7Gen Blog

Peace Begins on Our Plates

I am very happy for Al Gore. He has devoted himself to an environmental issue and is finally receiving recognition for what has been a very long road to reaching a critical mass of awareness about climate change. This is his opportunity to change awareness into action.

Every single one of us engages every day in the single greatest contributor to climate change. We eat. And not very well, for us or the planet. Our animal-centric diet contributes not only to our increasing obesity as a nation, but to climate change, rain forest destruction, topsoil erosion, heart disease, and water & air pollution. Raising livestock produces more greenhouse gases globally than the international transportation system. Nothing about the meat industry is “peaceful.”

Children and adults can feel empowered every day by making climate-friendly diet choices. For many of us, simply choosing a different item on the menu will make a bigger negative impact on our carbon footprint than the car we drive. Buying lower on the food chain also trims our grocery bills. It’s easy, and everyone can contribute. As Bill McKibben so eloquently points out in his book Deep Economy, fifty percent of the world’s consumer expenditures are on food. Let’s make every meal a vote for a better world.

Al Gore has the world’s ear. Let’s hope he spreads a message of peace for all of Earth’s inhabitants.

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