Guest guest Posted June 23, 2009 Report Share Posted June 23, 2009 Dear all, This item appeared today. If it could be related to vegetarianism, it is worth exploring. Vegetarianism can save land and food meant for animals meant to be raised for meat that could be used to feed hungry people. The environmental aspect of vegetarianism has been taken into account by Dr Rajendra Pachauri, Head of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change that won the Nobel Prize in 2007. His presentation can be viewed here : http://www.rkpachauri.org/pdf/London08.pdf Article also attached. Dr Pachauri incidentally works at TERI(The Energy Research Institute) which is situatated right next door to where I am working. It is just across the road from WWF where I am stationed. I hope to meet him and talk at length about this issue in the not too distant future. I have friends in TERI who interact with him regularly. Best wishes and kind regards, * http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/One-billion-go-hungry-UN/articleshow/46\ 76916.cms * World's hungry top one billion: UN food agency *19 Jun 2009, 1737 hrs IST, AFP* ** * **Print*<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/articleshow/msid-4676916,prtpage-1.c\ ms> * * * **Email** * * **Discuss* * **Share* * **Save* * **Comment*<http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/Earth/One-billion-go-hungry-UN/art\ icleshow/4676916.cms#write> *Text:* ** ** *ROME: The number of hungry in the world has reached a " historic high " of more than one billion people, the UN food agency said on Friday, blaming * ***the global financial crisis for the surge. The Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) said that " one sixth of humanity, " or 1.02 billion people, do not get enough to eat. It predicted an 11 percent increase for all of 2009. An estimated 642 million of the total are in the Asia-Pacific region, the agency said in a statement. Some 265 million are in sub-Saharan Africa, 53 million in Latin America and the Caribbean and 52 million in the Middle East and north Africa. But the FAO said there are some 15 million hungry in developed countries. " The most recent increase in hunger is not the consequence of poor global harvests but is caused by the world economic crisis that has resulted in lower incomes and increased unemployment, " the statement said. The FAO had initially revised downward its estimate of hungry people from 963 million to 915 million because of a " better-than-expected global food supply, " the agency said. However, " a dangerous mix of the global economic slowdown combined with stubbornly high food prices in many countries has pushed some 100 million more people than last year into chronic hunger and poverty, " said FAO General Jacques Diouf. " Whereas good progress was made in reducing chronic hunger in the 1980s and the first half of the 1990s, hunger has been slowly but steadily on the rise for the past decade, " the FAO said. " This year, mainly due to the shocks of the economic crisis combined with often high national food prices, the number of hungry people is expected to grow overall by about 11 percent, " the agency projects. " The silent hunger crisis ... poses a serious risk for world peace and security, " the statement warned. " We urgently need to forge a broad consensus on the total and rapid eradication of hunger in the world and to take the necessary actions. " The agency noted: " The economic crisis also comes on the heel of the food and fuel crisis of 2006-08. " It added that at the end of 2008 food prices " remained on average 24 percent higher in real terms... compared to 2006. " " Unlike previous crises, developing countries have less room to adjust to the deteriorating economic conditions because the turmoil is affecting practically all parts of the world more or less simultaneously. " It noted that poor consumers spend up to 60 percent of their incomes on staple foods. The agency will release its annual " State of Food Insecurity in the World " report in October. During a Rome summit one year ago, FAO member states reaffirmed their commitment to halve world hunger by 2015, a Millennium Development Goal set in 2000 by the United Nations. Diouf said last year that " with current trends, that goal will be attained in 2150, rather than 2015. " The food agency warned that " the urban poor will probably face the most severe problems in coping with the global recession, because lower export demand and reduced foreign direct investment are more likely to hit urban jobs harder. " However, it said, " rural areas will not be spared. Millions of urban migrants will have to return to the countryside, forcing the rural poor to share the burden in many cases. " * http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.foodanddrink *UN says eat less meat to curb global warming* *People should have one meat-free day a week if they want to make a personal and effective sacrifice that would help tackle climate change, the world's leading authority on global warming has told The Observer* *Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which last year earned a joint share of the Nobel Peace Prize, said that people should then go on to reduce their meat consumption even further.* *His comments are the most controversial advice yet provided by the panel onhow individuals can help tackle global warning. * *Pachauri, who was re-elected the panel's chairman for a second six-year term last week, said diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems - including habitat destruction - associated with rearing cattle and other animals. It was relatively easy to change eating habits compared to changing means of transport, he said. * *The UN's Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are generated during the production of animal feeds, for example, while ruminants, particularly cows, emit methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than carbon dioxide. The agency has also warned that meat consumption is set to double by the middle of the century.* *'In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity,' said Pachauri. 'Give up meat for one day [a week] initially, and decrease it from there,' said the Indian economist, who is a vegetarian. * *However, he also stressed other changes in lifestyle would help to combat climate change. 'That's what I want to emphasise: we really have to bring about reductions in every sector of the economy.'* *Pachauri can expect some vociferous responses from the food industry to his advice, though last night he was given unexpected support by Masterchef presenter and restaurateur John Torode, who is about to publish a new book, John Torode's Beef. 