Health News (Week 30 – 2018)
By Robert Redfern

Not sure why I feel I should apologize for today’s newsletter, but I feel so strongly about climate change (that used to be called global warming). Scientists have got things wrong, and already millions are dying worldwide. Even in the so-called rainy UK, thousands are forecast to die from heat-related health problems.

These scientists make out that use of carbon fuels is the prime cause of climate change and although this is a factor – it is minor and focusing on this is only distracting people from the real reason – that too many herbivores (cows, sheep, and goats), along with too much cereal and grain growing, is resulting in fewer trees.

This is not just my theory. Scientists who look back at thousands of years of history are clear that as soon as humans start to cut down all the trees for farming – climate change follows. The rain gets less and less, and as the clouds disappear, heat rises, and devastation occurs.

We can clearly see how it works in the Mediterranean region and in the Middle East. All of the lands there including Saudi Arabia were lush forests around 10 to 20,000 years ago but cutting trees down for farming of animals, grains, and cereals have resulted in the current devastation. Just 100 years ago the area was mainly uninhabitable and consisted of primarily wandering tribes…except for around rivers and the other regions where water was available.

It doesn’t even need humans for this to happen…as when there are large numbers of wild herbivores, such as Bison in the USA and Kangaroos in Australia, this can stop trees growing after natural forest fires. The grass grows, the herbivores expand, and the trees shrink back.

Grass fires sparked by storms take out more trees…but the herbivores run to safety and eat the new growth of trees and the grass. Then the rains slowly stop, except for the occasional storm, which washes the topsoil away.

The soil is created by rotting deciduous leaves which takes hundreds of years of leaf cycles. In many parts of the UK, the earth was 30’ deep (9 meters) as a result of the rainy climate. That soil depth took a few thousand years, but even in the UK, trees have been cut down at an alarming rate. And as I write this, the radio is talking about heat waves, people dying, fires, and water use restrictions.

Yes, we waste water…but nothing wastes water as much as farming cows and sheep. It could be said that COWS are the most dangerous Animals on the Planet. I also add that farming grains, cereals, and potatoes, is also too critical for the survival of humans.

Back in 2006

Lord Stern, a former chief economist of the World Bank, pleaded that the Climate Change Conference to take place in Copenhagen that December should call for an increase (A TAX) in the price of meat and other foods that contribute to climate change.

In an interview with The Times, he said: “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better, said Lord Stern.”

NOTHING HAPPENED

Are Cows and Sheep Dangerous?

1.
They produce more polluting greenhouse gases than all of the cars, trucks, and aircraft in the world. (Livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse-gas emissions as measured by 9 percent of all CO2 emissions, 37 percent of methane, and 65 percent of nitrous oxide. Altogether, that’s more than the emissions caused by transportation. The July 2005 issue of Physics World states: “The animals we eat emit 21 percent of all the CO2 that can be attributed to human activity”). Trees consume CO2 and give us back Oxygen.

2.
Their animal waste is polluting rivers and seas, killing fish and other sea life and creating ‘Wet-Deserts™’ – 21,000 square miles of the Gulf of Mexico (Larger than the BP spill) is dead from farm run-off. In 1995, a New River hog waste spill in North Carolina poured 25 million gallons of excrement and urine into the water, killing an estimated 10 to 14 million fish and closing 364,000 acres of coastal shell-fishing beds. Hog waste spills have caused the rapid spread of a virulent microbe called Pfiesteria piscicida, which has killed a billion fish in North Carolina alone. P.S: Not forgetting over-fishing by factory ships as well.

3.
Animal farming is destroying the rainforests. The loss of trees is a significant cause of the increase in carbon dioxide (for grazing pasture and animal feed, 70 percent of the grains and cereals we grow go to farmed animals, and 50% of all of the trees cut down were for cattle raising).

4.
They are polluting the soil and air (Farmed animals produce about 130 times as much excrement as the entire human population of the United States).

5.
Animal farming is creating water shortages, and rivers are disappearing (it takes nearly 1000 pints of water to make 1 pint of milk and up to 2500 gallons for 1lb of meat).

