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 CSIRO book's vegetarian advice enrages MP 

CSIRO book's vegetarian advice enrages MP

28 Sep, 2009 04:00 AM
AUSTRALIA'S peak industrial research body is conspiring to force farmers off the land through a new green living book, a south-west MP claims.

Western Victoria Liberal MP John Vogels, has slammed the CSIRO's Home Energy Saving Handbook, which promotes vegetarian diets to reduce agricultural green house gas emissions.

"It seems tofu-munching climate change extremists and animal libbers have taken over the CSIRO, wasting taxpayer funds to publish books designed to wipe out our agriculture industries with the ultimate goal of forcing farmers off the land,'' Mr Vogels said.

"As a nation we need to move beyond the kindergarten view that livestock generate greenhouse gas emissions and focus climate change strategies on reducing those emissions which are genuine pollutants.''

A link on the CSIRO website about the handbook directs people to the Victorian Government's Department of Health webpage which highlights the benefits of introducing children to a vegetarian diet.

It states: "For most well and healthy children a vegetarian diet can provide a healthy and nutritious alternative to a diet including meat.''

Mr Vogels called on the CSIRO to apologise to Australian livestock and dairy farmers for publishing what he believed was a "flawed'' climate change handbook.

He said the organisation had abandoned its 90-year charter to support agriculture industries.

"Former prime ministers Billy Hughes and Stanley Melbourne Bruce would be turning in their graves because they established the CSIRO to assist Australia's primary and secondary industries, not to attack or undermine farmers,'' Mr Vogels said.

"These former prime ministers would never have created the CSIRO if they knew it would one day be used as a vehicle to close down our beef, sheep and wool industries.''

Mr Vogels said taxpayer dollars should be spent on making coal-fired power stations greener by investing more in carbon geosequestration.

The CSIRO said the book was a "guide designed to help Australian households reduce their carbon footprints and take action against climate change''.

