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This weekend I enjoyed an unexpected amount of publicity when I asked Al Gore whether meat contributes to global warming and what we should do about it. Major papers covered the question, and Gore's answer. I fear that few will cover the real answer: Americans need to go on a "low carbon" diet. A few years back, a University of Chicago study ("Diet, Energy, and Global Warming") likened different diets to greenhouse gas emissions of various cars. They showed a chart comparing, for example, how a change in diet might compare to swapping out your SUV for a Prius. For a Prius diet, one must go vegan, giving up all animal products. Al Gore is not ready to go quite that far, nor is he comfortable urging others to do. His answer was honest, a sure sign that he is no longer a "recovering politician" but a recovered one. I have good news for Al Gore: he doesn't have to. By moving from conventionally raised animal products to sustainably raised ones, Americans can improve their dietary MPG without having to eat Tofurkey on Thanksgiving. I support Gore's current efforts, promoting renewable forms of energy and greater energy efficiency, but if we have five years to save the polar icecaps (as he said shortly before I asked the question), we need to do what we can do now. Sustainable agriculture is something we can do now. Sustainable agriculture means you can have your meat and eat it too.
Take action -- click here to contact your local newspaper or congress people: Click here to see the most recent messages sent to congressional reps and local newspapers http://www.lavidalocavore.org Jill Richardson is the proprietor of the blog La Vida Locavore. She writes on food policy issues and she is currently working on her first book, due out in 2009.
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