Making the Connection

Making the Connection

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Ratings: 8.29/10 from 59 users.

Making the ConnectionDo you have to choose between a healthy, fun, modern lifestyle and a fair, sustainable, compassionate lifestyle?

No, you can have it all! Watch Making the Connection and decide for yourself.

Making the Connection is a new film which invites you on a journey - together with a chef, a farmer, an MP, an athlete, a dietitian, a poet.

Explores an exciting lifestyle which combines delicious, healthy food with tackling many of the global challenges facing us today.

Will you make the connection and become part of the solution?

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Chris Parsonson
Chris Parsonson
2 years ago

I'm retired, divorced, and vegan. I avoid sugar also.
The health benefits for me have been substantial
I think the argument that to be vegan is more expensive than being omnivore is a bit unlikely.
It may depend on where you live.
City or countryside
I live just outside a small village.
I grow peaches, apricots, pomegranates, and blackberries
Green beans, sweet potatoes, and squash.
From local farmers I buy dried beans, and potatoes.
Nowadays the supermarkets sell vegetables that don't make the grade. They're the wrong shape or size. They taste the same.
That's potatoes, sweet potatoes, onions, sweet peppers.
I get a B12 injection once a month.
I have my blood tested every 6 months.
I keep chickens. They are not caged. I give away the eggs.
I sell chickens but have a rule. If you buy a chicken, you must catch it. If you want to eat it then you must kill it, pluck it, and butcher it.
As a vegan the one thing I do miss is cheese, in all its variety. But I value my health more.

Vege-tater
Vege-tater
7 years ago

We learned to eat meat but that doesn't make us omnivores anymore than feeding a bunny cooked meat would make it one. Nature adapts it's creations to be ideally suited to obtain it's food. If you think you are an omnivore, than I challenge you to go out into nature and catch yourself some living creature with no assistance, run it down and kill it with your native apparatus, rip it's flesh from it's bones with your flat teeth and flat face and gobble it down raw. THAT is what all omnivores do. Using tools is a workaround trick, not an adaptation. If we were designed to eat meat, we would have adapted biologically. An omnivore is a carnivore that evolved adaptations to be able to eat plants, but it's physiology is very similar to a carnivore. Humans are starch adapted herbivores who can get away with eating other things in survival situations, but those other things are not healthy long term. Developing a taste for cooked meat is learned, and unlearning it will prolong your life. Like it or not, fact.

Lz_erk
Lz_erk
8 years ago

Walterbyrd got it. Legumes are one of the healthiest choices available for people or their land, and they're far from the only alternative [um... good luck if you're on a FODMAP diet]. If there's a crisis waiting in the mythical mostly-vegan future -- after the Carbpocalypse Cornspiracy and resulting diseases -- it's the cost of revising so much grain and animal monoculture into synergistic production. Cattle could play a positive role: see agroforestry/silvopasture, permaculture, and maybe The Savory Institute.

Martin Miljkovic
Martin Miljkovic
8 years ago

Vegetables are more expensive than processed meat. 1 000 000 000 but to buy that crap in order to just survive. Healthy diet is not a choice for all but 5-6% of the people of this planet.

zedoeee
zedoeee
9 years ago

Very interesting. I've tried being a vegetarian, lasted for about 2 years but can't seem to keep on it. Temptation is always there. I'm thinking it's more of a lifestyle that needs to be changed. Anyone have experience with these struggles?

Kuko
Kuko
10 years ago

Hello everybody !
I feel so joyous after watching this !
I decided to go vegan only two days ago after being vegetarian for two years and not being able to make this decision. But after seeing 'Earthlings' there was no question.
And when you are shown what a good contribution you are making by going vegan it really makes you feel happy about yoursef and your life.
Thank you all who made this decision. :)

Corbin Nevermore
Corbin Nevermore
11 years ago

So instead of having a horse to do some work, you would rather have a gas motor that is 1000 times more environmentally devastating. Just with anything, if you take it to extremes, you are creating a problem as bad as the one you are battling against. Try some balance vegans. Eat some bacon and get over yourselves.

