Eating meat still kills you

And makes you sick and unhealthy for a long time before you die. And trashes the planet. From the New York Times last week:

The increase in mortality risk tied to the higher levels of meat consumption was described as “modest,” ranging from about 20 percent to nearly 40 percent. But the number of excess deaths that could be attributed to high meat consumption is quite large given the size of the American population.

Extrapolated to all Americans in the age group studied, the new findings suggest that over the course of a decade, the deaths of one million men and perhaps half a million women could be prevented just by eating less red and processed meats, according to estimates prepared by Dr. Barry Popkin, who wrote an editorial accompanying the report.

To prevent premature deaths related to red and processed meats, Dr. Popkin suggested in an interview that people should eat a hamburger only once or twice a week instead of every day, a small steak once a week instead of every other day, and a hot dog every month and a half instead of once a week.

Hahaha, hot dog every month and a half. That's great.

Anyway, the kinds of meat you eat don't change much:

In place of red meat, nonvegetarians might consider poultry and fish. In the study, the largest consumers of “white” meat from poultry and fish had a slight survival advantage.

Big surprise:

Likewise, those who ate the most fruits and vegetables also tended to live longer.

I wonder when people will get it. I mean, you tell people, you show them so clearly that they are destroying themselves with what they eat, but most won't change. How profoundly stupid - to intractably eat things that ruin us. We will not be moved. What are we proving to anyone? "I don't take advice from anyone. I won't consider anything you say." Great mindset. Nothing positive, that's for sure.

You can also show people, as has been done quite often, especially in the last few years, that their diets absolutely decimate the entire planet on which they and their children live:

Anyone who worries about global well-being has yet another reason to consume less red meat. Dr. Popkin, an epidemiologist at the University of North Carolina, said that a reduced dependence on livestock for food could help to save the planet from the ravaging effects of environmental pollution, global warming and the depletion of potable water.

“In the United States,” Dr. Popkin wrote, “livestock production accounts for 55 percent of the erosion process, 37 percent of pesticides applied, 50 percent of antibiotics consumed, and a third of total discharge of nitrogen and phosphorus to surface water.”

But that won't do much either. At least it doesn't seem to. It's nearly unfathomable how much we waste in the pursuit of self-destruction. You can't free range egg your way out of this one. What will it take?