'I have a little bit and enjoy it,' said Torode. 'Too much for any person becomes gluttony. But there's a bigger issue here: where [the meat] comes from. If we all bought British and stopped buying imported food we'd save a huge amount of carbon emissions.'* *Tomorrow, Pachauri will speak at an event hosted by animal welfare group **Compassion in World Farming* <http://www.ciwf.org.uk/>*, which has calculated that if the average UK household halved meat consumption that would cut emissions more than if car use was cut in half. * *The group has called for governments to lead campaigns to reduce **meat consumption* <http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.beef>*by 60 per cent by 2020. Campaigners have also pointed out the health benefits of eating less meat. **The average person in the UK eats 50g of protein from meat a day*<http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.meat> *, equivalent to a chicken breast and a lamb chop - a relatively low level for rich nations but 25-50 per cent more than World Heath Organisation guidelines.* *Professor Robert Watson, the chief scientific adviser for the Department for Environment Food and Rural Affairs, who will also speak at tomorrow's event in London, said government could help educate people about the benefits of eating less meat, but it should not 'regulate'. 'Eating less meat would help, there's no question about that, but there are other things,' Watson said.* *However, Chris Lamb, head of marketing for pig industry group BPEX, said the meat industry had been unfairly targeted and was working hard to find out which activities had the biggest environmental impact and reduce those. Some ideas were contradictory, he said - for example, one solution to emissions from livestock was to keep them indoors, but this would damage animal welfare. 'Climate change is a very young science and our view is there are a lot of simplistic solutions being proposed,' he said.* *Last year a major report into the environmental impact of meat eating by the Food Climate Research Network at Surrey University claimed livestock generated 8 per cent of UK emissions - but eating some meat was good for the planet because some habitats benefited from grazing. It also said vegetarian diets that included lots of milk, butter and cheese would probably not noticeably reduce emissions because dairy cows are a major source of methane, a potent greenhouse gas released through flatulence.* Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest guest Posted June 24, 2009 Report Share Posted June 24, 2009 Please circulate FAO warning: Œ1.020 million people going hungry every day¹ Common Press Release 23 June 2009 In spite of various important international treaties with the noble intent of affirming everyone¹s right to food, we are now being confronted with the stunning fact that one sixth of all of humanity is starving. This catastrophe is an indication that in our global village something has obviously slipped out of the balance of ethics and reason: - Hunger and malnutrition are killing nearly six million children each year, whilst for their peers in other parts of the world meat-laden diets lead to obesity and a wide variety of diseases, thus shortening their life expectancies and putting increasing burdens on public health systems; - The inefficient meat trade expansion continues to spiral out of control, but still decision makers like the FAO continue their efforts to accommodate the gruesome trend even at great environmental cost to soil, air and water, instead of trying to halt it, or at least slow it down. -Social justice is compromised by the fact that even when confronted with so much misery, huge shares of available food stuffs (even 95% of soy) are still siphoned off for farm animals. FAO Director-General Jacques Diouf: " The present situation of world food insecurity cannot leave us indifferent. " Indeed, it cannot. Sidelining this drama has been going on for far too long. However, it is somewhat surprising that the FAO press release avoids addressing the impact which around 56 billion animals, fed to be slaughtered worldwide each year, are representing for the problem of food security. Where is the social justice? Especially in times of great suffering, decency calls for a thorough and objective investigation of all possible means suitable to lighten the burden, and that in interest of all, poor and wealthy alike. After all, when starving people refuse to carry their load quietly any longer and instead decide to shatter systems of injustice, the resulting social unrest may bring danger and hardship for everyone. Vegetarianism offers a multitude of benefits and this compassionate lifestyle represents also the ideal way to ease the hunger drama. A meatless diet or even a reduction in meat consumption will quickly free an enormous amount of food resources: If Americans reduced their intake of meat by merely 10%, 100,000,000 people could be fed! Each vegetarian is a living proof of solidarity and a silent hero who contributes greatly to the new fair and compassionate society we so urgently need. Signed: AgireOra Network http://www.agireora.org Italy Association Végétarienne de France http://www.vegetarisme.fr/ France Edinburgh the Fur-Free City www.edinburghfurfreecity.co.uk UK European Vegetarian and Animal News Alliance (EVANA) www.evana.org International Jewish Vegetarians of North America (JVNA) www.JewishVeg.com USA Romanian Vegetarian Society http://www.svr.ro Romania SHARAN www.sharan-india.org India Swiss Union for Vegetarianism http://www.vegetarismus.ch/ Switzerland Vegan Society Austria www.vegan.at <http://www.vegan.at> Austria Veg Climate Alliance http://vegclimatealliance.org/ <http://vegclimatealliance.org/> International References: One sixth of humanity undernourished - more than ever before http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/20568/icode/ Every six seconds a child dies of hunger http://www.wfp.org/node/3364 <http://www.wfp.org/node/3364> If Americans reduced their intake of meat by merely 10%, 100,000,000 people could be fed http://www.earthsave.org/environment.htm <http://www.earthsave.org/environment.htm> ========================== Petition Food vs Feed: ³In the name of humanity, a responsible global community can no longer afford to invest 7-16 kg of grain or soya beans, up to 15,500 liters of water, and 323 m2 of grazing land in the production of just one kilo of beef for those with the means to pay for it.² http://www.evana.org/UN/index.php?lang=en <http://www.evana.org/UN/index.php?lang=en> Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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