Guest Article & Great Tofu Burger Recipe!

I was recently contacted by Martha Volz , who writes for the Vegetarian Supplements site, her personal passion blog devoted to vegetarian healthy eating ideas. She asked if she could write an article for Shout Vegan about new research from the United Nations (UN) that suggests a correlation between climate change and meat consumption. After reading the article, and the great recipe which I will be testing out myself, I was only too happy to oblige.  Martha has a great website, full of valuable information for those interested in a healthy vegetarian diet (and lots of vegan tips too) and a better planet.

Martha’s Article & Recipe

United nations researchers reveal us one basic route to lower our impact on the environment

Do you know the UN calculated that the combined climate change emissions of animals bred for their meat were more than cars, planes and other types of transport assembled?

In a recent article published in July 2010 by the Guardian.co.uk, leading journalist John Vidal reported how vegetarianism can help save the planet by eating less meat.

Behind the majority of the joints of beef or chicken on our plates is a phenomenally wasteful, land and power hungry process of farming that devastates nature, pollutes oceans, rivers, seas and atmosphere.

We mostly breed four species (chickens, cows, lambs and pigs) all of which need vast amounts of food and water, emit methane and other greenhouse gases and produce mountains of physical waste products.

In ’09, the United nations calculated how the combined climate change emissions of animals bred for their meat were about 18% of the global total – a lot more than cars, planes and all other types of transport put together.

A Bangladeshi family living off rice, beans, vegetables and fruit may live on an acre of land or less, while the average American, who consumes around 270 pounds of meat per year, needs 20 times that.

Academics have calculated that if the grain fed to animals in western countries were consumed directly by people instead of animals, we could feed at least two times as many people – and possibly a lot more – as we do now.

Eating a steak or a chicken will point to an extreme water consumption, that the animal has needed to live and grow. Vegetarian author John Robbins calculates a pound of beef needs around 20,000lbs of water.

Farming, which uses 70% of water accessible to humans, is already in direct competition for water with cities.

Industrial scale agriculture now dominates the western livestock and poultry industries, and a single farm is now able to generate as much waste as a city.

Farming animals generate manure and urine which is funnelled into massive waste lagoons sometimes holding as many as 40m gallons. These cesspools often break, leak or overflow, polluting underground water supplies and rivers with nitrogen, phosphorus and nitrates.

A meat diet is normally considered twice as expensive as a vegetarian one. According to the Vegetarian Society, meat eaters get increased probabilities of obesity, cancer, heart diseases and other illnesses as well as a hole in the pocket.

So what now? How can we start contribute save our world?

Here a quick and simple recipe to get a good meat substitute, the Tofu and Green Onion Veggie Burger

This healthy tofu based veggie burger receive an added nutritional boost from wheat germ. This recipe is both vegetarian and vegan.

Ingredients:

* 1/2 container firm or extra firm tofu, mashed

* 1 onion, diced

* 3 green onions, diced

* 2 tbls wheat germ

* 2 tbs flour

* 2 tablespoons garlic powder

* 2 tbls soy sauce

* dash pepper

* oil for frying

Preparation:

Mix all ingredients in a large bowl. Form into patties.

Fry patties in oil in a skillet or frying pan until brown and crisp, about 10 minutes.

Now it’s all to you…