L0LAW0NKA
L0LAW0NKA
11 years ago

If being vegan is so healthy, then why do all vegans look thin, tired and weak. The chemicals must be doing something good for us. Just have a BALANCED diet and exercise. You can do and eat anything that way. Live life and stop worrying about this and that. That's no way to live. If these animal rights people are so concerned with civil rights, they should all move to MEXICO where there are NO civil rights of any kind. Or South America. PeTA is doing enough for Europe. I dare all of you to move there. I was a PeTA member, and when I moved to those countries I asked PeTA for help, and you what they said, "We don't mess with countries whose governments don't support our cause." YEAH. Dissapointment.

L0LAW0NKA
L0LAW0NKA
11 years ago

I can't stand Vegans.. they think they know everything-- but you don't. I was a lacto-frugetarian for THREE YEARS and my skin started turning gray, and I was loosing hair; I also fainted all the time. It was ridiculous. Then I moved to Ecuador after college, and I almost died. Because THAT fricking diet of no meats and no plants was actually killing me. Then I tried eating just vegetables everyday, and I got salmonella. Then I moved to Mexico, and tried eating organic foods, and I got a stomach virus. When I moved to Canada, I started eating FISH and CHICKEN and guess what? I'm healthy. Yeah, so now back in the U.S. I can say I'm a proud omnivore because that is the healthiest diet for humans. Yes, I can say that because I traveled all over the American continent. So you vegans should all do what I did, and SEE THE LIGHT. T______T"

Gregory Olsen
Gregory Olsen
12 years ago

There's certainly some odd and ludicrous arguements going on here. But I have give the gold medal to Sam who can somehow justify the insipid and cruel practices of factory farming by declaring we say nothing about lions eating antelopes. Perhaps we'd have a lot say about lions eating antelopes if the lions kept the antelopes in tiny cages , pumped them full of growth hormone and antibiotics , feed them on an unnatural diet , made them spend their days standing in their own **** ..... I'm sure then many people would protest and call the lions brutal savages and there'd be many a "Save the Antelope " campaigns.
Oh well , I've had my small say and I think I'll go and a nice vegetarian drink....what'll it be ? Beer ? Scotch ? Wine ? They're all vegetarian drinks so it doesn't matter!!

ProudinUS
ProudinUS
12 years ago

Ah man, with all these germs collapsing and breaking through the barriers of your body like a gun one should be extremely careful about what. Their putting in their mouth.

F. Therry Jackson
F. Therry Jackson
12 years ago

Kale has double of calcium then milk

Michael Smith
Michael Smith
12 years ago

Balance is the key to almost every aspect of life. We have known for years that a balanced diet with meat, vegetables, fruit, nuts, dairy etc is the best. Back in the "hunter/gatherer" days they even had somewhat of a balance between meat, berries nuts etc - not just meat as some say, hence the "gatherer" part.
Most people do eat far too much meat and processed foods and not nearly enough vegetables, fruits and nuts. If people were to cut back on animal products for food and other uses we would not need to use the disgusting, disease ridden practices that they use today. Nor would we need to use all the antibiotics and other additives that are killing us all. All food can be good for you if it is "farmed" properly but these days with drugging animals, herbicides, pesticides, GMO crops etc almost no food is entirely good. That includes meat, fruits, vegetables, grains, etc
Most of these bad crops are subsidized by the government (aka our tax dollars) and most farmers feel forced to use this bad practices because they think that is the only way they can compete. This is because the big companies like the evil Monsanto want to have full control over all food production and have paid off the government to allow them to do this. The number of ways that most of the food system is corrupted and made bad for us is so staggering that many books could be written just to list all the problems. Organic farming, crop rotation, ethical treatment of animals etc does produce the healthiest animal and plant products but does cost more initially. In the long run it would save us way more but most people don't and cannot worry about long term. They need to concern themselves with surviving today and tomorrow. It is a very sad state of affairs that we live in these days and without the majority of the population waking up and realizing what is really going on, it is not going to change for the better until we hit rock bottom. This can come in the next 5-20years and will consist of massive starvation, death, disease etc if people do not wake up before this happens.
For those that do not believe we can survive on organic farming methods, responsible farming practices and eliminating drugs and oil based products. Just take a look at some documentaries of how Cuba survived peak oil. Cuba stands as an example to the rest of the world as to how things can work and will have to work in the future for people to survive.
Bottom line is that we all need balance in all parts of our lives including our food. We need to become more self sufficient and sustainable. This is very possible to do. The hardest part is fighting the big companies, banks, government and other people that are in the 1% that are trying to kill us off, steal all our money and usurp all the power in the world to control things the way they want. No matter what way we work towards this, it is not going to be easy, it is not going to be fun and it is going to get far worse before it can get better. However, with that said, if we do not start drastic change now, it is going to get even worse. We will end up as controlled as china and as poor as ethiopia. And then it will get worse. The time to act is now, if we do not, we might as well just give up, lay down and die, like so many have already.
People need to wake up and see what really is happening in the world and not just blindly believe all the crap we are being sold by the mainstream news and other media. A lot of the truth tellers are slammed as being conspiracy nuts but as more information is found and released it is being proven all the time that they are not nuts just because they say "the earth is round, not flat". There are definitely some nuts on both sides of all issues though. One example of this is that a few years back people would call anyone that mentioned the Bildebergers conspiracy nuts and say that they didn't exist. Now we know for 100% fact that they do. I could go on and on for days but I am sure I have said more than enough for now.
Peace, good fortune, good health and good luck on the future ahead as dim as it seems at this time.

