Food Crisis Solution: Go Vegan by Peter Singer on NPR 6/17/08

[Guest guest]

The National Public Radio show "Marketplace", Tuesday, June 17, includes a commentary headed,"Food crisis solution: Go vegan. We grow enough food for everyone, but livestock are devouring our food supply.Commentator and bioethicist Peter Singer says

unless we change, the dinner plateof the future will look far different."Singer's commentary notes that biofuels are contributing to a food crisis,however, he tells us:"But most corn isn't eaten by humans; it's eaten by animals andthat's the biggest part of the problem. According to the United NationsFood and Agriculture Organization, 756 million tons of grain plus most of theworld's soybean crop are fed to animals.... When we use animals to convertgrain and soy into food we can eat, they use most of the feed to keep warm anddevelop bones and other parts we can't eat. So we're wasting most ofthe food value of the crops we feed them. In the case of cattle, at leastnine-tenths of the grain they eat is squandered."You can both listen to and read the commentary on line athttp://marketplace.publicradio.org/display/web/2008/06/17/future_of_food/or at this Tiny URL: http://tinyurl.com/674eycPlease check it out whether or not you will read the whole thing (it is short)as Marketplace notes which stories get the most on line clicks. And the showasks that listeners "Send us your thoughts." There is a place forcomments right under the story, and some listener comments are read out on thenext day's show. So why not note your support?Yours and the animals',Karen Dawn(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in themedia and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You canlearn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. You mayforward or reprint DawnWatch alerts if you do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch inthe title and include this parenthesized tag line. If somebody forwardsDawnWatch alerts to you, which you enjoy, please help the list grow by signingup. It is free.)