Me, you, climate and food

Food! One of my favorite subjects. Little by little, as I was introduced to the world of diverse foods, and the benefits of different diets I became aware of the nutrition values of various foods. This knowledge, coupled by metabolism changes with age, have necessitated changes in   my eating habits. Now, with the specter of climate change some of what I have learned reinforces the benefits of a diet high in grains, beans, vegetables and fruits.

At the Air Force Academy, as a hockey defenseman, I felt I needed more bulk to clear those pesky forwards out from in front of the net. My life was a constant, unsuccessful, food search and devour mission. I could not gain weight.

Something changed at about age 30. I was flying my first civilian commercial job off an oil rig in the Arctic Ocean. As a carnivore, this was heaven. The rig had very accomplished cooks. They served four meat laden meals a day. I gained 31 pounds in 30 days!

Later, I took a job outside aviation and worked as a surveyor’s helper in the San Juan Mountains of Colorado. There is a very good grocery store in Telluride with everything a vegetarian could want. Also, they had a vegetarian restaurant. I bought the book, “Diet for a Small Planet”. It teaches you how to mix and match grains, vegetables, and fruits so you consume tasty dishes that provide complete proteins. That was a summer of hard physical work. At the end of the summer I ran the Imogene Pass race from Quray to Telluride. It is 17 miles long and the first ten miles is all uphill cresting at Imogene Pass at 13,000 feet.  That was my last long-distance run, thank you very much Jim, “No Mas!” Here is my main point: my vegetarian diet had no ill effects.

Thus, I know that a vegetarian diet is healthy. In fact, the healthiest folks I know are Vegans.

I am no longer a vegetarian. Why? By now I should be, and I have no good excuses.  When I went back to flying, I dined in oil camps, firefighting bases, Navy Mess Decks, and Army Dining Halls. The vegetarian store and restaurant were no longer near. It was too easy to fall back on my old ways and I did.

Now there is a new reason, other than good health, why I should eat more grains, beans, fruits, and vegetables. When we eat these foods, we put a lot less greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere. This is especially true if we can avoid beef. Poor Betsy the beef cow is now a climate villain. You see, when she eats, she belches a lot. Poor manners, yes; but worse yet, these belches exhale the strong greenhouse gas methane.

To give you the importance of this, many of my science magazines detail out what I call, “The War on Betsy’s Belches.” Scientists are experimenting with feed additives that will, hopefully, turn those belches into something less lethal than methane. But, even if the methane burps are solved, feeding cows protein rich plants instead of eating them ourselves is inefficient.

Many food companies are confident that they will soon create a vegetarian burger to rival Betsy. By scientifically identifying what makes Betsy’s burnt flesh so tasty, they are now on the way to the goal of a low carbon burger that puts Betsy out of business. Can you imagine massively tasty burgers that do not add mass to our bellies, or massive greenhouse gasses to the atmosphere? Food scientists are optimistic.

But, how about the Frankenstein Burger? Oh yeah, it is true. Scientists can now grow flesh in the lab on mesh without Betsy! Talk about low carbon! Be brave, it is not yet perfected but once it is, we can expect a McFranken Burger on the menu.

One thing that has lowered my climate carbon lunch is Thai, Chinese, Indian, and Vietnamese dining. My introduction to these tasty meals was through my flying buddies. They would have me over for dinner to show off their wives’ Asian cooking expertise. Then too, when my helicopter detachments would have shore leave in foreign ports we would inevitably agree on an Asian restaurant for a dinner celebration. These dinners are not necessarily vegetarian, but they use less meat. They rely on the synergy of the meat, many vegetables, and spices to satisfy our taste.

This brings me to a new term. We know what a carnivore, a vegetarian, and a Vegan is. Dieticians and climate aware citizens and scientists encourage us to simply eat less meat and less often. Doing this will, the professionals claim, help us avoid the next coronary bypass and simultaneously will help Mother Earth keep her atmosphere as healthy as we will be.

The new term is “Reductarian”. This is my new diet title, and hopefully, with a little effort, I will power on down on the meat intake and be lighter on my toes and my carbon footprint.

Good health and a loving climate to you and your families.

GBM

Note: Our food COOPs are great sources of healthy, planet saving recipes, recipe books, and foods.