sam
sam
12 years ago

The bigger solution to a sustainable world is controlling the population overgrowth. It isn't cow farts that is killing the planet people.

adwords3
adwords3
12 years ago

SANDRA HOOD NEEDs to go back to school.
Or find the right one.
Saying saturated fats are bad.
She looks old, so I guess she hasnt updated
her knowledge since she learnt that wrong info.

Too bad people like that actually are seen in documentaries
saying bullsh*t like that.
That woman made me stop watching this doc right away.
Annoying as hell

ParadiseFound
ParadiseFound
12 years ago

Listen, if you get nothing else from watching this than finally making the connection between human activities and the suffering of other species in order to feed people... then you at least are a thinking being. Maybe sometime in the future your thinking, feeling soul guides you to making choices that benefit the peaceful developments on Earth.

How can anybody claim to be peaceful when they have to rod animals in order to survive. This is a very primitive attitude. It assumes survival of the fittest to justify the constant war against animals. In WW2 this happened with humans too. Abused, shut into ghettos and camps deprived of dignity and finally murdered by the millions.

A cattle prod is like a taser gun you know...

Would you allow aliens to take your wife's baby away, then milk her breasts until they're dry just to make you inseminate her so she becomes pregnant to yield more profitable milk?

So, hey... why would anyone eat animals and consume their excrements as food when plants are a) more suited to human health and b) less animals are better for the planet?

Think about it. Actually, think about the delicious enjoyment of plant-based foods :-)

namaste
D

Tony
Tony
12 years ago

Just found out I am type 2 diabetic and wanted to research good diet. I had no idea what I was about to watch. I also had no idea that eating meat had such an impact on our planet.

I love meat, leather, eggs and lots of other animal products but this really is an eye opener. Given the fact that I now have to change my diet this looks like a good place to start and heck... might even be doing my part to reverse some environmental issues as well.

This doc is a good watch.

Hailey1313
Hailey1313
13 years ago

@ Robert: "It’s about respecting the planet and it’s inhabitants by not ruining it all, that shouldn’t be to hard see?"

Humans are ruining their own prospects of survival in more ways than this one. People are not going to change; they will continue to watch E! News, MTV, etc. and believe the shit the newscasters tell them. I HATE what happens to animals in these slaughter houses, etc. I HATE what we allow in the U.S. as food, with the influence of Monsanto, etc. However, it's NOT going to change. The majority of people are f--king morons. You can prove this every time you speak with someone who knows more about Kim Kardashian's life than they do about what "vegan" even is. The worst part is that that's EXACTLY the way that person is happy to live...as an empty vacuum--consuming machine--devoid of original thought. Our kind does not deserve to live, and we won't. When we die, the earth gets its serenity back. We don't deserve Earth.

"Most people would rather die than think; in fact, they do so." - Bertrand Russell.

Milly
Milly
13 years ago

Ha ha ha! - Ohhh, well, that was delightful !!

Reading the meat eaters blogging was very entertaining.

I'm 31 years age. Vegan for the majority of my life and have NEVER been sick. I am 100% certain this isn't the case with ANY meat eater.

The comments seem to run away from the film itself.

To dumb it down for the red neck neanderthals that continue to blindly believe that eating another living animal is natural... you are missing the point entirely.

