WE DON'T HAVE TO BE VEGAN TO SAVE THE PLANET

But the good news is that if bad food and a broken food system caused these problems, then good food and a sustainable food system is the solution.

“Don’t you find it odd that people will put more work into choosing their mechanic or house contractor than they will into choosing the person who grows their food?”- Joel Salatin,The Omnivore’s Dilemma It’s true. Many of us put more thought into what car, cellphone, and clothes we’re going to buy than the food that we eat. If everyone in the world paused to think about the food system and think about how their food choices impacted their health and the health of the planet, we could transform the world. Most people think they need to become vegan if they want to eat a climate-supportive diet. Yes, we should all avoid feedlot beef for its health, climate, and environmental impacts. But regeneratively raised beef actually improves carbon sequestration through natural grazing practices.

Regenerative Farming: a system of principles and practices that increases biodiversity, enriches soils, improves watersheds, and enhances ecosystem services.

Studies show that end-to-end in the carbon cycle, regeneratively raised cows reduce carbon emissions by 170%. Yes, that even takes the methane from their gas into account.

That means they actually counteract the carbon footprint from growing the GMO soy and other processed ingredients that make up and Impossible Burger.

DANGER: The Impossible Burger, or any soy burger, contains way less protein, and naturally occurring vitamins then beef, and is less filling. These burgers are made from genetically modified soy, and the "bleed" comes from soy leghemoglobin that's made from genetically engineered yeast. So why is this bad? We know soy contains estrogen-like compounds called isolflavones. Some, organic soy is relatively healthy, especially for menopausal or post menopausal females. But there is a tremendous amount of published science that reports these compounds could promote the growth of some cancer cells, impair female fertility, and mess with thyroid function.The overall take away is we humans, especially men, should not be eating so much processed soy....period. And if you look at what is being subsidized by the government, and then look at what food manufacturers are trying to push through the grocery isles, it all starts making sense--"profit over human health". Just take a look at the so called "nutritional label" of a soy or vegetable burger: includes textured wheat protein, potato protein, natural flavors?, yeast extract, and a variety of gums for texture. Sure, they add B2, B6 and B12, because soy has none of the above.

Without animals as part of a holistically managed farm system, you can't build a robust ecosystem with strong soils.

"No soil means no food and that means no humans". Dr. Mark Hyman

Consider the fact that we've lost 1/3 of our topsoil already and have only 60 years before ruining the rest, so we should be pretty interested in protecting and rebuilding our soils. Growing food regeneratively creates much better working condition for farmers and helps them make more money. It uses less irrigation and doesn't pollute our land and water with dangerous chemicals. It increases biodiversity--another urgent issue since we've already lost half of all our animal species. Better yet, it produces cleaner, more nutritious food so that we can achieve our best health.

Food is the web that connects so many of our most complex issues. Economic hardship, declining public health, poor educational achievement, climate change, pollution, and social injustice all lead back to food. We’re facing a big problem but we have the power to turn it around. The good news is that if bad food and a broken food system caused these problems, then good food and a sustainable food system is the solution.

You can see there's a lot of action to be taken, starting right in our own kitchens, backyards, restaurants, farmers' markets, and grocery stores.

References: Food Fix– Dr. Mark Hyman, MD, Functional Medicine, Author