Thursday, February 16, 2006

..and walk away from meat.


.
As I walked along the street today I thought it sad indeed,
That half the world is hungry When there isn't any need.
.
We've food for all the world and more, Enough for all to eat,
But this food is being wasted Raising animals for meat.
.
Perhaps some folk don't realize; As many others do
That eating meat's a wicked waste, And so polluting too.
.
It's highly inefficient To grow crops for stock to eat
For it takes 10 kilograms of food To get back one in meat
.
Five hundred and forty million tonnes Of soya, maize and wheat
Are fed each year to animals For Westerners to eat.
.
And much of it's from nations That aren't affluent or wealthy,
It's grown in countries where the folk Are starving and unhealthy.
.
Do you realize how much water Is required if you eat meat?
One hundred thousand litres For each kilogram you eat!
.
So as well as wasting precious food You're worsening the drought,
And six hundred litres of methane gas Each day, a cow put's out.
.
So you're causing global warming And you're causing acid rain.
You're destroying precious forests, And eroding the terrain.
.
So next time you wander down the street And feel the need to eat
Remember what it costs the Earth And walk away from meat.
.
-- By Jenny Moxham --

6 comments:

JBlue said...

If it weren't for some members of my immediate family, I would shun meat entirely. As it is, I seldom eat it myself (one of my sons doesn't care for it, either). Just the idea of eating flesh doesn't sit right with me any more. I feel a bit sick at the thought. In fact, I typically only eat it if it's disguised in something else. I think I'm slowly becoming a vegetarian (and vegetables and grains are my favorite foods anyway).

Interesting poem.

Matthew May said...

I agree with you, I don't think it's actually possible to get people to stop eating meat, and if we did I think we would have a huge problem with over-population of animals. Yet, there are ways to have your meat and feed the world, but I agree, I don't like eating meat, I do but rarely...it's not good for you and the protein you get from it you can get elseware in better quality.

Kathleen Callon said...

Awesome. I've been vegetarian for most of the last sixteen years.

When I found out what hot dogs (Do you have them there? It's like a finely ground sausage made with all the "leftovers"-eyes included.) were made of, I gave them up. Then I read "The Jungle" and became vegetarian.

The only reason there is famine in the world is because people don't care enough to live consciously...

Vee said...

Perfect poem.
I was born a vegetarian. A southindian tamil brahmin, so we're supposed to be vegetarians. But these days, who really follows that to the core? I grew up in Sharjah and ate meat(only outside. never at home). I came to Canada and became a vegetarian. Then I started to eat chicken again and discovered I just didn't enjoy it anymore. So I'm now a full-fledged vegetarian, not because my culture or religion makes me one, but because I choose to be.

Gary said...

A haiku for Dimitri:

Cow grazing in field
Soft brown eyes and Chew in peace
Cafe DA loves you


I was a strict vegie for about 15 years and then added fish and fowl to the menu (I rationalize by thinking of fish as cucumbers with scales... and chickens as brocolli with feathers).

lindsaylobe said...

A Nice poem and the amount of resources consumed for meat type products compared to vegetables certainly points away from meat.

But I guess our love affair with meat can be blamed on evolution as Homo Erectus over 2 million years ago had good teeth for consuming meat and indigestive systems to match.

The brain evolved as a consequence of the increased protein, allowing migration and expansion, responsible for the extinction of many of the larger scale animals on the planet.

I am not defending meat production but there is also a massive difference between the heavily subsidised inefficient European farmers reliant on heavy input such as grain fed stock and countries like Australia. Most of the beef here comes from farms totally reliant from natural grass and rainfall.
No fat and sustainable.

Best wishes