From what I can tell, vegan's probably the best way to go, but I have to admit that I haven't yet managed to give up dairy:-( I've been vegetarian now for about 7 years, and I have to say it's not nearly as difficult as I thought it would be! I'd encourage people to at least give it a try for a week or so and see if they think they could continue.
If you do eat meat, it's not as simple as just beef or chicken. The carbon chain for these products has so many inputs! Some questions to consider -
What did the animal eat? Soya from the Amazon Rainforest is more carbon intense than eating grass.
How far has the meat travelled? How did it travel - sea, road or air? Was it refrigerated the whole time? Does the farm have a methane capture program (possible with pork, but unlikely with free range pork, oh the ethical dilemmas)! How is it packaged? How is it to be prepared?
Ach, so many others. I think that all products should have a carbon rating on them so we'd have some idea, rather than blankly staring at two trays of meat in the supermarket.

Do some research to make an informed choice about the health benefits of eating animal protein and drinking cow's milk.
John Robbin's Diet for a New America is required reading for anyone who cares about the earth.
Here is an informative website: http://brook.com/veg/
(or google eco-eating)
And check out this great article before you bite into your next pork chop:
http://www.rollingstone.com/politics/story/12840743/porks_dirty_secret_t...
After research (from books and web sites) and twenty years of experimenting with diet our family has come to the conclusion that the healthest choice for our bodies and the planet is a mostly raw, plant-based diet.
How to enjoy your meals while saving the planet:
Best recipe books: Marilyn Diamond's New American Vegetarian Cookbook (John Robbins tells you why, Marilyn tells you how) and Juliano's RAW, the Uncook Book.
Enjoy!

Live Earth was about making minor changes to our everyday lives in benefit of the environment. Hearing 'vegan saves the earth' is a turn off. Thats a pretty big jump for the movement I signed up for.

I'm also a vegetarian/animal rights activist and encourage people to do the same. Please don't tell people that they need to be vegan/vegetarian to save the earth. Keep it simple, keep it clean.

For more info on the environmental effects of eating meat visit:

http://www.farmsanctuary.org/issues/factoryfarming/environment/
http://www.biteglobalwarming.org/
http://www.goveg.com/environment.asp

According to a 2006 report published by the United Nations Food and Agriculture organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent -- 18 percent -- than transport.

Going vegan is by far the best thing we can do for the environment. And if we are looking at the argument from an environmental ethical perspective, why not also look at it in a general ethical perspective? Animals deserve to live life free of pain and suffering (aka naturally). I am so glad I watched the 12 minute film at www.meat.org so I can choose compassion towards the earth and towards animals.

www.vegweb.com has thousands of vegan recipes

Amy's is one of my favorite brands for frozen/convenience vegan meals and her veggie burgers are the best too! Texas style veggie burgers with tofutti vegan cheese and smart brand veggie bacon are the best!

Becoming vegan is a struggle for most people. I believe a HEALTHY vegan diet is the most earth friendly,eating dairy and eggs is still making a huge contribution to the damage to our earth that factory farming creates. Even organic farming has it's issues. At least on the ethical side.Anytime an animal is used to create mass amounts of product it isn't in their best interest.If we could all make meat and dairy an exception not the rule, meaning eat less of them. I believe education is a big part. When people know how their food is created they will make better choices.

Why not take an Integral approach to this question? Some people, like blood types O and B, NEED to eat meat to be truly healthy. The rest of the blood types would be healthier eating veggies and maybe some wild fish. Can you imagine a balanced world where everyone was getting what they truly need for ultimate health? And then we wouldn't have to make wrong all those people who somewhere in their beings know they must eat meat - even the Dalai Lama eats meat occasionally - and probably would be healthier and live longer and be more effective, if he ate it more often. This is a blood type issue, not a purely environmental one. Meat eating is good for some blood types.

Aloha!

Don't forget about our teeth! Human teeth are not designed the same way as the carnivores teeth. Nor, exactly like herbivores teeth, although it is closer. Our teeth are built like apes teeth, designed to eat mostly vegetables with an occasional foray into small meats (insects and rodents).

Our digestive tract also is not built the way a carnivores digestive tract either. Their colon is short, to get the nutrients out of the food quickly, and then pass it out before it rots inside the body. Our digestive tract is much too long to eat meat. Herbivores, however, have longer digestive tracts (and sometimes several stomachs) allowing the time to take all the nutrients out of the vegetables without having to worry about the contamination of the rotting meat.

So, I am mostly vegan, although I sometimes eat eggs and fish, and I do eat homemade yogurt.

However, I still don't see anything wrong with people having a couple of chickens and a pig in their backyard for meat. I think it would improve many aspects of the "typical" American diet, without much hardship on the planet. What would need to change, however, would be a mindset. That these animals only belong on a farm.

