Low-carb diet not green-friendly
Published: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 11:51 a.m.
Last Modified: Wednesday, May 7, 2008 at 11:53 a.m.
Low-carb diets are unhealthy because they tend to be full of high-fat, cholesterol-packed meat products, which increase the risk of heart disease and cancer. This increased meat consumption is also environmentally unsustainable. According to a recent United Nations report, livestock production is a key contributor to deforestation and a major source of the greenhouse gases that cause global warming.
In contrast, studies show that people who follow a plant-based diet are slimmer than meat eaters and have a significantly reduced risk of chronic disease.
And given the disturbing rate at which the South American rainforest is being destroyed to create grazing land for cattle, reducing our meat consumption might be the single most important step we can take to improve the health of our planet.
Susan Levin is staff dietitian for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine. E-mail her at firstname.lastname@example.org.
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