Kamala Harris discusses her stance on red meat and the US Dietary Guidelines. While she says she "love[s] cheeseburgers from time to time," she says she would change the Dietary Guidelines to reduce red meat specifically and introduce "incentives" to educate Americans about the environmental effects of what they eat.
Kamala should have said she needed to study the issue more. In reality, the perennial grasses that cattle eat prevent runoff and help keep carbon in the ground. Some farmers like Allan Savory say that properly done grazing restores desert and reduces or eliminates the need for fertilizer. Cattle and other livestock can grow on land that's unsuitable for growing crops. And land lush with plants is cooler than desert--even my little suburban lot in Colorado, where the front yard was planted with flowers and bushes instead of lawn, felt a degree or two cooler than surrounding yards planted with water-sucking grass.
If you're not eating meat, you have to eat something else. The "something else" in the eating guidelines is mostly grain, which requires fertilizer, pesticide and (in some places) irrigation.
Finally, the guidelines have been a disaster for public health. The carb heavy diet they promote has led to diabetes, obesity, and a variety of other diseases.
Finally, the guidelines have been a disaster for public health. The carb heavy diet they promote has led to diabetes, obesity, and a variety of other diseases.
Here's my choice:
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| Fifty pounds of meat, plus ice cube trays, plus an ice cream bowl, fit in the freezer of my regular sized refrigerator. |
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