This film is intended to educate from all different walks of life - that the symbiotic relationship that connects all human beings to plant and animal life is one to be respected.

Heart disease, type 2 diabetes, carbon emissions, are all eliminated on a Vegan diet.
And not to dismiss the cruelty of factory farming, the mental abuse all life sustains before it is slaughtered is barbaric.

A vegan diet is not a 'trend' - It is about living in harmony with every living creature.

@Wayne - Are you a "reality consumer?" Haaa! No, no, no... you are the lazy sap I expect you to be... shopping in the supermarket (which is a heaven for advertising) and throwing in tinned food and pre packaged shit into you're trolley...

Do the research... Vegans are naturally happier, healthier and more active human beings that have an insatiable craving for life. Also... we are incredibly attractive.

Shmolan
Shmolan
13 years ago

BigBlueBalloon-

I'm sorry, but there are most definitely no 'proteins' (I assume you mean essential amino acids) that the human body needs in order to survive that cannot be found in (numerous) plant sources. Go on, check it out if you don't believe me.

It really shocks me the level of general ignorance in these replies. All the people touting conventional farming as having less impact on the environment than organic farming couldn't be further from the truth.

I could go on for ages, but I won't, cause those with a little intelligence and desire to know won't learn anything, and those stuck in their ways will not care anyway.

Jessica
Jessica
13 years ago

When it comes to eating to get nutrition out of your food. IMO, Organic and Fresh is the best way to go, but not always affordable or available so be your own doctor and decide what's best for you and your budget.

Minimise the chemicals, additives, hormones, pesticides, herbicides, fungicides, antibiotics, GMOs, factory farming, caged animals, and unnatural processing, packaging, long storage, unsustainable farming methods, etc. All of these deplete nutrients and/or add harmful toxins.

Vegetarian or veganism is not for everyone but I see where they are coming from. A huge meat lobby makes me think I probably don't need to eat so much meat and support the corporate beef industry and huge agribusiness (e.g. Monsanto)! Just like being over-saturated by McDonalds and fast food advertising and their genius marketing methods hints that I don't really need that either.

PLUS, homegrown veggies always taste better than store bought!

And sometimes, what tastes good isn't good for you (e.g. MSG makes things taste great! So does sugar!). So you have to use your brain as well as your senses when choosing good (real) food in modern life.

BigBlueBalloon
BigBlueBalloon
13 years ago

Woah, I was not expecting this at all, No Hard Feelings against Vegans however, it's your choice...

IMHO,I still think eating Meat is important, there are proteins the body needs that can only be obtained from Animals.

You can always just eat 'Vegan Animals' instead or Herbivorous Animals. They are healthy, clean and fit Animals to eat.

nikkinoo
nikkinoo
13 years ago

to sober42long;

i dont know if you have actually done any research on the subject of humans eating meat. it seems you havent. if you research the subject you would know that the human body has enzymes in the stomach. these aid, obviously, in the digestion of food. in carnivores, there is a particular type of enzyme that aids in the digestion of meat. in humans however, there is almost none of this enzyme, suggesting that we are not designed to digest meat. not only that, but the intestines of carnivores are a hell of a lot shorter than humans. the reason for this, again, is to aid in the quick digestion of meat.

humans have a much longer intestine, meaning that it takes so much longer to digest meat that in fact a lot of the meat ends up in our intestines for a long time, just rotting away in there. nice eh? now in the days where we did used to hunt, maybe things were different in terms of the above factors. maybe we have changed these features due to evolution. that i dont know. however you raise an interesting point. back in the day, yes, we did used to hunt and eat meat. that is because it was necessary to survive. now, thanks to evolution, this is no longer necessary.

there is so much food, for example soy, and green leafy veg, that provide us with more than enough iron and protein. i say this before you raise the whole "we need meat" argument. everything that is found in meat, which our bodies need, can be found in a lot of other foods. hence, we no longer need meat. not only that, but you make out like it is in our genetic make up to hunt.

maybe if we went back to the hunter gatherer days, yes. but this argument no longer stands. in fact it is the opposite- is it natural to breed animals for thier meat, use every part of thier carcass for other things such as additives, keep them packed in so they can barely move, and have slaughter houses?

