Brittany KNH 213: Book Review Lisa Silvaggio, Scott Trau, Jack Trusler, & Brittany Wrasman

Overview Societies whose diets are based around animal products develop more diseases than those who follow a plant based diet. Avoid highly processed foods. Avoid preservatives and additives. Eliminate dairy. Plant-based foods=good Animal products=bad Brittany

Key Points Relying on food (your fork) over surgery (surgeon’s knife). Prevention of disease through diet and lifestyle choices over medications. Plant-based diet is good for the environment and for animals. Brittany

Global Implications Worldwide farm animals consume 756 million tons of grain. This same amount of grain would be enough to provide the 1.4 billion people living in poverty with approximately 3 lbs. of grain/day. The average American diet derives 47% of its calories from animal products, resulting in a carbon footprint of 2.52 tons of CO2 emissions per person per year. If this average was reduced to 25% of total calories, the carbon footprint would be reduced by ~1 ton. Scott

Global Warming Deforestation Waste A meat-centric diet is responsible for the emission of more than 7 times as much greenhouse gases as a plant-based diet. Deforestation Livestock operations account for 30% of the earth’s entire land surface use-much of which has been deforested to create pastureland. Waste Animals raised for slaughter produce 130 times as much waste as the entire human population. Scott

Water Pollution Soil Erosion The U.S. EPA estimates that 1 lb. of processed beef requires 2,500 gallons of water, compared to 250 gallons needed per pound of soy, or the 25 gallons per pound of wheat. Soil Erosion Animal farming accounts for about 55% of soil erosion, and the soil is being depleted at 10-40 times the rate it is being formed. Lisa

Changes in Behavior Decrease the portion of animal-based products in our diet, increase our intake of fruits, vegetables, and unrefined grains. Nutrition over medication. Pay attention to a product’s ingredient list. Tweak your favorite recipes. Remove the butter from toast and replace it with sugarless jam. Lisa

Critique Doesn’t cite sources. Correlation doesn’t prove causation. Overall good health message, but lacks scientific accuracy. Jack

Thoughts? Do you think eliminating all animal-based products in your diet would be realistic? What nutrition deficiencies do you feel would result from a plant-based diet? Forks Over Knives suggest to eliminate dairy from your diet stating that dairy products increase the risk for chronic diseases. What’s your thoughts on this topic? Jack