"The Stakes Are High", Jonathan Safran Foer, shares on SalisburyForum.org About Eating Steak and More
There are many previous talks on SalisburyForum.org. Tonight the author of Eating Animals or We Are The Weather by Jonathan Safran Foer is being interviewed. He suggests sharing that a person consider learning to become more conscious about choices of the sources and kinds of food one eats. He paints a serious picture that 'factory food' eating (especially animals in suffering conditions) impacts the pollution and harm our planet is experiencing.
Reducing consumption of meat can help a person transiton to explore 'what would it look like to have a Meatless Monday and maybe a daily vegeterian option.' Thinking about the journey of food 'from Farm to Table' vs Factory Farm to Table or Fast Food Restaurant.
There are many important points shared, including mention of The Sixth Mass Extinction (whose female author also gave a talk for The Salisbury Forum so worth looking at it.) Human population linked to consumption of resources is also something to consider. 85% of Americans have accepted the basis of human causes of Climate Change. 75% of Americans wanted the US to stay with the Paris Climate Accord.
He says the the issue is believing in the implication of science, not the 'facts.' Some people are ready to be activists but not make the changes that are required of me. Most people fall into that category, and he counts himself in that mode.
The planet is affected by how many people are on the planet and how much pollution we cause from travel and living as well as choices we make when eating. He wrote the book about the kind of change that is required and whether he or others are capable of making such changes in a timely matter.
We are in quite a predicament. If we were given choice that was spelled out to us for a healthier climate and life expectancy over 80 but that might be contingent on not eating a lot of specific foods, and control how many kids you have and how much flying you do.
We are not given a sense of collective voluntary limits (other than the COVID time.) Buying a book at a local bookstore rather than order something online is reasonable. The price of unlimited quantity of what we want and when we want it then one or two generations can have that, but the world will not be able to provide that for the following generations.
It's important to 'struggle' and discover ways that can work for people in a variety of ways. It can be relatively easy not to eat meat or not fly (and some may be able to both.) Share a sense of journeying toward a collective 'powering down' and more conserving of energy.