Currently, I live in a converted barn in a small town. When renovating, we found old birds nests in the walls, and hay was under the floor. However, with the current town laws it is illegal for me to have a couple of chickens because I am in town. If we can change simple laws like that, there would be less packaging, less transport, less whatever-you-can-think-of-to-name, and I think, better soil.

Again, I don't eat pig meat, but I really don't see anything wrong with having one in the backyard to eat "slops." Personally, I think there is so much restaurant food waste, that every restaurant should have at least one pig to feed.

I have been vegan for 12 years, and I was vegetarian for 7 years prior to that. My initial reasons for going vegetarian were ethical--i was horrified by the way animals are treated before they become food. Since then, I have learned of the health benefits and the benefits to the planet/environment. But I don't think you can, or should, say "if you talk about veganism, please stick to the environmental arguments" -- that certainly doesn't change the truth, it just contributes to ignorance. but of course there are enough environmental arguments to fill up a book--and there are books out there that address it ... but you might have to read that it's also good for your health and oh by the way, the animals, too. Whether you face it or not, you can't be a meat-eating environmentalist.

I'm vegetarian and if I eat dairy it's usually goat or sheep's milk. I believe the most eco-responsible and ethical way to eat would be to eat a vegan diet. I am working toward that as a goal.
One of my favorite dishes to make is to blanch fresh, local green beans, and mix them with fresh cut corn, shelled edamame, fresh zucchini, some olives (Kalamata are great) and lentils or black beans and toss with a nice herbed vinaigrette. It tastes really bright and fresh and is more filling than it looks.
I haven't eaten meat for almost 10 years and I don't miss it. I am hoping that I will be able to get to that point with cheese too.

I just finished reading Barbara Kingsolver's book, "Animal, Vegetable, Mineral" which tells of her family's story of "eating local" for one year. Eating meat that is humanely grown and local may be more environmentally responsible than using fossil fuels to transport tofu and bananas across the globe. Barbara discusses that in some areas of the world, the only vegetation that grows are woody tree pods, shrubs, or sparse grasses. Ruminants such as camels, reindeer, sheep, goats, and cattle are adapted to transform this indigestible cellulose into edible milk and meat. The inhabitants of these areas would starve without the food these animals provide.

I think vegetarian is greener than beef..

I second Jim O's recommendation of the Gary Taubes book.

I really, really hope that Live Earth is not going to jump fully onto the vegan or vegetarian bandwagon -- especially the vegan -- or, if they do, that they stick with the environmental arguments, and not try to convince people on the angle that it is for the sake of our health. YMMV on health, but when an agenda is covered by some stated concern for my health, it's just as disingenuous whether it's coming from PETA or someone else.

I know, for me, it has been difficult to stretch my funds to buy the type of foods I would prefer. That being said... I do my best. I think that everyone, even city dwellers, can have a small garden, whether that be a patio garden, or a rooftop garden, or planted in flower boxes. It all helps. When I had a med. sized garden of about 12x15' I was able to produce an amazing array and quantity of vegetables. I froze packages of squash, broccoli, and cauliflower, and canned carrots and beans, as well as tomatoes... even making my own pasta sauce. The onions and potatoes stored well. It cut down drastically on what had to be purchased! I also knew there were no chemical or GMO worries to be had. If more families would get back into this practice they would find it very gratifying. It also teaches the children how food is produced, and gives them much more respect for the land. The extra good news is that kids are MUCH more apt to eat veggies that they have had a hand in choosing to plant, tend and harvest!

I was an avid vegan and was raised vegetarian but at 23 I suffered from general muscle atrophy from a combination of labor heavy work and my vegetarian diet. I sustained a much higher than the normal veggie protein intake and ate a very nutrition conscious whole food diet. I had to change my ways when my vegetarian acupuncturist told me I had to eat red meat because nothing else was working. I do not eat meat everyday but eating it has saved my life. If being vegetarian works for you good but some peoples bodies can't sustain on a vegetarian diet alone.

Also cars are much worse than livestock on global warming and livestock waste can be used for methane recapture energy projects.

A meat eater riding a bike leaves a greater carbon footprint than a vegan driving a Hummer.

Poultry is just as eco-damaging as beef is. According to Environmental Defense if you replace one meal of chicken a week with vegetarian food it is equivalent to taking more than half a million cars off the road. Its widely accepted that switching to a plant-based diet is the most effective thing you can do to help the environment.

Wow, It only took you guys eight months to become enlightened about the root cause of global warming - the universal use of animal based food products. Hope you serve veggie burgers at the next concert if you do another one in the future.

