A great source of new jobs in the next few years could be in nutritional experts who could be employed by schools, restaurants, military, individuals, athletics, senior centers and anywhere else you might be planning meals. In this occupation they would plan healthier meals which could be more custom designed for the needs of the people they are serving.
In particular, I think there could be a great potential in offering nutritional planning services to individuals and families. With a medical checkup and an interview about preferences, activities, and capabilities, a custom meal plan could be produced for the family which would offer to bring down weight, improve cholesterol and diabetes, and improve long term health.
These meal plans should be offered as long term lifestyle changes, not short term diets, because to create lasting good health, permanent lifestyle changes should be needed.
They aren't even necessarily vegan diets, although vegan would be the ideal for everyone, and certainly having a custom vegan meal plan might be especially helpful for people with conditions that may limit them from many of the foods that most vegans depend on (such as gluten or wheat). Just getting people who want to eat healthier and improve their health access to custom meal planning is generally going to create a commitment to less animal flesh and more vegetables, and could certainly introduce people to the many healthy alternatives to animal products.
I have mentioned things to this effect before (I think) as I have been inclined towards a nutritional science degree for a while, but if anyone is interested in this type of work, it will certainly require years of college.
As far as getting this into a job-creation stimulus package, well it's going to take some organization.
Universal Health Care in an Unhealthy America
Everyone deserves to get treatment for health problems, just as everyone deserves police and fire protection, and every child deserves an education. Hospitals already use triage, where the people with the most dire problems get treated first. What happens after treatment is either people get back to their lives, or they go bankrupt from hospital bills, this is the difference between universal health care and our current system. Some people don't even get treatment, such as the man shown in Michael Moore's Sicko, who lost two fingers in an accident and had the option of sewing them back on at a cost of $10,000 for the middle finger and $12,000 for the index finger, he couldn't afford both, so he had to choose which he would get reattached.
This is all background for universal health care, which I hope we can agree is a good thing for society. It certainly works well in other countries around the world.
There is a problem for universal health care that I've been pondering, and that is how unhealthy many Americans tend to be lately. It seems that the people who would be using the health care services the most would be those who sat around eating junk food until their arteries start bursting. The tax burden of universal health care is equal, but the people who live unhealthy lifestyles would be using the greatest share of the health services.
This is why there needs to be reform in the health care system first, specifically, instead of doctors getting kickbacks for prescribing cholesterol drugs, doctors need to focus more on preventative care, telling patients to adopt healthier lifestyles earlier.
The consumption of meat and dairy creates so many health issues, and these issues are well known, so perhaps the solution is to make treatment of illness related to these unhealthy lifestyles something that wouldn't be covered under universal health care. This is a measure that really shouldn't have to be taken, but given the current state of health in this country, I am beginning to think universal health care wouldn't be so great after all.
Perhaps a good first step is to only guarantee coverage for accidental or non-preventable issues. Breaking a leg or cutting a finger off shouldn't bankrupt someone, and the injury should certainly be fixed, so the person can get back to their life. Diseases relating to genetics should be covered, but there's certainly plenty of questionable areas. Liver disease in alcoholics? STD's? It would really be easier just to give everyone the health care they need, but with so many people who seem so determined to eat themselves to death, it doesn't seem like something we can afford.
Update: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2009%2F03%2F17%2FED3K16FAI8.DTL this is a similar and excellent article.
This is all background for universal health care, which I hope we can agree is a good thing for society. It certainly works well in other countries around the world.
There is a problem for universal health care that I've been pondering, and that is how unhealthy many Americans tend to be lately. It seems that the people who would be using the health care services the most would be those who sat around eating junk food until their arteries start bursting. The tax burden of universal health care is equal, but the people who live unhealthy lifestyles would be using the greatest share of the health services.
This is why there needs to be reform in the health care system first, specifically, instead of doctors getting kickbacks for prescribing cholesterol drugs, doctors need to focus more on preventative care, telling patients to adopt healthier lifestyles earlier.
