Humanity’s Leap to the Golden Era: Washington, D.C., Climate Change Conference, Part 6 of 17, November 8, 2009

T. Colin Campbell (vegan): “We learned that nutrition is a major factor in keeping us healthy, and by nutrition I mean consuming whole plant-based foods and eliminating, as much as possible, animal based foods: dairy, eggs and meat. And one of the outcomes of this idea is not only that do we restore health, but now we’re learning that this can have a major effect on the environment.”

Dr. Ruby Lathon (vegan): “Research shows that the risk of chronic disease increases with the increase in meat and dairy consumption.” “So when we look at this, we’re wondering: What impact does this have on our health in general when we see these kinds of increases? Consequently, the increase in child health and the prevalence of overweight has also increased.” “So, we can see that as we’re increasing these things, such as meat and cheese consumption, our weight is going along with that, and as we know that when we have a higher weight, that many chronic diseases are related to that.”

“And so, we’re seeing as the shift in our dietary patterns have changed, so is our weight and so is our health. And consequently, so is our environment. And so, when we make these links, then we can talk about what we can do about that. So, as it’s wreaking havoc on our diet, on our health, on our planet, you know it’s also just having a devastating effect as cited, in that we’ve often heard about – as cited here today in the United Nations report ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’ - that an estimated 18% of greenhouse gas emissions were related to livestock and its production. However, the 2009 report 'Livestock and Climate Change' by researchers at the Worldwatch Institute estimated that that number was a bit higher, producing about 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year. So, that’s about 51% of greenhouse gas emissions, which is astonishing.”

Nina (vegetarian): “Well, I’ve loved animals all my life, and I think it would be really hard if I had to eat one. I think it’s important to stop eating meat because if more people stopped, then it would be really good for the environment.”