It's not true that we need to eat meat-I am the living proof of that. I haven't eaten meat or fish since 1984 and I've been fully vegan for nearly 3 years. I run 40 kms a week, do 3-4 hour hikes on Sundays and am in excellent health. I can also feel happy that I'm not causing any animals to suffer and be killed and that I'm making a substantial contribution to reducing greenhouse gas emissions

Vegan all the way, check out peta's website.

http://www.PETA2.com

I think it is common sense that a vegan diet would be easiest on the planet. Animals raised for food also need to be fed during their lives. We can grow fruits, vegetables, grains, and legumes directly for human consumption, or use these plants for animal consumption and then use the animals for milk, eggs, and meat. It’s extremely inefficient

Besides wasting energy and natural resources, raising animals for food also contributes to pollution. Most animals being raised for food are treated with steroids, hormones, and antibiotics. These chemicals then end up in our environment. Factory farms don't have sewage treatment systems as our cities and towns do, so the animals’ excrement (with steroids, hormones and antibiotics in it) ends up polluting our water, destroying our topsoil, and contaminating our air. Even farms that do not inject animals with chemicals still do not have an efficient means of disposing of their wastes.

You do not need to convert to a strict vegan diet to make a difference. Try just reducing the amount of animal products you eat little by little. Make easy substitutions. There are a lot of great vegetarian alternatives to popular foods in grocery stores now. My favorite beef alternative is “Gimme Lean” brand beef style crumbles. You can use this in tacos, chili, burgers, meatloaf, anywhere you would use ground beef. Silk brand vanilla soymilk tastes even better than cow’s milk in coffee & cereal.

You can also look at this as an opportunity to try new recipes. Try picking up a vegetarian cookbook. Or check out websites like VegWeb.com, vegcooking.com, http://www.theppk.com/recipes/ I think you will be surprised as how easy and delicious vegetarian food can be. And it is also good for your health. Numerous studies have shown that a plant based diet is also the healthiest.

I have been a vegetarian for a little over a year now. My husband about 2 years. My kids only eat meat sometimes when we visit relatives. It started with Super Size Me and after that we continued to watch documentaries on the meat industry and my husband read Mad Cowboy and a few other books that persuaded him to switch to vegetarian. I eat more now then I ever did - more variety. We discovered nutritional yeast which we love on popcorn and everything else, liquid aminos, apple cider vinegar, and eat many veggies that I had never had, or had very little of - avocados, beets, dulse, spinach, garlic etc. We have completely given up fast food. One of my favorite sites for recipes is fatfreevegan.com. I have also tried some raw recipes from living and raw food. Here is one I really like and made just yesterday again - http://www.living-foods.com/recipes/mocktuna.html
We have a champion juicer and use it for many recipes. I love it!

I became Vegan after reading the national bestseller, Skinny Bitch. If you eat any kind of meat you need to understand the immense pain and suffering the animals go through to please your palate. Even if you eat only dairy, it's still the same bottom line (just not quite as bad). Whole Foods Groceries carries an amazing array of delicious meat, cheese and egg replacements including Tempeh, etc. Buy a couple of cookbooks like Eat, Drink and Be Vegan and Vegan Baking, Going Vegan and change your life. Live compassionately! By giving up meat, one person saves 90-100 animals from a terrible life. Veganism also means you're not harming the environment. Another suggested book is Becoming Vegan. You won't believe how much better you feel physically and mentally!!

I eat red meat and chicken but all of it is locally raised and grass-fed without hormones. I wouldn't touch meat from a supermarket with a stick. The meat I eat has maximum nutrition and omega-3s, it is raised in harmony with nature, and it supports me local economy.

Red and white meat are delicious... but since is so hard to find organic meat I think is time to find healthiers sources of protein and pleasure.

I am a big fan of fish, seafood, milk, cheese, yogurt, eggs, beans, soy...

In arabic food they have a lot of great ways to eat those beans that usually we never eat.

I recommend the Hummus bi Tahina and Baba Ghannouj!

You can find the recip here: http://www.ummah.com/family/recipes.html

You are going to love it.

Great topic.

The best are vegetables and fruits.

All meet production absorbs natural resources: land, water, vegetarian food that can be consumed by people, etc.

If all people become vegetarians the Earth will be much better place to live.

Whether it is meat or fruit and vegetables, it should be a case of Location,Location,Location! Most big cities now have farmers markets selling local seasonal produce, organic meat and veg, so city dwellers should use them to cut their carbon footprint, support the local economy and by doing so eat healthly and maybe more ethically. And take the bus to get there!

Have you ever heard of Diet for a Small Planet? It's only 35 or so years old. It has convinced generations to eat less meat.

The NYTimes recently ran a great article, by a non-vegetarian, about how the meat industry is actually contributing more to global warming than the transportation industry! The reduction of the globe's rainforests if caused by needing ranches for cattle. Dairy is sustainable because you don't kill the cow to get the milk, but I still try to get my milk locally and from cows that are happy and well taken care of (Horizon is mean to their cows!)

