The environmental impact of the lifecycle and supply chain of animals raised for food has been vastly underestimated, and in fact accounts for at least half of all human-caused greenhouse gases (GHGs), according to Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, co-authors of “Livestock and Climate Change”.

A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock’s Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, and poultry. But recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang finds that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions.

You can read the study here: http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock and Climate Change.pdf

” I can honestly say that the McDougall Maximum Weight Loss Program is responsible for my entire 166-pound weight loss, from 331 to 165 pounds. If I could pass along one message to anyone who is considering the McDougall Program it would be to do the program exactly as Dr. McDougall prescribes. Do not count calories or do the McDougall Program with Weight Watchers. You can’t do the McDougall Program with any other diet because it is not a diet, it’s a lifestyle. It has taken me years to finally get this.”
– Mike Teehan, from his Star McDougaller article

Congratulations, Mike!

In a study out this month, researchers found that consuming fish does not reduce the risk of heart failure. After 11 years of follow-up of 5,000 men and women, almost 670 had heart attacks. Those who consumed the most fish had no protective effect, compared with others. This research was part of the Rotterdam Study in the Netherlands where, like all Western nations, heart failure is common.

Dijkstra SC, Brouwer IA, van Rooij FJA, Hofman A, Witteman JCM, Geleijnse JM. Intake of very long chain n-3 fatty acids from fish and the incidence of heart failure: the Rotterdam Study. Eur J Heart Fail. 2009;11:922-928.

Meat consumption increases the risk of prostate cancer, according to a recent study looking at more than 175,000 men as part of the NIH-AARP Diet and Health Study. The men who consumed the most red meat had a 30 percent increased risk of cancer, compared with those who consumed the least. Processed red meat was associated with a 10 percent increased risk of prostate cancer with every 10 grams (about one-third of an ounce) of increased intake. Researchers also investigated cooking method and content of heme iron and nitrites and nitrates for the various types of meat consumed. Heme iron intake, nitrite and nitrate consumption, and grilling and barbecuing all were associated with higher risk.

Sinha R, Park Y, Graubard BI, et al. Meat and meat-related compounds and risk of prostate cancer in a large prospective cohort study in the United States. Am J Epidemiol. Advance access published October 6, 2009. DOI: 10.1093/aje/kwp280.