francene--blog. Year 2013
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June 4th

6/4/2013

 
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The UK government will launch a campaign to reduce domestic food waste on Saturday. They hope to help eradicate malnutrition. Over time, they want to encourage the population to eat less meat, thereby making the global food supply more sustainable. MP's say food production companies that wasted too much should face clear sanctions.

This is good. I hate waste. Of any sort. For instance, I can't abide it when my husband leaves the tap running. Since living my early life in Australia, I'm aware of not wasting a drop.
This concern about meat has grabbed my attention.

The International Development Committee said increased growing of grain to feed cattle was reducing the resources for nourishing people. The committee's report comes ahead of World Environment Day on Wednesday, which will focus on the issue of global hunger.

There are only so many resources to go around and populations are increasing. I'd like to know how the Government plans to reduce starvation in third world countries with this alert.

The Prime Minister will be hosting a G8 hunger summit in London on Saturday. The government is geared to launch a national consumer campaign to reduce domestic food waste. With the UK never more than a few days away from a significant food shortage, they say UK consumers should also be encouraged over time to reduce how often they eat meat.

That's worrying. The UK must depend on imports to feed the population. I didn't know this. It reminds me of the latter days of WW2. English people were cut off by enemy ships for years. They were encouraged to grow food wherever they found spare soil. They were fit and healthy, despite meager rations of meat. Every watched the old sitcom, Dad's Army? The old butcher would wrap a special sausage or two in a sheet of paper for favorite customers. My husband lived in London at the time. He tasted his first imported banana at the age of about 8 yrs. He loved it.


Pictureibess,wikispaces.com
Back to the edicts. As a nation, we should place a stronger focus on more the more sustainable pasture-fed cattle, rather than on intensive grain-fed livestock units. To my way of thinking, both systems use too much land to feed the beef, leading on to our consumption. And I don't want to consider how the cow feels, raised in a life of imprisonment away from its natural habitat.

Early man tamed horses and cattle first. Mankind prevented the American horse's extinction by taking the animal across the top of the land-mass into Europe. All native horses perished. Perhistoric man used cattle for food. Both animals trust us.

I haven't eaten red meat since the early 90s, when Mad Cow Disease swept the British Isles. Poor cattle were rounded up and slaughtered by the thousands on each contaminated farm, and buried in giant holes. I even made reference to it in one of my futuristic novels. One of the characters wondered why so many animal bones were exposed in the one place.


Picturewww.maydreamsgardens.com
Apparently, the global demand for meat is growing. China has more than doubled its consumption per person since 1985. The country renowned for stir fried vegetables, now emulates western eating-patterns. I'd rather the reverse and we ate more edible plants.

A Department for International Development spokesman said: "We are leading the way in making nutrition a global priority and by 2015 our nutrition programmes will help a total of 20 million pregnant women and young children across Africa and Asia."

Great thought. I wonder if the move will help the targeted people. I can't wait to hear the plan.


Wendy link
6/4/2013 02:53:39 am

I eat cow 2x a year - and went about 21 years without it. I too dont like to waste food and am glad that they are trying to get people to eat less meat and make the country more sustainable. America should learn from you!! I cant wait to hear the plan either. Keep us posted!

Francene Stanley link
6/4/2013 07:03:11 pm

I'll certainly find out all I can about the government's plans. So much could be achieved if each person on the earth had an equal chance of eating well.

Debra Jason link
6/4/2013 03:30:36 am

While I'm not a vegetarian, it's rare that I eat red meat. I think it's great that they're making nutrition a global priority with a focus on pregnant women & young children.
Thanks!
~Debra

Francene Stanley link
6/4/2013 07:10:04 pm

As long as each one of us makes a commitment, the world will be a fairer place.

Samantha link
6/4/2013 03:56:44 am

Wow! I like their purpose, and I hope it works out to everyone's advantage. Don't get me wrong, I love my country, but we do waste a lot when others could benefit. We should learn from you guys if everything works out as planned. Great post, thank you!

Francene Stanley link
6/4/2013 07:17:30 pm

Plans are full of opportunity but don't always get implimented. However, I applaud the government for working towards equality.

Suerae Stein link
6/4/2013 04:47:54 am

Great post, Francene. I haven't eaten meat since the early 90's as well. My 15 year old daughter has been a vegetarian for 5 years. Our choices to do this stemmed more from our love for the animals and the hatred for the way they are treated. I only recently learned that they are a reason that we have food shortages. My husband just read an article that vegetarians tend to live 6 years longer, on average, than meat eaters. Maybe that will nudge people in the right direction.

Francene Stanley link
6/4/2013 07:19:31 pm

Let's hope a large percentage of the population heard about the longer life expectancy of vegetarians.

Amy link
6/4/2013 08:16:21 am

Francene,
We've pretty much stopped eating meat produced by the big commercial farms, buying instead pastured beef from a small farmer, raising our own chickens, and doing some fishing and hunting. I feel bad about the way the animals in commercial feedlots are raised, and the negative effect on the local environment. We live just a few miles from a massive beef feedlot, and the effect on the local environment is really awful. This is a fascinating post, and the issue of food (and who controls it) is a scary one, and in part why I produce so much food myself. Thanks for writing this post, Francene!!

Francene Stanley link
6/4/2013 07:28:19 pm

I think you've got the right idea in producing your own food. I can't bear to think about the cruelty imposed on animals and birds raised for human consumption.

Alana link
6/4/2013 10:25:43 am

I will be interested in seeing how this program progresses. I love reading your blog because I learn so much about what is going in in the UK that I would never know otherwise. Years ago, my husband and I were driving through Texas on the way home from a vacation and came across mile after mile of feedlots near Dalhart (and other places in the "Texas Panhandle".) The stench was indescribable. According to Wikipedia, "The city ...has an impressively prodigious cattle feed lot in its outskirts, which contains thousands upon thousands of cows." I've been a vegetarian on and off in my life, but am currently eating some meat. One trip to Dalhart and you might be a vegetarian for the rest of your life.

Francene Stanley link
6/4/2013 07:30:31 pm

Imagine how the cattle must feel, living in this environment. I hope they get used to the stench. Their suffering touches me.

Wendy Bottrell link
6/5/2013 02:01:24 am

I purchase my beef, poultry, pork from small farms a couple of hours away from where I live here in Toronto, Canada. We enjoy going up to the farm when it is time to get our food. It is so peaceful, we get to walk through the farm, out to see the cows, pigs in the field. Passing chickens, turkeys on the way. The whole experience is quite amazing and the food we bring home is really excellent and tastes delicious. We also grow some veg in pots at our home.


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    Author

    Francene Stanley, author of many published novels. If you like my writing, why not consider purchasing one of my books? You'll see them on the sidebar below.
    Born in Australia, I moved to Britain half way through my long life.

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