is it natural to have killing animals so utterly manufactured, that when they go to the slaughterhouse so many have to be killed per hour, meaning that not all animals who are meant to be stunned (so called ethical practice) a lot of the time dont, due to them being missed because they go through so fast, meaning that they are stabbed in the throat, hung up by thier back legs, and skinned alive whilst they are conscious?

is it natural to pump so many chemicals (including antibiotics) into these animals that they in turn have an effect on us, just to get chickens to lay more eggs, cows to grow bigger etc? is it natural to cut the beaks right off the chickens faces while they are conscious, just to stop them pecking at farmers? is it natural that the feet of these chickens end up growing around the mesh wire because they are cooped up so tightly and never set free?

i think not. so, to cut it short, we are NOT playing along with mother nature. we are F@#$%^& with it. (p.s- im not even going to go into the evil acts of torture many slaughterhouse staff committ onto the animals just for a laugh)anyway, i just wanted to make you a little more informed, so that when you pick arguments or make statements, you may actually know a few facts first.

Wayne
Wayne
13 years ago

Pie in the sky optimism, protest, and feel-good speeches are ok, but it's avoiding reality. Unless you can make vegan fast, cheap, convienient, and competitive, it will never sell in the world market. You have to appeal to the common consumer.

Karen
Karen
13 years ago

3 video tonight i wanted to watch and was unable to.

PeterKnowling
PeterKnowling
13 years ago

For waldo. I grew up on a 5,000 acre farm in South Dakota. It's been in my family for over a hundred years now. When I was growing up we had around 200 hundred head of cattle, sunflowers, flax, wheat, and corn. We didn't go camping and play. Everyone worked their ass off all day. After my granfather died we began renting out the land. He never used any pesticides or fertilizers and we didn't want to start so we got the entire farm certified organic (this takes about three years of work and inspectors come back every season).

We don't take any subsidies from the government besides from CRP on sections since the entire operation is crop rotated. We had over 300 acres of corn alone and didn't use one drop of pesticides, fertilizers, or cargill crap. I personally hand pulled weeds on literally thousands of acres this past summer. I didn't get paid a penny for my work, everyone in the family knows you just have to do it.

I'm not a Vegan, but to watch you boasting here about "real farming" looks silly. Is real farming getting gmo seeds from cargill, and then being forced to spray them with round up, and then being prohibited from reusing any seeds from your crop?

Is that how the process is supposed to work? Or what about using crop rotation, researching what plants will regenerate your soil, getting on your hands and knees and pulling weeds out, and then when time comes to sell you can reuse any seeds that you want, and you're given a much higher price at the elevator as well for certified organic anything. People have a tendency to think that organic farms are little backyards with one guy growing some pumpkins and cabbage, they're not.

Meme
Meme
13 years ago

@ Waldo

First of all I want to clarify that as much as i appreciate the beauty and itteligence of animals I would still eat any edible animal if I was starving...so I am not one of these so called 'animal lovers'!

My point to all those 'animal lovers' was that keeping a pet is just as bad as farming animals for food and so they shouldn't judge those who farm animals if they keep a pet.

I see what your saying about pets being domesticated and unable to make it in the wild. I have a domesticated pet(a pooch). I think its a shame that many animals have been brought to a stage of exestence where they couldn't survive without humans but that is life, you cannot reverse it.

Melani Max
Melani Max
13 years ago

Thumbs up for vegans :)

tk
tk
13 years ago

There is a golden line and this documentary does not touch it by far

chickenpants
chickenpants
13 years ago

and then i say something.

whoopi goldberg
whoopi goldberg
13 years ago

like omg i cant believe i just totally like read all of these comments. . overall pretty sad views..

the message in this doc is a beautiful thing

Waldo
Waldo
13 years ago

I should clear that up I suppose, when I say I live on a big farm in reality this is several farms connected. Our actual plot is only about 85 acres, so its not that big at all.