Being an omnivore and trying to "eat green" is very difficult, however I think that I've got it very close to good. I grew up and still live in Alberta, Canada, where there are almost twice as many cattle than people (5.9 mil. head of cattle - roughly 3 mil. people - http://www.100years.ualberta.ca/achievements.cfm?profile=4). Besides the wide local beef economy I haven't purchased meat from a grocery store since I lived with my parents in 2003. I currently live next to a bison farm and purchase meat from the owners. I also purchase poultry from the local Hutterite colony. In addition, I receive enough red meat in the fall from my father and uncle's fall hunting trip that I need not purchase meat. Therefore, I KNOW where all my meat comes from - either a farm that usses no hormones, etc. or the wild. Seems pretty green to me.

I have been mostly vegetarian for the last 10 years. ( I would eat fish 4-5 per year). Last week, I decided that I would no longer eat dairy simply because dairy cows become beef cows. I refuse to support an industry that is inherently unsustainable

Whether sustainable or not, many people will not give up eating meat for the long term no matter the consequences- similar to a drug addict. They could care less if it shortens their lifespan. Rather than push for people to become vegetarian or extreme vegan, I think the key is to stress buying organic, and local or homegrown foods. This action, if quantified on a global scale, would stop a lot of unnecessary animal abuse and overproduction of meat foods. For instance, why on Earth would the U.S. import beef from Australia or Argentina? I think we have plenty of beef here at home. Government involvement, though highly unlikely due to meat industry lobbyists, could also cap the number of meat processing plants to a small handful for each country, thereby allowing the respective governments to actively monitor this unhealthy, unclean, unsafe and as of now largely unregulated industry. Reference Eric Schlosser's book, Fast Food Nation if you doubt these assertions. Not everyone is a vegetarian purely for health reasons, even though the vast preponderance of evidence suggests that vegetarians live longer and healthier lives. Many vegetarians don't believe in eating fish, but the most long-lived people on the planet, the Okinawans, eat a diet high in fresh fruits and vegetables, with a lot fish. I've lived in Okinawa and it is not unusual to see 100 year old men and women working in the midday heat in the fields, harvesting vegetables. Remaining active is key. Fish is essential, so don't be so quick to proclaim veganism as the superior diet because nutrition points to the contrary... Just some thoughts!

What a timely discussion. It was announced today that with their purchase of National Beef and Smithfield Foods, Beef Division, the Brazilian beef giant JBS SA is poised to take control of 1/3 of the American Beef Market.

While Washington debates interrogation techniques, inside our food industry, "cruel, inhuman and degrading" treatment ("torture") is the norm. (Should we really regard animals with any less respect than our fellow humans?)

If we are going to eat meat (and I certainly intend to), there is an alternative to the industrial farms and feedlots (that I've seen across the United States and Canada.)

We can choose to support family farmers and ranchers raising organic, grass-fed meat. One example is California's Niman Ranch brand (http://www.nimanranch.com/control/main/), representing an association of 650 family farms, who CEO Jeff Swain claims adhere to the mantra "no added hormones, no antibiotics, no animal products in feed, ever."

But before you order that hamburger, you might want to read this Independent UK article (http://www.alternet.org/environment/74031/) about cattle ranching in Brazil, a prime driver of deforestation in the Amazon Basin. Deforestation has been cited as the second greatest contributor (behind CO2 emissions) to Global Warming. (And when deforestation leads to cattle ranching, the Global Warming impact is compounded with methane production.)

The growth of global fast food chains in "developing countries" is subsidized by their most affluent markets, in North America, Europe and Japan. Even though Brazilian beef may not be imported for their U.S. restaurants (due to opposition from American ranchers), Brazilian beef may be used to supply their other markets. Deforested tracts of Amazon Basin are also a major source of soy bean feed demanded by industrial farming operations.

Thank you so much for bringing up this subject on your website. In my opinion, veganism (and even vegetarianism) is the best thing we can do to make a real, solid dent in global warming. I'm excited to see all the wonderful vegans out there! My husband and I have been vegans for a long time and have some great resources I thought I would share:

Some of the best cookbooks I've ever used are:

La Dolce Vegan: Vegan Living Made Easy,
The Garden of Vegan and
How It All Vegan,
By Sarah Kramer and Tanya Barnard

Millennium Cookbook: Extraordinary Vegetarian Cuisine

Then, one really GREAT place to get great vegan foods, products, pet food, etc. is

www.veganessentials.com

Then if you want a really a great turkey substitute, try Tofuky (especially the smoked slices). We love it!

Hopefully those sources will be make it a little easier to go ve-green!

vegan!!

i am a vegan.

it is the only way to have a clear conscience... the only way to know for sure that what you are putting into your body is right

Hi there! Right now I am 20 years old ! I am a ovo-lacto-vegetarian. For 12 years now I haven´t eaten any fish or meat products due to the fact that I can´t bear that animals have too suffer that much . Roghly speaking about ten years later I learned that the co2 emissions in producing meat products . For about 2 years

... I have been mainly eaten organic food and products from Fair Trade. Save our life, animals,climate, nature and our future !

