Food
What would you say to someone who tells you
what you should and shouldn't eat ? A polite answer would be : "Mind
your own business". But there are some uncomfortable facts which
meat-eaters need to know about.
Here are the findings of a research programme by the
Heart Unit at Oxford University. They are summarised by the newspaper
headlines :
"Excessive meat-eating 'kills 45,000 each year"
"Half a sausage a day ! Study urges limit on meat to
save lives and the planet"
Here are some of the details :
Eating meat no more than three times a week would prevent 31,000 deaths
a year from heart disease, 9,000 deaths from cancer and 5,000 deaths
from strokes.
This would save the NHS £1.2 billion a year.
Red meat is strongly linked to bowel cancer; meat and dairy products
high in saturated fats are causes of obesity and heart disease.
The research was commissioned by Friends of the
Earth; they said that it didn't mean that people should necessarily
stop eating meat altogether; it would help if they simply eat less
meat, maybe just two or three times a week. Part of the problem was
that meat has become 'artificially cheap and plentiful'.
A sharp drop in meat consumption would also help
reduce climate change and deforestation; in South America, rain forests
are being destroyed to grow animal feed and graze cows which are then
exported to Europe.
Eating meat
# Food miles
Most
carrots in supermarkets have travelled large distances from just 10
packing companies in East Anglia, Scotland and the north of England;
Two thirds of milk supplies travel from farms around
the country to just six points for processing; the milk then travels
back to retailers on the motorways.
# Food
co-operatives
Sustain
is a charity which helps people to set up food co-ops and make it
easier for people to find fresh, healthy and sustainable food.