Chuck Rogers
Chuck Rogers
13 years ago

If it was not for the herds of cattle raised for meat eaters, there would not be enough organic fertilizers to sustain the organic gardens that we have today at reasonable levels. The only way it can be kept up at reasonable levels is from the use of human waste and using green manure methods UNTIL all of these practices are learned. In other words, it can't be waste anymore. There are safe ways to compost human fertilizer. Another thing is that sometimes animals for eating are the most efficient way for nature to produce protein without destroying the land. Maybe we should all quit drinking beer, because that uses up so much land, that could be producing food. Think again, the portion of grain that's left in the brewing process goes to feed cattle or pigs. There's just way more involved here than a religious or political preference. This all takes a tremendous amount of work, which takes money, also meaning higher prices. I probably could write a book on the subject, but I choose to do that somewhere else instead of cluttering up this wonderful place. It's a good place to ponder, learn from and just plain enjoy. At least it gets people thinking and talking, missing in so many lives. By the way I have chronic disease that is aggravated by the ratio of arginine to lysine in high protein plant products. I don't have much choice but eat meat. Lysine supplements tend to lower the immune response if used as I would need them, so it's a two edged sword. I'm all for people that can do it. I'm troubled by those that have taken this on as a religion though. There's a very good article on this subject in the June/July issue of Mother Earth News, titled, The Truth About Vegetarianism.

Waldo
Waldo
13 years ago

@ meme

99.9 percent of pets are domesticated animals that would die in the wild. My dog is so spoiled he would not last a month if no one took care of him, and he is a bull dog. Think about poor toy poodles and so forth, some wild animal would eat them. Cows and Horses are also domesticated animals that will not make it in the wild, so what do all you animal lovers propose we do with them if we are no longer going to farm them? Possibly horses could be returned to the wild if a wild pack would adopt them, but they would have issues with their feet that have been shoed and protected all their lives.

Listen i live on a huge farm located right in the middle of an even bigger game reserve. Farmers are not cruel to their animals, at least most are not. We take in every stray that walks by and our cows, pigs, chickens, etc. live under the best conditions possible. We use no growth hormones and we process and use our own crushed grain, so no additives. Yes in the end they are taken to slaughter, but what is the alternative? If we can not get some type of return we can not care for these animals that can not care for themselves. Besides its not like they sit around fretting the day they will be slaughtered, they are animals and not capable of this type of thinking. They spend every day being fed and pampered and even loved, yes loved. We love every animal on this place, especially our dogs which eat better than me most of the time.

As far as all this whining about meat eaters, get over it. We are not going any where. I take my meat from the wild, not from domesticated animals. Mainly because I like the leaner meat deer possess, but also because I enjoy hunting. If we hunters did not hold the deer population in check around here no one could drive for hitting them. We already have literally hundreds of seriouse car accidents in this area every year because deer run out in front of cars constantly. Not to mention that if the population was left to run wild they would soon deplete their food resources and all would die off. The coyote and coyote/wolf hybrid in this area has been seriousely effected by loss of habitat and people killing them out of fear and ignorance, they do not predate enough deer any more. So the hunters are allowed to fill that gap, its really just game management and it makes the deer population much more healthy in the end.

Reasons Voice
Reasons Voice
13 years ago

Well maybe we will have some sort of mass extinction event someday. Hate to break it to the vegans but the omnivores will do better at surviving the aftermath. Hard to find Centrum supliments in the wilds.

Meme
Meme
13 years ago

I'm all for protecting the enviroment and respect for animals but going vegan is not the answer for all humans..we have evolved to eat meat as well as fruit and veg..I believe the problem is humans over consume meat, you just don't need it with every meal, mushrooms contain protein and nuts contain fats and protein and so I choose to top up with these where others may choose extra meat. The diverse farming idea is very interesting to me and I hope we see more of that.

Pets were mentioned in this, my comment to what was said is animals should not be kept as pets they should be free in the wild to fend for themselves instead of at the mercy of humans, its just as bad as eating them.

Robert
Robert
13 years ago

The crops consumed by the live stock can never be replaced by the manure.
We could solve the problem with population control but it's pretty darn late for that so I guess it will be the hell bent on consuming too much that will have to pay for it.
Meat eaters, you will have to lay down and die in large enough numbers so that the planet can stand a chance. Does that sound like good plan? No? Then, go veggie.
And NO, you will NOT starve to death. Just check out the gazillion veggie elite athletes ...
You will in fact get healthier. :)

Reasons Voice
Reasons Voice
13 years ago

In my previous post I mentioned soil depletion and how it differs between organic farming and farming with artificial nutrients. I have been reading the posts since then and @Robert makes a good point about the use of natural fertilizers and soil remineralization. However @StatingTheObvious mentions that excess livestock is the problem. Well it is the "excess" livestock that produces the "natural fertilizer" needed in solution one. As in just about every other major issue in the world, we just can't all have what we want. Every decision and or solution will naturally lead to a different problem to get upset about. In all honesty the only viable solution to create sustanability and simultaneously lower environmental damage is population controll. I think everyone on this forum can see where that would go and how well the people of the world would take that judgement. A fart in church comes to mind.