Wow, why is this even an issue, its so simple to eat as low on the food chain as possible and for the future of humanity and our planet to go vegan.

About time more light gets shed on this! Where there is no money to be made little will be said.

Go vegan! It's the best decision I've ever made. It's way easier than people think!

I recently lost a good friend to some kind of wasting disease. He was in his 50s and in relatively good health. Then over a period of about two years he became confused, then incoherent, then child-like then DEAD!

His sister tried, while he was alive, to have him tested for Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), or Mad Cow Disease. None of the doctors would test him! After he died he was of course autopsied by the state medical examiner and they would not test him for BSE.

Finally his sister was able to have a tissue sample sent to a lab (I won’t say who or where) that would test for BSE. They would not tell her the results of the testing but they did say that if the test was positive for BSE that they would forward the sample to the US government’s primary BSE research university but if the sample were negative for BSE the tissue would be returned to the state medical examiner.

I am being obtuse on purpose because I don’t know who is on what side in this and I certainly don’t want to blow anyone’s cover or grants or credibility.

After testing, my friend’s brain tissue was sent to the government facility!

Now my friend was a beef nut. He absolutely ate hamburger in some form EVERY DAY! Our friendship was based on BBQ and age and Viet Nam and the love of a certain baseball team. We shared a lot of experiences in baseball and BBQ. Sorry for the digression, but he was a really nice guy and we all miss him.

About the time this happened my daughter, who is one of those “do gooder”, “tree hugging”, “save the whales” types (wonder where he got that?) came up with the theory that if the beef population were infected at a greater rate than the USDA/FDA reported, and if the accumulation of BSE prions in the human body were a slow process, then there is the potential for many, many people to become infected.

With these ideas in mind (and my penchant for numbers) I have come up with the following facts. My sources are documented and there is additional information on the subjects following my exercise.

Excuse me now; I’m trying to perfect my TVP chili recipe. Oh, you might want to grab your favorite triple cheeseburger while you enjoy this info.

******************************************************************

The US butchers 37 million cows per year

The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) testing rate is 268,000 cows per 18 month period or 178,667 cows per year (less than ½ of a percent).
A cow infected with Bovine Spongiform Encephalopathy (BSE), often called Mad Cow Disease, turned up in Washington from Canada in 2003. Since rapid testing, which confirms results within hours rather than weeks, became available in 2004, a U.S.-born cow in Texas was confirmed to have BSE in 2005 and another cow in Alabama was confirmed BSE infested in 2006. These incidents are cited in a 2006 Congressional Research Service Report to Congress.
That means in 2003, 2004, and 2005, one cow per 178,667 was found to have BSE, so if all of the cattle were tested we could have potentially found 207 cows with BSE each year

Now the average 1,150 pound steer yields a 714 pound carcass. Approximately 146 pounds of fat and bone are trimmed off leaving about 568 pounds of retail beef cuts.

Each year, 207 BSE infected cows would produce 117,576 pounds of infected meat. If we ignore the mixing of large quantities of meat from many different cows for the production of hamburger and assume that all the beef is sold in neat, cow specific, 1/4 pound servings then our BSE cows would yield 470,304 individual servings of contaminated beef.

Not adjusting for those who “super size”; we have a potential infection rate of 470,304 Americans per year!

