KNH 213: Book Review Lisa Silvaggio , Scott Trau , Jack Trusler , & Brittany Wrasman

1. KNH 213: Book Review Lisa Silvaggio, Scott Trau, Jack Trusler, & Brittany Wrasman

2. Overview • Societies whose diets are based around animal products develop more diseases than those who follow a plant based diet. • Avoid highly processed foods. • Avoid preservatives and additives. • Eliminate dairy. • Plant-based foods=good • Animal products=bad

3. Key Points • Relying on food (your fork) over surgery (surgeon’s knife). • Prevention of disease through diet and lifestyle choices over medications. • Plant-based diet is good for the environment and for animals.

4. Global Implications • Worldwide farm animals consume 756 million tons of grain. • This same amount of grain would be enough to provide the 1.4 billion people living in poverty with approximately 3 lbs. of grain/day. • The average American diet derives 47% of its calories from animal products, resulting in a carbon footprint of 2.52 tons of CO2 emissions per person per year. • If this average was reduced to 25% of total calories, the carbon footprint would be reduced by ~1 ton.

5. Global Warming • A meat-centric diet is responsible for the emission of more than 7 times as much greenhouse gases as a plant-based diet. • Deforestation • Livestock operations account for 30% of the earth’s entire land surface use-much of which has been deforested to create pastureland. • Waste • Animals raised for slaughter produce 130 times as much waste as the entire human population.

6. Water Pollution • The U.S. EPA estimates that 1 lb. of processed beef requires 2,500 gallons of water, compared to 250 gallons needed per pound of soy, or the 25 gallons per pound of wheat. • Soil Erosion • Animal farming accounts for about 55% of soil erosion, and the soil is being depleted at 10-40 times the rate it is being formed.

7. Changes in Behavior • Decrease the portion of animal-based products in our diet, increase our intake of fruits, vegetables, and unrefined grains. • Nutrition over medication. • Pay attention to a product’s ingredient list. • Tweak your favorite recipes. • Remove the butter from toast and replace it with sugarless jam.

8. Critique • Doesn’t cite sources. • Correlation doesn’t prove causation. • Overall good health message, but lacks scientific accuracy.

9. Thoughts? • Do you think eliminating all animal-based products in your diet would be realistic? • What nutrition deficiencies do you feel would result from a plant-based diet? • Forks Over Knives suggest to eliminate dairy from your diet stating that dairy products increase the risk for chronic diseases. What’s your thoughts on this topic?