Jun 26, 2022 5 min read

Dear Readers: Americans are feeling the pinch in grocery stores as prices for bacon, steaks and chicken breasts soar, in part because of pandemic-related supply chain breakdowns. All of this is compounded by rising fuel and animal feed costs, and now, the emerging shortage of food grains and fertilizers from Russia and Ukraine, of which other countries are in dire need.

The Minnesota Star Tribune published an opinion piece in May, “War will bring famine unless America acts,” which was written by a distinguished professor of economics (Carlisle Ford Runge) and a former Cargill executive (Robbin S. Johnson). The writers suggest some remedial actions that will only exacerbate the climate change that this war is already intensifying. They suggest converting land from Minnesota’s Conservation Reserve Program to food crop production to help feed the hungry world. But this will reduce biodiversity and increase carbon emissions as this vital sink of carbon-sequestering soil and vegetation is destroyed. To take advantage of the food crisis created by Vladimir Putin’s invasion of Ukraine — like fossil fuel companies are taking advantage of the fuel shortages — is ethically untenable and will only worsen climate change.

The loss of biodiversity and the global demand for meat are recognized as major contributing factors to the climate crisis. This means that our appetites, as well as our farming practices, must change. But this is unlikely without a full accounting of the hidden costs of our current practices. A carbon tax must be applied to all consumables and industries, especially high-input commodity crop farming with its overreliance on fossil fuels.

What every American can and should do is reduce the consumption of all animal produce from conventional feed-crop monocultures of corn and soy. This would help save the Conservation Reserve Program while freeing up millions of acres currently used to raise feed for animals and biofuels. National economies are under increasing strain from unsustainable agricultural practices and consumer demands.

To produce food for people at home and abroad, rather than to feed animals raised for human consumption at home and for export to more affluent countries, is enlightened self-interest. Furthermore, climate change must be addressed to prevent massive crop failures from floods, droughts and temperature extremes. Elevated atmospheric carbon dioxide reduces the nutrient value of our food crops. While wildfires rage in the American West, the destruction of the Amazon forest continues, and will only stop when there is a global boycott of Brazilian beef. One study has shown that deforestation could be cut in half by 2050, and greenhouse gas emissions reduced, if 20% of global consumption of beef and other grazing livestock was replaced with microbial proteins grown from fungus! (See F. Humpenoder, B.L. Bodirsky, I. Weindl et al, “Projected environmental benefits of replacing beef with microbial protein,” Nature, May 4, 2022.)

As geophysicist Gidon Eshel asserted recently in Bloomberg, “Hunger caused by the Ukraine war is one more uncomfortable symptom of the world’s refusal to adopt more sustainable agriculture policies and plant-based diets.” He estimates that more than 250 million tons of wheat, barley, oats and other cereals are used globally to feed farmed animals, and that 100 kilograms of feed protein produces only 3 kilograms of beef protein.

All of this may intensify so-called eco-anxiety: feelings of helplessness and despair over climate change and the fate of nature, animals and humankind. But we can all do something, and the most immediate and effective action is to shift to a plant-based diet and become a “locavore” — purchasing locally grown produce, ideally organically certified, and becoming a “kitchen anarchist” in the process!

CANINE PARVOVIRUS VACCINE REMINDER

Canine parvovirus kills unvaccinated dogs quickly, especially puppies. More background from the Baker Institute for Animal Health at Cornell University:

“The tiny parvovirus is extraordinarily hardy. They are capable of surviving for months outside an animal, even through the winter, and are resistant to most household cleaning products. Infected dogs can shed vast numbers of viruses, making it difficult to disinfect an area once it has been exposed to an infected dog. These facts highlight the importance of isolating any dog that is infected with CPV from other dogs. Given the fact that most environments (including dog parks, lawns and even homes) are not cleaned with disinfecting products regularly, a puppy can be exposed to CPV without any warning, making the vaccine protection all the more important.”

This vaccine is a must for all puppies, and boosters may be needed later in life.

Send all mail to animaldocfox@gmail.com or to Dr. Michael Fox in care of Andrews McMeel Syndication, 1130 Walnut St., Kansas City, MO 64106. The volume of mail received prohibits personal replies, but questions and comments of general interest will be discussed in future columns. Visit Dr. Fox’s website at DrFoxOneHealth.com.