In the two-year period of time that was required to write this book and have it published, there has been an increase in attention—at least in some developed countries, such as the U.S.—given to the plight of our environment. Although known for decades by some, the effect on our planet of our choice of food as it involves livestock has finally made mainstream media headlines. Since 2007, a few authors have written books that begin to make the connection between the industrialization of foods and some—but certainly not all—of the effects on our planet. Because of this, I feel Comfortably Unaware will be read by two distinct audiences:
One audience will have kept abreast of the news, read the books or heard the authors, and acquired a base of understanding about this connection, but their knowledge needs to reach another level of accuracy and comprehension, with unique perspectives, which Comfortably Unaware will provide for them. Until now, they have heard only a story that is incomplete and, at times, inaccurate.
The second audience will be those who are vaguely (or not at all) aware of the connection of food choice and its effect on our planet—and there are many, many individuals in this category. For this group, every chapter will be enlightening.
If you are a reader in the first group, however, I would suggest that your focus as you read should be on having been afforded another level of awareness beyond what you have been exposed to by other authors or various media. For example, it is not just the excessive use of fossil fuel or contribution to global warming that should concern us with regard to raising livestock. Instead, we should be concerned about all the effects. It also is simply not sustainable for us to continue to eat animals, even if they are grass-fed. This is particularly true on a global food production scale. Additionally, we need to be aware of our oceans and the fishing industry as that affects global depletion. The impact of our food choices is not just a land-based issue. Our water supply is severely affected by our food choices as well, as is world hunger.
We are witnessing what could only be considered the sixth era of extinction on our planet because of an accelerated loss of biodiversity. The leading cause of this massive loss of plants, insects, and animals is our current choice of animal products as food. And regardless of whether the animals you eat are grass- or grain-fed, it is not sustainable for your own long-term health to eat them.
Most important, though, is the way in which this information is disseminated and ultimately used (or not used) to develop global strategies. Comfortably Unaware will provide you with information regarding all the areas of sustainability affected by eating animals and how various decision-making organizations are, in many instances, mismanaging it. Those of you who already feel somewhat enlightened may have recently been exposed to the information you’ll find in the first few chapters, but your journey through the rest of this book will provide you with a new level of understanding, new perspectives, and new solutions. And, regardless of which group you may fit into as a reader, once you have fully read Comfortably Unaware, all the dots should be connected for you about this evolving and immensely crucial topic.
Once in a while, a story comes along that needs to be told. More infrequently, a story comes along that needs to be heard. This is one of those stories—except that this is not just a story. It is very real, and it affects all of us on earth. A number of individuals and large businesses and organizations would rather this story not be told; much of the public most likely does not want to hear it. Comfortably Unaware, however, reveals the truth about what we eat and what it is doing to us—and to the sustainability of our planet. It is not just another book about food. Comfortably Unaware is about being just that—comfortably unaware—about this truth and how we can make a change for the better.
The intent of Comfortably Unaware is to provide an unbiased informational base upon which readers can, at the very least, be afforded the opportunity to increase their awareness of food choice as it affects their lives and the life of our planet, each and every day. I wrote Comfortably Unaware to dispel widely held myths and offer a clearer and more truthful perspective about this suppressed subject. From this informational base, there is hope that proper decisions will be made to make a positive impact on the health of our world.
Food and the nutrients it contains are essential to our very existence. Food has been the nucleus around which social and cultural experiences occur. Food has been the reason for the success or failure of past civilizations, as well as for us as individuals today. Over the previous century, the food we’ve consumed in developed countries—and particularly in the United States—has become more industrialized and more commercialized. As such, the origins of our food have become less understood and less important, with little or no appreciation of the resources required to produce it. The current state of our food industry is forged by business and often political agendas, whereby the only measurement of success has been with economic standards. Unfortunately, this myopic and selfish view has created a food production system that overlooks public and environmental health. So strong has this industrial food system become that the realities of food origins and true cost of damages to our planet’s health have been obscured and suppressed by a complex overlapping of large business interests and political, media, social, and cultural influences.
You and most other consumers make purchase decisions, including those involving food, based on one or a combination of factors: price, trusted recommendations or by association, convenience, taste familiarity, necessity, etc. Rarely does one choose and buy food items based on where, how, why, or from what that item was derived or its cost to our environment. Certainly, the true origin of what we eat—the path and story of how it arrived on your plate or in your mouth—should be known. This journey and the true cost in used resources and the effect on your health and that of our planet should be understood and taken into consideration with each food choice made. These food choice realities should also be placed back into the equation as a parameter of success or failure of our entire worldwide food production system.
Comfortably Unaware reveals facts and provides fresh perspectives by exploring how food choices affect our land, water, air, pollution, biodiversity, true sustainability, and our personal health. I structured Comfortably Unaware to resemble more of a symphony than a conventional nonfiction book—that is, the initial chapters serve as a prelude that establishes an appreciation and better understanding for hearing the crescendo—the final chapters that follow.
I would like to extend a special thank you to Dr. Jane Goodall for authoring “Harvest for Hope,” which provides a global view of our current food choices with themes of sensitivity and hope. Other authors have paved the way and have written about food choices as they relate to our health and various disease states. To them, I am very grateful and acknowledge their commitment and accomplishments. Although there have been many, specifically I would like to thank Dr. Neal Barnard of the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, and Dr. Dean Ornish of the Preventive Medicine Research Institute.
Over the years, I have lectured extensively on this topic to numerous audiences and have written many, many notes and articles. In fact, each chapter of Comfortably Unaware and many of the subtopics could have been developed into multiple books. The difficulty I found, then, was how to condense this enormously important subject into a book for the masses that would provide awareness, create intellectual stimulation, and effect positive change. I wrote Comfortably Unaware quite carefully, in a way that would present research without seeming too academic, that would relate difficult-to-believe facts without seeming too “in your face,” and at the same time, offering new, challenging perspectives without appearing too theoretical or smug.
The first two chapters prepare the reader with a definition of global depletion as it relates to food, and they provide relevant facts and figures to serve as tools to help with appreciation for the rest of the book.
Chapters III through VII are devoted to each area of depletion—our air, rainforests, land, water and oceans, and pollution. This separates, in a clear format, each area of our earth that is becoming irreversibly depleted by our food choices.
Chapters VIII through XI are intellectual in nature but easy to read and compelling. They provide insight on how this crisis happened and how to solve it. These are the chapters that separate Comfortably Unaware from all other books, as they provide never-before-seen perspectives about our culture.
Numerous books have been written about various diets and food as it relates to our health. Many also are now available about global warming and climate change. Comfortably Unaware is the first to bring to light the much larger and more insidious issue of global depletion as it relates to food. I have not cut corners or suppressed topics to avoid exposing businesses, institutions, or individuals and I am not concerned whether or not it is a risky business move for me to write this book. I also have not withheld or modified information because it may be difficult for you, the reader, to accept it or because it may be culturally or socially overloading for you.
So, my agenda is clear: to provide you with complete truth and compel you to understand all the issues of this critical topic. It is my sincere hope that you become more aware of and sensitive to the ubiquitous effect of your food choices and that a positive difference can be made in your life and in the health of our planet and all its inhabitants.