PHM-Exch> Subject: Re: Article: India is Not a 'Vegetarian Country' Like the EAT-Lancet Report Would Have Us Believe

[Kaaren Mathias]

Thanks Richa and others
I fully agree that central in all discussions on diet we must address
nutritional value, cultural traditions, politics in every sense, and
industrial/ Big Agro food production processes and seek to use of local
foods, and food production by sustainable methods which may include meat
production... These are all critical and the Lancet article has not given
these adequate attention. I still believe that (given the larger carbon
footprint of most animal products, for the environment, for animal rights
and for cardio-vascular health) most people , especially those who have
access to diverse foods, should mostly eat a plant-based diet, even if this
is also promoted by a right wing, nationalist Hindutva Govt in India who
promote vegetarianism with a very different motive.

Kaaren

On Sat, Dec 7, 2019 at 6:20 PM Richa Chintan <richa at phmovement.org> wrote:

> --------- Forwarded message ----------
> From: Radha Holla <holla.radha at gmail. <holla.radha at gmail.com>
> Date: Sat, 7 Dec 2019 17:08:11 +0530
> Subject: Re: PHM-Exch> Article: India is Not a 'Vegetarian Country' Like
> the EAT-Lancet Report Would Have Us Believe
>
> Dear Kaaren
>
> I do agree with you that a plant based diet may reduce the impact of
> farming on the climate. However, not all plant based agriculture does so.
> The cattle farms will be replaced by grain producing industrial farms with
> the continued heavy use of chemicals. Secondly no where does the EAT Lance
> report stress on the diversity-based farming systems of many indigenous and
> poor communities across the world, which have little effect on
> climate change, but rather mitigate it. This diversity based agriculture
> includes not just mixed cropping, but also the use of animals for manure,
> for energy and for food both as milk and meat. The animals and poultry
> forage rather than being fed in feedlots. There are also studies that the
> meat of foraging goats has lower effects on cholesterol than even chicken
> or other white meat. One of the most damaging statements in the EAT Lancet
> report is on achieving balance in use of nutrients - reduce the use of
> chemicals in countries where industrial agriculture is practised, but
> increase them where it is not. This seems to imply that diversity-based
> farming should start using more chemicals. How is this going to help
> climate change.
>
> To me, what seems to be the thrust is to promote organic food only as a
> niche product, which it is in most countries already, and further trade by
> treating locally nutrient rich sources of food as unsuitable and needing to
> be replaced by highly priced organic foods, including imported food. The
> millets, which are a wonderful answer to climate change, are being
> increasingly replaced in middle class families by foods such as quinoa,
> which is a good food, but needs to be imported. Foods like amaranth leaves,
> chenopodium leaves, beet leaves, colocasia leaves, etc. are hardly
> available in the market except a few local markets, but spinach, broccoli,
> orange carrots, brussels sprouts are all available. Why not pumpkin instead
> of orange carrots in summer? The range of ingredients identified by the Eat
> Lancet report does not take into consideration the nutritive value of local
> products like coconut oil, sesame oil, peanut oil, but is only focusing on
> improving usage of olive oil, which again needs to be imported.
> Advertising with its beautiful colourful pics of imported fruits and
> vegetables adds to this. There is no mention of the need to promote local
> production for local consumption, to reduce the stress on land and water,
> to consume what the season gives in abundance, to vary the diet to include
> all foods - plants, grains, fruits (not just apples and pears), eggs, milk
> and meat in a balance that does not negatively impact climate change while
> at the same time, improves health and nutrition.
>
>
> Radha Holla Bhar
>
> email: holla.radha at gmail.com <holla.bhar at gmail.com>
> Mob. No. +91 9810617188
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-- 
Dr Kaaren Mathias
Public Health Physician - Director Burans
Programme manager Mental Health - EHA
www.eha-health.org

Board Director - Health systems global
Regional representative - South East Asia
https://www.healthsystemsglobal.org/

Cell +91 8755105391
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