#88: Our Food Choices & Climate Change. The Science & Facts ~Frank Mitloehner

It’s time for something different today. AdapNation is all about helping you #BeYourBest, and nutrition has a massive impact on thriving or being diseased!

But here’s the thing - nutrition has become so political, and there absolutely is an environmental impact when it comes to modern day food choices. But do we understand the problem correctly? Do we have our facts straight?

The every day person would assume based on media conditioning, that the only solution is globally reducing meat consumption, with the holy grail being a Vegan diet. Is that true? Is there nuance? Let’s find out.

 

Dr. Frank Mitloehner joins us to help unpack the reality of all things livestock, agriculture, and the industries' associated planetary impact. It’s a complex multi-faceted subject, yet easy to follow with Frank at the helm.

Frank’s main objective is to help establish environmentally benign (or even beneficial) livestock systems. He is a world leading Environmental & Air Specialist & Professor at UC Davis - specialising on understanding the environment impacts of livestock operations. He has called out some critical emission & nutrition studies that were significantly flawed in their analysis and conclusions  - including the FAO Livestock's Long Shadows Report & the recent EAT Lancet Report.

 

So, if you want to properly understand the impact your food choices are making to the planet, and ensure you ave the right facts, then this is a fantastic resource. It’s a great episode to share with like-minded friends too, to get more of us on the same page.

 

Here’s what we discuss:

🔸100 year Global & US Meat Production and Consumptions trends - some eye opening stats

🔸The reality of todays conventional farming standards - focussed on beef and dairy industries primarily in the US

🔸Efficiencies are not just good, they are essential - Frank explains why efficiencies need to be embraced, for the planet

🔸The truth about Crop Production and Livestock Emissions - stats, science, %’s and comparisons to other industries. How crop production is in trouble.

🔸Understanding Fossil Fuels & Biogenic Fuels such as Methane - How they differ, half life, warming potential, natures and ruminants role, cyclical and flow nature of biogenics. Global sources of methane.

🔸The need to stabilise short-lived pollutants and decrease long-lived pollutants - Or should we focus on reducing short-lived pollutants and keep increasing long-lived?

🔸The Beef Sector - farming process, feed, lifecycle of emissions

🔸Debunking the fake news, massaged stats and rescinded study summaries - such as the old FAO Long Shadow report. Why it is so hard to correct fake news. Franks biggest concern with fake news.

🔸The reality of Livestock Feed - What is it, how much is human edible, which animals consume them, and other uses of these crops 

🔸Difference between Rumen & Monogastric livestock - and how these differences determine what they must be fed

🔸The Doomed Farming Business, and why should all be worried - The lack of profit, household income and youth. Retiring populations of farmers. The disproportionate production and supply.

🔸The issues with Small organic and Regenerative Farms - unsustainable, costly and insufficient. The need for the big players to adopt similar ethos

🔸Land use of Human-Feed Crops & Livestock - Percentages used. Land suitability. Soil death. Marginal land. Synthetic fertilisers. Diversity issues. The need to restore soil health

🔸The Upcycling role Livestock - Regenerating soil, quality foods and improving environment  with solar power

🔸The role of the Consumer - What to focus on, and what to not when choosing food. The awareness of our strong buying signal. The need to support the farmers directly. The impact of going vegan.

🔸Fake Meat - is it a viable solution? - Is it good for human health? Does it have less environmental footprint than beef production? 

 

Learn More about professor Frank Mitloehner:

▪︎ Twitter - @GHGguru- very active and informative feed. Franks whereabouts explained

▪︎ UC Davis, Dept of Animal Science - where Frank teaches and conducts research

 

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