A recent Associated Press story in the OBSERVER had me shaking my head. According to the United Nations, hardly the organization that FDR and Harry Truman envisioned at the end of World War II, it is estimated that a third of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions come from several links in the food supply chain.

The solution according to the experts is to eat more plants and less meat. This is because according to the data emissions from a meat rich diet are four times higher than from a vegan diet. I like vegetables such as spinach, broccoli, onions, asparagus and beans. Vegetables are great sources of fiber, vitamins and minerals. However, vegetables, unlike animal flesh, do not provide complete proteins and must be combined in ways such as rice and beans to provide complete proteins.

Then I read that those poor unassuming ruminant’s that include cows, sheep, and goats are said to be leading contributors to emissions, emitting not only nitrous oxide, but also methane gas. This is because they have a two stomach digestive system that allows them to acquire nutrients from plant based matter by regurgitating their fermented “cud” and rechewing it while supposedly releasing prodigious quantities of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere

The ancestors of cows, pigs, goats, and sheep have been around for millions of years, although their domestication by humans occurred more recently. Goats and sheep were likely domesticated around 10,000 years ago, followed by pigs and cattle, which were domesticated around 8,000 to 10,000 years ago. During their long residence on planet Earth there is no conclusive evidence that they have had any impact on previous periods of climate change, but I guess someone must be blamed.

Finally, as I have pointed out in a previous column it was the growing popularity of animal meat roasted over a fire that fostered the development of the human brain. Had we not become meat eaters we might still be swinging from the trees.

The article cautions against eating processed foods like cheese because “you need 10 times the amount of milk to make one pound of cheese.” Therefore, the less processed the food the smaller the environmental impact. However, back in the days before refrigeration cheese was a great way of preserving the nutritional value of milk for longer periods and even now cheese is a nutrient-rich food that can be part of a healthy diet when consumed in moderation. It provides essential nutrients like protein and calcium, but it can be high in saturated fat and sodium. Cheese also provides large amounts of Vitamins A and B12, zinc, phosphorus, and riboflavin.

Next the author cited eco-dietitian nutritionist Mary Purdy who bemoaned the fact that rice cultivation requires large amounts of water, large amounts of fertilizer and is grown in flooded paddy fields that breed all kinds of gas including methane. While not expressing any understanding of those parts of the world where rice is the staple grain with entire cultures focused on its growing, harvesting and consumption she goes on to say that the entire world should eat a wide variety of grains to promote biodiverse agriculture, which she claims would make the food chain more resistant to erratic weather caused by climate change.

While they do little to promote biodiversity, wheat and rice are both grains that provide a variety of nutritional benefits. They are good sources of carbohydrates providing energy, and a significant source of protein, vitamins and minerals which is probably why they are popular over much of the world. It seems to me that rather than eliminating rice and wheat from diets and replacing them with little known grains and seeds like millet and buckwheat that we should develop strains of rice and wheat more resistant to disease and insects and which can be grown in ways that are more friendly to the environment. In the end life is short so let us eat what we like.

The article’s author then makes the statement that “Plants win out over animals again because vegetable oils are less impactful than butter or lard.” I suppose that’s true, but I have also heard that when vegetable oils are extracted from seeds harsh chemicals are used in the process and frankly when used for frying vegetable oils produce French fries that taste odd and turn limp and greasy quickly. I remember the fried foods of my youth that my mother and fast-food fried in lard. The French fries had that indefinable yet great taste that came from frying in lard and they stayed crispy. I am also a butter person and avoid margarine and the unknown ingredients and chemicals that make it up. Better to consume milk churned to a creamy goodness then the creations of a laboratory.

Sadly, in all this discussion of butter, lard, and vegetable oil there was no mention of olive oil, the king of cooking oils. We have used this in our kitchen for many years for pan frying, sautéing, in salad dressings and on pasta with garlic and whatever ingredients that strike our fancy. I think that these eco-dietitians nutritionists should learn to cook before pontificating.

Finally, my advice is to eat the things that make you happy and healthy, with some level of moderation.

Tom Kirkpatrick Sr. is a Silver Creek resident. Send comments to editorial@observertoday.com.