Johhny
Johhny
13 years ago

Whoever stated that organic sustainable farming is more harmful than industrial/fertilizer farming, simply don't know wtf they are talking about. Totally unscientific and short-sighted. "Feet of soil"? Freaking joking right? How was farming done before fertilizers? aka 80 years ago. Did that do much damage? (population was smaller, yet so was land usage) Don't confuse technology (ie tractors, refineries, mills) with fertilisers and GM seeds. Do the research first, dig deep and try to be unbiased (read all sides to the story) Then perhaps your misinformed, brainwashed opinion may take a different turn.

Personally I am for a balanced approach as well. Complete eradication of meat is unnecessary at this point in time. We are also evolving biological species, we may someday evolve our bodies to get maximum nutrition out of plant based diets, without the need for livestock - perhaps. For now we are dependant on it...but at the rate we are consuming now, yes technically speaking its destructive, unsustainable, careless, it won't last forever and this kind of consumption will lead to major breakdowns in the agriculture sector in the long run.

SO we have no choice but to develop more creative and sustainable ways of farming, yes organic, yes compost, yes cow manure with compost, yes to all those things. Yes its possible commercially, yes its possible on a big scale... you simply haven't done the maths yourself, researchers have and are still doing it now. Yes subsidised, yes one day your food may cost more in the current economical paradigm, but the cost of healthcare, pollution, and many other factors will by far decrease. Hence if you include many factors, the benefit surely outweighs the actual cost in the food.

Just Wendy
Just Wendy
13 years ago

Well, I'm not sure what to think. Is this about what? I don't think it is a war to be won. Everyone has their life, life experiences and viewpoints and rarely are two persons the same.
For the record - I love eating animals.
For the record - I no longer eat animals.
Does that mean you are better than me? No. That I am better than you? No. That no one can continue their lifestyle? No.

Eating is an extremely personal subject, when someone comes at you with a belief different from yours on something so fundamental then it seems that it is a strike against YOU personally, it's hard to take.

When the natives hunted for food (and most all their supplies) they prayed before the hunt, they took only what they needed, thanked the animal for its sacrifice and used everything.

I remember seeing lions and gazelles at the same watering hole in Africa and co-habitating quite naturally, because there was no threat. The lions were not hungry and it was safe.

My eyes were closed for a very long time. By accident, a book came into my life and when I read it I kind of shuddered... what??? Another book, then another book and then I started to pay attention to the TV and what I was watching and not seeing but taking in....

Then I knew... You can't wake a person that's pretending to be asleep.

Our grandchildren will ask us one day, "Where were you during the holocaust of the animals? What did you do against these horrifying times?" - We won't be able to offer the same excuse for a second time, that we didn't know." - Helmut Kaplan

"Make the lie big, make it simple, keep saying it, and eventually they will believe it." - Adolph Hitler

Me: I don't want to hurt anything anymore.

To you, my friends,

If you are in a place in your life to question... and it's okay if you're not, each one of us is on our own path and no one is wrong....

If you are:

Some Recent Books -
Eating Animals
Why We Love Dogs, Eat Pigs and Wear Cows
Factory Farming
Thanking the Monkey
An American Trilogy, Death, Slavery and Dominion on the Banks of the Cape Fear River

Documentaries:
The Cove
Sharkwater
Earthlings

I didn't recommend "Food, Inc." just cause. As Ellen Degeneres said in an interview, "Food Inc., is like a Disney movie compared to Earthlings." (An award-winning documentary narrated by Joaquin Phoenix that will help you understand what is happening now on our planet)

So... you can take the RED pill or the BLUE pill. You can see or you can stay safe, it is totally up to you.

Kind regards to all,
Just Wendy

Achems Razor
Achems Razor
13 years ago

Some people do well on carb diets, some people do well on protein diets. and some do well on a mixture of both. Myself do best on protein, namely try to follow the "Paleo diet" Like cave-man EH!

Do not drink any milk, even though in Canada our milk is not full of antibiotics and growth hormones like USA milk.