The consumption of meat and dairy creates so many health issues, and these issues are well known, so perhaps the solution is to make treatment of illness related to these unhealthy lifestyles something that wouldn't be covered under universal health care. This is a measure that really shouldn't have to be taken, but given the current state of health in this country, I am beginning to think universal health care wouldn't be so great after all.
Perhaps a good first step is to only guarantee coverage for accidental or non-preventable issues. Breaking a leg or cutting a finger off shouldn't bankrupt someone, and the injury should certainly be fixed, so the person can get back to their life. Diseases relating to genetics should be covered, but there's certainly plenty of questionable areas. Liver disease in alcoholics? STD's? It would really be easier just to give everyone the health care they need, but with so many people who seem so determined to eat themselves to death, it doesn't seem like something we can afford.
Update: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=%2Fc%2Fa%2F2009%2F03%2F17%2FED3K16FAI8.DTL this is a similar and excellent article.
food source maps
maps comparing food sources, vegan would use small local gardening, in vegan winter areas canning and a larger seasonal area is used
factory farmed animals would have arrows from huge swaths of corn to animals to slaughterhouses to cities, grass fed animals arrows would be short in a few areas
unused areas would provide ecosystem services,
smaller arrows for light transport, larger arrows for polluting transport
show current arrow map for a city, compared to the map for the same city with vegan sourcing
factory farmed animals would have arrows from huge swaths of corn to animals to slaughterhouses to cities, grass fed animals arrows would be short in a few areas
unused areas would provide ecosystem services,
smaller arrows for light transport, larger arrows for polluting transport
show current arrow map for a city, compared to the map for the same city with vegan sourcing
how marketing destroyed the planet
it was marketing that introduced people around the world to the fast food diets of america, marketing made it easy and cheap to have this novel meal every day, marketing, information, it's not harmless, because marketing is driven by profit, expanding as far and fast as it can. there is no restraint and no consideration of future, only win win win.
the voice of reason that says 'your diet is destroying rainforests' 'your diet is giving you diseases and cancer' simply doesn't have the money and marketing to have that global reach. so i'm blogging about it, who will that reach? who can peta reach? word of mouth takes time to spread. and marketing is quick to counter, with money, glittery commercials, paid actors, total ignorance of harm.
the voice of reason that says 'your diet is destroying rainforests' 'your diet is giving you diseases and cancer' simply doesn't have the money and marketing to have that global reach. so i'm blogging about it, who will that reach? who can peta reach? word of mouth takes time to spread. and marketing is quick to counter, with money, glittery commercials, paid actors, total ignorance of harm.
news: africa food shortage
Increasing food supply by eating vegetables directly would easily provide food aid to end hunger problems in africa. There have been riots, migrations, nation-state failure, and people are killing monkeys for food, and this is bringing exposure to another potential pandemic disease.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/08/pip.zoonotics/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
There is more than enough food for the world, it's just being used inefficiently to feed animals. Saying that animal rights people should stop worrying about animals when there is human suffering going on have got it backwards. Animal eaters are hurting animals and humans.
http://www.cnn.com/2008/WORLD/africa/12/08/pip.zoonotics/index.html?iref=mpstoryview
There is more than enough food for the world, it's just being used inefficiently to feed animals. Saying that animal rights people should stop worrying about animals when there is human suffering going on have got it backwards. Animal eaters are hurting animals and humans.
vegan 401k
I've got a small 401k account, and I was thinking, I don't know what companies that fund is invested in! I could be invested in hot dogs! Gah! I've got to figure out how to move my 401k to turtle island, then maybe I'll get discounts on tofurkey =D
Anyone know anything about a vegan 401k? I suppose it takes some research into the companies to start something like that. And law degrees and stuff. Garsh!
Anyone know anything about a vegan 401k? I suppose it takes some research into the companies to start something like that. And law degrees and stuff. Garsh!
Ideas at change.org
Barack Obama has started a website which is a sort of forum for collecting ideas. The site is: Change.org. There's an animal rights section and an agricultural policy section which I think we may have some things to say about. Anyone can post an idea, comment on ideas, and vote for ideas.
I posted one today here:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view_idea/stop_subsidizing_animal_industries
I posted one today here:
http://www.change.org/ideas/view_idea/stop_subsidizing_animal_industries
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