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According to your article, MP John Vogels used these words: "kindergarten view." This is no time to get emotional. I'd advise MP John Vogels to take the time to listen to NASA experts, scientists, medical doctors, PhDs, and many other intelligent and accomplished people in the world. There's a channel that talks about this sort of things, gathering data from all the wise and knowledgeable people: www.SupremeMasterTV.com
Posted by Nicole Goodwin, 28/09/2009 5:24:57 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
Could you please do a follow up interview with the honorable Mr Vogel? Please ask him to comment on the Nobel Peace Prize winning report published by the United Nations entitled, 'Livestock's Longshadow'. (and if he hasnt read it, then here is a link http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a07 01e/a0701e00.HTM) It gives a few startling facts on the damaging impact that livestock has on the environment. According to the report, livestock is producing more greenhouse gas emissions than all the transportation on the planet combined. I think its time someone organized a televised debate between the leading scientists from each side. As a society we need to know the truth and how we are going to fix global warming before its too late. Not sure if we can leave it up to our leaders. Thank you for this article.
Posted by John, 28/09/2009 6:09:49 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
Your first comment makes you sound very ignorant Mr Vogels. Of course we believe in climate change, that's because we belong to the group known as homo sapiens, unlike you, who belong in the group homo sap!
Posted by The Furore, 28/09/2009 8:52:31 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
This man is a joke. He obviously has no idea. He is the waste of tax payers money.
Posted by Dan, 28/09/2009 10:59:44 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
Science is supposed to be objective, and not sponsored by commercial interests. According to the WHO, a plant-based diet is more than sufficient for health and well being. Apart from this, there are studies to show that a diet free from livestock products is actually the way to avoid so many diseases from livestock and from livestock foods! Diabletes 11 is completely avoidable, and there is a China Study to show that health is related to how much livestock foods are avoided. As for carbon emission, Vogel is totally ignorant and is out of his depth!
Posted by Vivienne, 28/09/2009 12:29:52 PM, on The Warrnambool Standard
John Vogels is wasting my time complaining about this!! It is well known that Meat productin is a major greenhouse gas pollutant and not only that, but in victoria accounts for nearly 80% of agricultural water usage (the other 20% being grains fruits and veg production.) [Australian Bureau of Statistics, 4618.0 Water Use on Australian Farms. 2005-6.] Is it surprising that Mr Vogels has no statistics or scientific evidence to back up his claims? That's what Politicians do best...
Posted by harry fahey, 28/09/2009 1:56:22 PM, on The Warrnambool Standard
Mr Vogels is totally out of touch with climate change He probably has an interest in the beef or lamb industry One of Australias top scientists has said many times that methane from animal agriculture is one of the hottest greenhouse gases but is a shorter lived green house gas That methane is 72 times hotter over a 20 year peiod than C02 If we have MP's in power such as Mr Vogels - Heaven help Us Also the United Nations FAO report 2006 advised that methane is more potent than all the cars trucks and all the transport in the world put together, and nitrous oxide from animal agrigulture is aout 300 times more potent than all the transport in the world put together. The UN Report "Livestocks Long Shadow" also advised that flesh eating is the number one killer on the planet Mr Vogelks should read more before he makes his comments, he is obviously out of touch. The European Union has recently cut subsidies to the meat sector due to the harm that animal agriculture does to our climate, plus deforestation, plus use of water 20,000 - 40,000 litres of water to produce 1 kilo of beefsteak. Plus grain fed to animals could feed 2 billion people, we currently have 1 billion starving
Posted by Penelope, 29/09/2009 8:03:51 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
On the basis that this much needed handbook contains a web link to a website that advocates vegetarianism, Mr Vogels is has decided that that whole booklet is a waste of time. Cool. It’s a proven fact that more red meat people eat, the more resources are used up & more greenhouse gasses are produced. Especially in a country like Australia where it is hot & where vast distances are involved lots of resources are used in producing the feed for the cattle, trucking the cattle & meat about and keeping it cool. There is no suggestion that Australians should stop producing or eating meat, merely that there are both health and environmental benefits to a reduction of red meat production in Australia. In order to see some change in greenhouse gas emissions, we will actually need to make some changes ourselves. Some things that need to be changed may not be palatable to all but for once it would be nice if politicians were able to see beyond the next election. I would suggest that Mr Vogels should instead apologise for not being able to see the bigger picture & blindly attempting to continue with outdated policies that threaten to put all Australian farmers out of business.
Posted by C_Brooks, 29/09/2009 8:08:13 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
It saddens me that an MP leader can make this uneducated statement without looking into the facts from the UN report and the head of the CSIRO..yes MR John Voguls..that cow deserved to die for your stomach! I think you need to go back to Kindergarten!
Posted by Abboitoir cow, 29/09/2009 8:38:09 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
The veg diet is the QUICKEST way to reduce most of the most potent greenhouse gases in atmosphere. To cite only one report from the many showing this: Dr. Joop Oude Lohuis – (Department Director, Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency) conducted the study, “Climate Benefits of Changing Diet,” which analysed the chain of animal-raising activities from field to fork. Conclusions: If people go for a completely meatless diet in the next 10-15 years, then in the year 2050 we would have a 70% reduction of attaining the climate goals AND a completely vegan diet with no animal products would save an enormous 80% reduction by 2050. Because plant-based diets produce much more food for humans, some of the land not used to grow livestock could be turned back into carbon-absorbing forests, which are known to help reduce CO2 emissions. It calculated the monetary cost of halting climate change, which was defined as stabilising atmospheric CO2 at the level of 450 parts per million and concluded that US$20 trillion, or 50% of a total US$40 trillion estimated cost, could be saved from the global shift to a low-meat diet. MANY SCIENTIFIC studies have been done all coming to similar conclusions
Posted by Eve, 29/09/2009 8:41:29 AM, on The Warrnambool Standard
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MP John Vogels has a steak in protest against a CSIRO climate-change book urging people to eat less meat. Picture: THE AGE
MP John Vogels has a steak in protest against a CSIRO climate-change book urging people to eat less meat. Picture: THE AGE

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