Buy eggs from happy chickens, free run. buy organic chickens to eat, no growth hormones or antibiotics. Buy grass fed beef, no growth hormones, nor antibiotics etc: Lots of wild pacific salmon, need "Omega 3"

FriLLox
FriLLox
13 years ago

great video, go vegan !

JustinLee
JustinLee
13 years ago

Well said Waldo

Robert
Robert
13 years ago

If you don't want to piss on people .. don't "A bunch of posh new york restaurant owners and hippies, get real."
And saying "the government only supports toxic megafarms" (or something similar) is NOT an argument for ruining the environment. It's an argument for a NEW GOVERNMENT and outlawing lobbying.
The planet is under heavy pressure and meat will require up to 10 times of the crops and a LOT more of the fresh water ...
Also, the meat eating milk drinker will get a LOT sicker and consume an enormous amount of resources (production, sick care etc) compared to a raw vegan.
But hey, in this capitalistic (unsustainable) system all consumption is encouraged because it makes the money circulate and then a lucky few can fill their pockets while most people are dying together with all the other life forms on this planet.

THERE IS ONLY ONE WAY TO GO - SUSTAINABILITY
Any argument against that should make us all question the motives.

Waldo
Waldo
13 years ago

@ Robert
You missed the entire point of my post, genuise. I am saying if you want me to take farming advise from someone then don't show me people that have no idea what farming really is. And stop showing the college grad with his forty acre play farm where he grows everything organically with a compost pile and a worm bed. His methods mean nothing when you are farming thousands of acres and growing commercial crops. Not to mention that all state funded subsidies and programs are geared toward conventional farming, I have to take advantage of those things to stay competative if I am a true commercial farmer. The difference in me working from sun up to sun down and beyond in the rain, sow, mud, or whatever mother nature decides to throw my way and you camping in the woods in your tent should be pretty apparent "tough guy", but I am not interested in a pissing contest.

StatingtheObvious
StatingtheObvious
13 years ago

The livestock industry consumes most of our crops and is a huge polluter too. Healthier cows taste better anyway.

StatingtheObvious
StatingtheObvious
13 years ago

All food would be expensive without State subsidies. Meat would be super expensive, most people would have to take on a more leafy/rooty diet if those subsidies stopped flowing.

Vegan is by the far the healthiest choice you can make along with an active lifestyle. I personally tried it for a year, but munchies + veganism don't mix when you're not an experienced practitioner. I caved in to chicken wings. mmm

Robert
Robert
13 years ago

"A bunch of posh new york restaurant owners and hippies, get real."
Hahaha, well ... talk to the rest of then, instead of throwing around with unflattering assumptions.
The problem is not the consumption of a little diesel. IT'S THE SCALE OF IT ALL.
Buy the way, tough guy. Maybe you should come hang out with me camping in the forests sleeping in tents? In the winter. Well below freezing point day and night.
Not everybody is converse wearing city slicker ... just as with meat eaters.

Robert
Robert
13 years ago

It's pure misguided selfishness that motivates us to ravage, rape and eat everything that comes in our path... if someone/thing tries to kill you it will make sense to fight but that does not make it smart to kill and destroy everything in sight.

By the way, there are a lot of different theories of our heritage but the evidence is absolutely overwhelming. The best food for us is based on raw fruit and other edible plants.

Waldo
Waldo
13 years ago

As usual the answer lies in the middle ground. We should not eat as much meat as we do here in the west, but we need not give up meat altogether. I am a farmer, have been all my life. These new alternative approaches are simply not sustainable on big commmercial farms. The food they produced would be so expensive no one could buy it. I would have to hire people and buy machinery to simply work the compost piles and so forth. Then I would need trucks to transport the compost to the fields and machinery and people to spread it and work it into the soil. Besides, I have spent thousands of dollars and many years learning how to farm the way I do- I neeed much more incentive to change than a few hippies worried about the poor little animals or more tree huggers talking about the end of the world as we know it. How about some government incentives like subsidies for organic farming? How about getting people that I trust involved, like the local co-ops and state agriculture boards, maybe agriculuture based colleges like Auburn University? Then I might listen, for now it is just another bunch of holier than thou kids out to change the world to what they think it should be. These people do not know the first thing about how I live or what it is really like here on a farm, they look like they would melt in the rain. A bunch of posh new york restaurant owners and hippies, get real.