6.
They are destroying good farmland. Meat production has also been linked to severe erosion of billions of acres of once-productive farmland.

7.
Animal and fowl farming is related to death and disease in humans. Researchers relate factory farmed animal consumption to high levels of antibiotics, the incidence of heart disease, hypertension, e-Coli, BSE, CJD, and breast, colon and other cancers.

8.

Animal farming is stealing our food. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people – which is more than the entire human population on earth.

9.
Animal farming is the leading cause of deserts from deforestation. Once the trees go, then, rainstorms wash away the topsoil, and this can happen very fast as we can observe in many parts of the world today. Farming of Goats and sheep started it over 20,000 years ago and it has not stopped since with huge tree cutting in the past 100 years.

10.

It is getting worse. As prosperity increased around the world in recent decades, the number of people eating meat (and the amount one consumes every year) has risen steadily. Between 1970 and 2002, annual per capita meat consumption in developing countries rose from 11 kilograms (24 lbs.) to 29 kilograms (64 pounds.) In developed countries, the comparable figures were 65 kilos and 80 kilos. As population increased, total meat consumption in the developing world grew nearly five-fold over that period.

11.
Farming of animals consumes 30% of all of the precious fossil fuels.

IS THERE A SOLUTION

Yes, but it’s very difficult for many reasons.

1.
Humans don’t like change. This is hardwired into their DNA and even asking them to change their diet to save their life is met with resistance. Asking them to stop eating as much meat (albeit over the next 20 years) will be difficult for politicians to make a case.

2.
Farmers who are mainly subsidized in many countries may not like being paid for planting trees. The mega farms that make enormous profits will scream like mad and will need a more extended period of changeover.

3.
In all countries, tree planting can be quickly started in hill areas where some soil and rains still exist. An example is Pakistan that has just planted 1 billion trees in hill areas – creating lots of jobs. This may seem a lot, but it will take many billions more to be planted in each country to restore the ecology of the planet. In the UK there are many floods taking place in the winter, but the warnings from scientists that this is caused by the cutting down of trees (especially in hilly areas) go unheeded. Amazing that in the UK, as well as the sheep farmers, it is hikers and walkers who protest replanting of trees so they can have a pretty view when they are hiking.

What About Food?

I read your thoughts. This is easier and even better than you would think. Growing organic, healthy food is easy when done using soilless cultivation. This uses a tiny amount of water compared to irrigating in fields.

It does not need pesticides or other chemicals; no artificial fertilizers, and instead uses the healthiest form of fertilizer that contains all of the nutrients necessary for healthy crops. You may already use this in your garden today, and it is fertilizer made from seaweed. Seaweed is being farmed in vast quantities and can be quickly increased around the world. No need for fossil fertilizers here.

Since vast forests need to be planted to restore the oxygen and ecology of the planet, they will need firebreaks. These can occur where strong mile-wide polytunnels will be used for growing food 24/7/365 under low energy led lights. These are so successful that they are being used in arctic regions to provide fresh food daily 24/7/365.

I read in London that the lofts of factories and offices are being used to provide fresh organic vegetables and greens for restaurants – again 24/7/365.

If you have an unused room in your home, you could create your own garden providing your food 24/7/365. To do it inexpensively, you recycle pallets, plastic trays, and other shelving so you can purchase soilless hydroponics equipment. There are lots of recycling ideas on YouTube and Google.

In Conclusion

Unfortunately, the (so-called) GREEN PARTIES of the world are wannabe politicians and are not even discussing these critical solutions. Instead, they are merely talking about taxing travel more and make no mention of a tax on meat and dairy products. I believe there is no alternative and the taxes raised could be used for tree planting and create a change-over to hydroponics farms.

A new group has to come together across all countries. Unfortunately, the United Nations is so corrupt it would have to be an entirely new group. It probably needs an altruistic billionaire to finance it. Billionaires – please email me here 🙂

Remember

If the next 50 years is going to be worse than the last 50 years, it is imperative that you get healthy and help your family and community to become equally robust. Only strong healthy people are better placed to deal with whatever life throws at us.