[Date Prev][Date Next][Thread Prev][Thread Next][Date Index][Thread Index]
(Fwd) (US) Sierra Club Sustainable Diet Initiative
Howdy, all--
This came across WISC-ECO today. Anybody know anything about it--is
there some action behind this, or is it merely a petition drive to
change bylaws on paper somewhere?
Is anybody here from the Sierra Club who can speak to this? What is
the SC doing to build partnerships with farmers and ag sustainability
organizations? How is the SC walking its talk on this issue? Any
thoughts on the petition's presentation of food system and
agricultural issues?
Thoughts, anybody? I'll share mine later.
peace
michele
------- Forwarded Message Follows -------
[headers carved]
>
>Send petitions (1,305 needed) to: Andrea Wilson (SDI National
>Coordinator), PO Box 719, Redwood Estates, CA 95044 408 353-2096
>(1346 fax), geo7@ix.netcom.com www.webcom.com/geos/ Deadline -
>October 24, 1997 Please also fax if mailed after 10/18/97.
>
>SIERRA CLUB SUSTAINABLE DIET INITIATIVE
>According to a Worldwatch Institute report written by then-senior
>researcher Alan B. Durning in 1991, "the prospect of 5 billion people
>eating the way Americans do is an ecological impossibility, requiring
>more grain than the world can grow and more energy, water and land than
>the world can supply" (Worldwatch Magazine, May/June 1991, P11).
>Given that the world's current human population of 5.8 billion
>continues to grow by more than 80 million people every year, the
>impossibility of this prospect has only become more apparent. Since
>then, Worldwatch researchers have calculated that "if everyone in the
>world required as much grain for their diet as the average American
>does, the global harvest would need to be 2.6 times greater than it is
>today ---a highly improbable scenario" (Sandra Postel, State of the
>World 1994, P6). Given these statements, we must recognize that the
>typical American/Canadian grain-fed animal-based diet is another
>expression of wasteful overconsumption, akin to driving a gas-guzzling
>auto with no emissions-control equipment. And, just as we recommend
>that people bicycle, carpool, use mass transit and drive efficient
>cars, it is time the Sierra Club made comparable recommendations
>regarding our food choices. It is this need for change which is the
>impetus behind the following petition.
>
>Pursuant to Bylaw 11.2 and in accordance with Standing Rule 11-1-1 of
>the Sierra Club, the undersigned members of the Club instruct the
>Board of Directors to certify the following resolution to the Secretary
>for a vote by the Club's membership:
>Shall the Sierra Club (1) replace Paragraph G.2. of the Agriculture
>Policy with the following: "Food consumption choices in the United
>States and Canada cause excessive damage to the environment. In
>particular, diets high in animal foods (i.e., meat, poultry, seafood,
>dairy products and eggs) require much greater quantities of land, water
>and energy to produce than do diets high in plant foods (i.e., fruits,
>vegetables, grains and legumes), and also contribute
>disproportionately to global environmental problems (e.g., water
>pollution, climate change, deforestation, desertification, soil
>erosion, loss of species, collapse of ocean ecosystems, and
>agricultural chemical pollution). Therefore, plant-based diets are
>recommended as the most environmentally sustainable dietary choice.
>Those who choose to include animal foods in their diets should make
>such foods no more than a small part of their total food consumption.
>It is also recommended that all foods be organically and sustainably
>produced, and that all animal foods be produced under humane,
>free-range conditions, with due consideration given to the needs and
>well-being of the animals.", and (2) actively educate its members and
>the public on the environmental benefits of such diets?
>
>Paragraph G.2. of the Agriculture policy (Food Policy) currently reads:
> "Particularly in developed countries, there should be a reduction in
>excessive food consumption and waste patterns to allow maintenance of
>diet quality at lower environmental cost. An important first step
>would be to develop a greater reliance on vegetable protein."
>ONLY SIERRA CLUB MEMBERS MAY SIGN!
>
>Signature Printed Name Address Date Member # if known
>Email/telephone number (optional)
>1_______________________________________________________________________
>______________________________________________________________________
>2_______________________________________________________________________
>_______________________________________________________________________
>3_______________________________________________________________________
>_______________________________________________________________________
<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<<
Michele Gale-Sinex, communications manager
Center for Integrated Ag Systems
UW-Madison College of Ag and Life Sciences
Voice: (608) 262-8018 FAX: (608) 265-3020
http://www.wisc.edu/cias/
>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>>
In the towers of steel, belief goes on
and on, in this heartland, in this heartland
soil. --U2
To Unsubscribe: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with "unsubscribe sanet-mg".
To Subscribe to Digest: Email majordomo@ces.ncsu.edu with the command
"subscribe sanet-mg-digest".