Now I love beef and I don’t wish the cattle industry any ill will, in fact my father-in-law was a life-long cattle rancher, but these numbers give me and each member of my family a 1.5 chance in a thousand of contracting the human version of BSE, variant Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease (vCJD)1, every time we eat beef, and it’s just not worth it to me!
1. CJD belongs to a family of human and animal diseases known as the transmissible spongiform encephalopathies (TSEs). Spongiform refers to the characteristic appearance of infected brains, which become filled with holes until they resemble sponges under a microscope. CJD is the most common of the known human TSEs. Other human TSEs include kuru, fatal familial insomnia (FFI), and Gerstmann-Straussler-Scheinker disease (GSS). Kuru was identified in people of an isolated tribe in Papua New Guinea and has now almost disappeared. FFI and GSS are extremely rare hereditary diseases, found in just a few families around the world. Other TSEs are found in specific kinds of animals. These include bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), which is found in cows and is often referred to as “mad cow” disease; scrapie, which affects sheep and goats; mink encephalopathy; and feline encephalopathy. Similar diseases have occurred in elk, deer, and exotic zoo animals.
From an Italian Website, http://www.cremonini.it/en/osservatorio/ricette.asp?IdRicetta=4&IdLingua=en
HOW IS THE CONSUMER PROTECTED?
The most important measure in a position to guarantee total safety of bovine meat is the elimination of all organs and tissue potentially at risk from the moment slaughtering begins. This measure has been adopted on all bovines slaughtered in our country since 1st of October 2000 but was already in force since 1998 for all animals that originated in countries that were at risk.
In comparison to animals originating in the United Kingdom, similar measures have been adopted and have been in force since 1990 up until the moment a total embargo was placed on the importation of animals in 1996.
DOES THE CONSUMPTION OF MEAT REPRESENT A RISK?
The agents responsible for BSE have never been discovered in the muscle of the bovine and no scientific evidence exists that permits any health risk in the case where these products are consumed. Experimental attempts made by transmitting BSE through the muscle of the infected bovine have never given positive results and no risk was ever assumed relating to the consumption of bovine muscle, namely minute steak, entrecote, meat rounds, fillet, sirloin etc.
WHAT MEASURES ASSURE PROTECTION FOR THE CONSUMER?
At present, it is not always possible to individualize bovines with the disease while in the BSE incubation stage. Therefore, as a precaution, all organs and tissue potentially at risk are systematically removed and destroyed by a process of incineration and thanks to this elimination, tissue recognized as a potential risk will never arrive on the table of the consumer.
WHAT SPECIFIC MATERIALS ARE AT RISK?
Materials at risk are: the intestine of all bovines, the cranium including brain and eyes, the spinal marrow, the tonsils and the spinal column of bovines older than 12 months which are systematically removed from the slaughtering industry and destined for the incinerator.
ARE THE ANTI-BSE TESTS CARRIED OUT ON ALL ANIMALS OLDER THAT 24 MONTHS?
From the 1st of January 2001, a grand scale-monitoring program was started by utilizing the anti-BSE tests with the aim of the public level having a better knowledge about the state of the disease in the bovine estate.
PRINCIPLES OF THE TEST
During the incubation of BSE, the healthy prion protein, naturally produced by the central nervous system of the bovine, is transformed into abnormal prion protein. This then accumulates progressively in the brain of the bovine. The rapid tests at disposal are able to evidence the presence of abnormal prion protein in the brain in less than 12 hours and thanks to these tests, BSE can be established in the bovine without having shown any previous symptoms. Therefore it is possible to trace BSE in bovines with the disease while in the incubation phase.
DOES THE TEST PERMIT THE ISOLATION OF THE DISEASE ON ALL BOVINES?
The test does not permit the isolation of all bovines carrying the disease since BSE is only exposed in the final stage of development; that is, the moment it affects the brain. Due to this reason, the systematic test does not replace the destruction of the organs at risk, which are in any case carried out on all slaughtered animals regardless of the test result.
THE ORIGINS OF BSE AND THE ADAPTED MEASURES FOR ELIMINATION
Diet, has been shown and recognised as the principle way in which BSE is transmitted.
HOW WAS BSE ABLE TO GROW INSIDE THE BOVINES ESTATE?
In the 80's, the disease encephalopathy spongiform hit 180.000 English bovines, a disease similar to Scrapie. Encephalopathy spongiform is typical in ovines and has been around for the last 200 years.
Studies have shown that the disease in ovines was provoked by utilizing proteinic flour, obtained from carcasses of affected sheep, in the diet of bovines.
Furthermore, also in the 80's in the United Kingdom, the procedure of producing animal flour derived from recycling carcasses of animals between those that could have been infected, was modified: a shorter cooking time at a less elevated temperature reduced the capacity to deactivate the infective agents of BSE. The re-utilization therefore provoked the epidemic in which the evolution is summarized in the graphic. It is therefore clear that not only did the animal flour as such provoke the disease, but the flour originating from affected animals in countries in which the disease was present in a significant way.
THE BOVINE EPIDEMIC IN THE UNITED KINGDOM
(Source: International epizootic office)

