welfare, the environment and human health. Unfortunately, it’s not that simple. Like many studies showing the health risks associated with eating red meat, this one recommends switching to alternatives such as fish or poultry – options that are fraught with environmental, sustainability and animal welfare problems.

VHS launched an Eat Less Chicken project specifically to counter suggestions that chicken is a more acceptable choice than red meat. In terms of pound-for-pound animal suffering, eating poultry is among the worst options, as billions of chickens are inhumanely raised and slaughtered to provide relatively small amounts of meat. While poultry production is not as environmentally damaging as, say, intensive pig farming it still has considerable negative impacts.

If substantial numbers of people were to start replacing red meat with fish, it would likely further devastate global fish stocks, three quarters of which are already either fully or over exploited.

The simple truth is that moving toward a plant-based diet is the best way to reduce our impact on the environment, improve our health and prevent animal suffering.

For more information see our Eat Less Meat webpage.