Mike Tidwell of Audobon Magazine explores the land of low carbon diets.

Full disclosure: I love to eat meat. I was born
in Memphis, the barbecue capital of the Milky Way Galaxy. I worship
slow-cooked, hickory-smoked pig meat served on a bun with extra sauce
and coleslaw spooned on top.

My carnivore’s lust goes beyond the DNA level. It’s in my soul. Even the
cruelty of factory farming doesn’t temper my desire, I’ll admit. Like
most Americans, I can somehow keep at bay all thoughts of what happened
to the meat prior to the plate.

So why in the world am I a dedicated vegetarian? Why is meat, including
sumptuous pork, a complete stranger to my fork at home and away? The
answer is simple: I have an 11-year-old son whose future—like yours and
mine—is rapidly unraveling due to global warming. And what we put on
our plates can directly accelerate or decelerate the heating trend.

 

Click here to sign a petition for Michael Pollan to be named Secretary of Agriculture. He has proven that he is a visionary who understands our agricultural needs in ways that are vital to the future of America.

A review of Taras Grescoe's new book:

My desire to consume seafood and fish as my primary source of animal
protein was initially a "green" decision that was supported by my
growing fondness for seafood. Despite the fact that seafood and fish
are widely perceived to be affordable "green" foods, I learned this is
not the case. Further, I learned that consuming most seafood is in
direct conflict with my desire to live as lightly as possible on this
earth (well, "lightly" for an American), and that I was contributing to
the extinction of many species of marine fishes.

But unlike other food items, making ethical and healthy seafood
choices were impossible because of the veil of secrecy enshrouding it.
I could rarely learn the method used to "harvest" the seafood I was
contemplating purchasing, nor where the animals were captured, and
sometimes, I could not even learn which species of fish or shellfish I
was eating. In short, the more that I learned about the commercial
fisheries and fish farming industries, the less I wanted to support
either of them. In the end, I gave up eating seafood -- all animal
protein, in fact, except for occasional dairy products -- for many
years. According to what I read, I am not alone.

 

Ronald Bailey makes a case against the concept of food miles:

Food miles advocates fail to grasp the simple idea that food should be grown where it is most economically advantageous to do so. Relevant advantages consist of various combinations of soil, climate, labor, capital, and other factors. It is possible to grow bananas in Iceland, but Costa Rica really has the better climate for that activity. Transporting food is just one relatively small cost of providing modern consumers with their daily bread, meat, cheese, and veggies. Desrochers and Shimizu argue that concentrating agricultural production in the most favorable regions is the best way to minimize human impacts on the environment.