WHAT MEASURES HAVE BEEN ADAPTED TO COMBAT THE DISEASE IN BOVINES?
The principal instrument adapted in keeping the disease in bovines under control is surveillance action on the bovine estate and the restrictions relative to the diet of the ruminatia. The surveillance on the bovine estate is based on the obligation on the part of the veterinary service to report any symptom that may be apparent in live animals referable to BSE (passive surveillance).
Furthermore, from the 1st January 2001, after an experimental period, systematic tests are executed on all animals slaughtered older than 30 months extended to 24 months from the 12th September 2001 and on all animals considered to be at risk (animals are urgently put down in the case of any incidents or death in the cattleshed).
In the first 10 months of 2001, animals that were tested in Italy exceeded 310,000 in which 34 cases tested positive, one of the lowest incidence rates in Europe. Furthermore, since 1994 the utilization of animal flour is prohibited in the diet of the ruminatia (bovine, ovine).
THE MEASURES RELEVANT TO THE DIET OF THE ANIMALS HAVE BEEN REINFORCED EVERY YEAR SINCE 1988
1988
British animal flour is forbidden in the diets of the ruminatia (bovine, ovine)
1990
All flour for the ruminatia is prohibited in the diet of the bovines.
1994
Mammalian animal flour is forbidden for all ruminatia. Permitted only for swine's, poultry and farmed ichthyic products.
1996
Compulsory treatment on animal flour according to the recommended procedure against infective agents of BSE (20 minutes at 133°C and pressure at 3 bars).
2000
Compulsory to utilize inferior products suitable for human consumption in the diets of the animals. New rules based on the prohibition of utilizing animal flour on all farmed animals.
THE CONTROL NETWORK FOR BSE
BSE is a disease that has the obligation of declaration, this means that the breeder has the legal obligation to report any abnormal symptoms the moment in which they are present in the bovine to the veterinary. In the case that the veterinary confirms the suspect of BSE to the management of the veterinary service, necessary measures are taken according to the sanitary norms relating to BSE:
- Official declaration of the suspect of BSE, farm placed under control, putting down of animals, withdrawal from brain of animal to send to Experimental Zooprophylactic Institute that will determine the diagnosis.
- In the case where BSE is confirmed, all animals, or those that have shared the same risk factor, are put down and the carcasses destroyed through an incinerator. The breeder is then completely compensated for the sudden loss.
- In the case where BSE is very evident, the National Sanitary Institute will carry out an inquiry on the supplier to establish the origin of the contamination.
IN SPITE OF THE ADAPTED SYSTEM OF PRECAUTION, WHY HAS ITALY NOT HAD POSITIVE RESULTS IN THE TESTS?
The average incubation period of BSE has an duration of 5 years, the effectiveness of the adapted measures to eliminate contamination may be only verified after this period; BSE cases verified in 2001 revealed that contamination in the food was only verified before the regulations relating to the diets of the animals were reinforced.

IS IT NECESSARY TO ELIMINATE A WHOLE HERD IF A CASE OF BSE HAS BEEN FOUND?
After numerous experiments, the Scientific Governing Board concluded that the measure of putting down all animals in the cattle shed where a case of BSE was verified was not necessary, it may be substituted by selective putting down only on animals where the identical risk factors have been exposed.
Today, thank you together with the measures in force relating to the BSE phenomenon and;
- The utilization of animal flour prohibited on all animals,
- Control of the bovine estate and obligatory declaration in cases where BSE is followed by the putting down of an entire herd, or animals at risk in the same herd,
- Reinforcement of the control on bovines upon their arrival at the slaughterhouse,
- Systematic withdrawal and incineration of all organs and tissue potentially at risk,
the system in force in our country guarantees effective consumer protection.
WHAT IS THE LINK BETWEEN BSE AND THE HUMAN DISEASE CREUTZFELD-JACOB?
The greater part of the cases of the human disease Creutzfeld-Jacob, which has already been around since the 1920's, is not linked to BSE or bovine spongiform encephalopathy, better known as "Mad Cow Disease".
At the time of its identification, which took place in 1986 in a bovine estate situated in the United Kingdom, it did not seem that BSE had anything to do with mankind. In fact, BSE which belongs to a group of diseases among which ovine scrapie and the human disease Creutzfeld-Jacob, two infections that have been dated back since the XVIII century after the 1920's have not demonstrated any link until now.
In March 1996, experts in the British Public Health Department announced that the transmission to man of BSE was possible. As a result, together with scientific results which have reinforced this hypothesis and that today one thinks that BSE in some way, which is still to be clarified, is linked to cases of the new variant of the Creutzfeld-Jacob disease which has appeared in France and United Kingdom in the young generation.
It must be underlined that the new variant of the Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, identified in 1996 and the classic Creutzfeld-Jacob disease, identified in the 1920's, are two different affections and are provoked by diverse characteristics. In Italy, no cases have ever been identified with regard to the new variant of Creutzfeld-Jacob in spite of the fact that there is an obligation to make a differential diagnosis between the two forms every time suspicious symptoms are present in mankind.

If you're avoiding meat from a sense of fellow-feeling with warm-blooded animals, you should be a vegan. You can't drink milk without being responsible for the death of cattle (at minimum, the 50% of calves who are bulls.

I'm an omnivore. Well, I do draw the line at processed "food products", McDonald's and other pseudo-food.

Does the knowledge that you must eventually die mean that you take no pleasure in life? Would it be better not to be born, in order to avoid having your meat serve a useful purpose after you're dead? If we were all vegan, there would be no cows, pigs, or chickens. Would that make the world a better place?

To the best of our knowledge, cattle, pigs, chickens, fish, etc are not haunted by the awareness of mortality. Let's put our effort into making their lives as natural and fulfilling as possible, rather than agonizing over how their bodies are used after they are dead.

Feedlot beef is unhealthy beef -- unhealthy for the beef, unhealthy for the people who eat it. The animals are essentially forced into obesity (to create "marbled" meat) by being fed vast quantities of corn their digestive systems are not built to handle. Is this a bad idea? Let me count the ways!

Cattle are designed to digest grasses our bodies cannot digest. There's a lot of hilly and semi-arid land that would erode if planted in row crops but is well suited to pasturing livestock. The meat of grass-fed cattle has a healthy balance of omega fatty acids, quite different from that of obese feedlot animals. With rotational grazing, grass-fed cattle are also good for the land, reducing weeds and increasing the productivity of the soil. It's a win-win situation.

The ideal is a small farm with diverse livestock, a bit of forested land, and a kitchen garden. Free-range chickens peck apart cattle dung in search of fly larvae, speeding up the decay process and reducing the fly population that would otherwise trouble the cattle(and people)in the area. Pigs are helpful scrap-eaters that eventually become a food source. Our ancestors had this right.

Internet-savvy folks should be able to track down local sources of grass-fed meat. Talk to the farmers. Know where your food comes from. Learn how it lived before it became food. Let's get REAL again!

Granted, lots of people live in cities and can't buy food direct from the farm. But you can support farmers' markets and request/demand that your supermarket seek out grass-fed meats and stock locally-raised vegetables.

Eating vegan results in a reduction of 1.5 tons of CO2 equivalent/yr, vs. eating the standard American diet, containing meat, poultry, fish, dairy, and eggs. The reason equivalent is used, is because some of the greenhouse gases associated with eating the std. American diet are methane and N2O. Both of these are actually much more powerful than CO2 at trapping the infrared radiation trying to escape to space, from the Earth's surface.

However, beef is the worst offender, followed by pork, chicken, dairy, and eggs.

jay- agreed! local is the way to go.

i am a vegan BUT,

TOFU= SOY beans = huge GMO crop (along with wheat and corn.)

better "fake" patties or sausages can be made with veggies or all sorts ground with any kind of seed or nut.

a great book "eat smart, eat raw" by Kate Wood

p.s. attacking people's food choices doesn't make the world a better place. be gentle =)

Vegan is amazing, but with like half of the soy vegans generally consume. I'm vegetarian myself, because I can't financially go out and buy what I need to be vegan, because the rest of my family eats meat. That's 4 other people. But I do try to eat vegan as much as I can, and I've cut eggs out of my diet. I have a few friends that will buy vegan pizza with me, so it's all good.

To be ultimately greener, at this time, is: to lower the World population. Personal ethical and economic choices are making differences that matter. Do what you can. Teach the children.

There is no question that locally grown whole foods have far less impact on the planet than processed foods or foods that come from animal parts (aka meat) or their secretions (aka milk or eggs). Not only does the production of animal based food use far more resources and cause more pollution, it is responsible for a tremendous amount of suffering and violence. A humane plant-based diet is the one that is best for the planet.

I can't vouch for anyone else, but since our family went from eating meat, to vegetarian and now vegan, I can honestly say we all FEEL better. My husband and daughter no longer have the constant stomach discomfort/pain, my son's rash on his arms and face have disappeared, and my joints no longer hurt. I honestly believe the diet we were eating was killing us. Now we fill our plates with nice fresh veggies, rice, beans, and pastas instead of meat veggie and starch. We've always enjoyed fresh fruits and veggies, and my children have never been picky eaters so getting them to eat legumes and tofu products wasn't a big deal. A lot of their friends don't even realize that they're eating vegan when they come over. It's funny how no one questions silk chocolate milk either. Now, we're not raw vegans, living in the north, we just like a nice hot bowl of soup in the winter!

Ethically, I admire vegans & wish I could do that. I tried being a vegetarian for about 3 years-didn't work for me. I love to cook & so far, vegan main dish recipes have resulted in revolting fare. I stopped eating beef about 10 yrs ago. 2 1/2 yrs ago I was diagnosed with breast cancer. After my lumpectomy I wasn't healing. I asked my doctor why & she asked if I was eating beef. I told her I wasn't. She advised me to. I did & I did heal better. I eat grass-fed beef only & in the cancer community, the saying is "eat lean and clean." That includes lambs, bison, and elk. I support the Humane Farmers Association because even though I'm an omnivore, I abhor cruelty.

Vegan , in my view, is FAR more about living in accordance with our place amidst the natural world, rather than our self proclaimed entitlement to be "owners" and "masters" of it.Understanding the human behaviors that gave birth to cruelty, violence, competition, the world we have today, means opening to the exploration of time when herding was adopted . www.powerfulbook.com examines this eloquently and in a well researched manner.
www.jimmason.info
www.willtuttle.com
www.drstevebest.org
www.ape-connections.org
www.nansealove.com
All most helpful in understanding the roots of human predatory behaviors we inflict upon each other, first learned from our practices in "animal husbandry."
www.GoVeg.com

Vegan or vegetarian is definitely the way to go. Here is a great video on the effects of eating meat on the environment:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lFpXODmddOw