The
city of Portland has long been upheld as a role model in environmental
policies in areas from energy-efficient buildings to food and
agriculture.
Steve Cohen – Manager, Food Policy and Programs, Portland, Oregon’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, USA, Vegetarian (M):
We were the first city to actually have a climate change plan way back
in 1993 and we just updated that plan last year in 2009.
VOICE: Portland’s citizens also say that sustainability is a known part of their culture.
Leslie Pol-kosbau – Representative, Portland Parks & Recreation Community Garden Program (F):
I represent Portland Parks & Recreation’s Community Garden Program,
providing community garden spaces in the city for 35 years. The
citizens of Portland wanted us to start a program that would allow them
to use land so that they could do that year-round.
VOICE: Mr.
Steve Cohen, manager of the Food Policy and Programs of Portland,
Oregon’s Bureau of Planning and Sustainability, is the first US city
government official with the title. The creation of his position
reflects how the city is also at the forefront of addressing food policy
in relation to environmental protection and climate change.
The
City Hall recently held a public “Climate and Food Choices Discussion”
with Mr. Cohen and author Anna Lappé of the bestselling book, “Diet for
a Hot Planet” to seek ways to reduce greenhouse gas emissions from
food. This was followed by a community vegetable garden re-dedication
activity, led by Mr. Cohen, who is also a long-time vegetarian.
Steve Cohen (M): I
read Francis Moore Lappé’s book in 1972, “Diet for a Small Planet,” and
it just made total sense to me. That we’ve got these animals out there
that are actually food factories in reverse, putting all this grain in
them and you get one pound back for 20 that you put in. Didn’t make
sense, and I became a vegetarian and that was it.
VOICE: With
the veg diet known to be a key solution to climate change, Portland City
also has a head start, with 35 community vegetable gardens and ranking
as America’s #1 Best Vegetarian-Friendly Large City by the People for
the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA).
Moreover, in April
2010, The Oregonian, the largest newspaper in both Portland and the
Pacific Northwest region of the USA, launched a twice-monthly column on
Oregonlive.com called “Going Vegan,” which features recipes and other
tips on enjoying a vegan lifestyle in Portland.
Bravo Portland
and thank you Mr. Cohen, the city government and co-citizens for your
leadership in the area of food and the environment.
May yours
and other cities worldwide help continue the veg trend for truly
sustainable lifestyles. In a November 2009 videoconference in Mexico,
Supreme Master Ching Hai encouraged all world governments toward leading
roles in the needed shift to veganism to save the planet.
Supreme Master Ching Hai:
The governments have the power to make this urgent transition to the
organic vegan diet. First, they should ban all animal products,
informing people about the facts of animal products, explaining that
because it’s poisoning their co-citizens and piling up far more costs
than
any gains, economically and environmentally, and because it’s eating up our planet.
Next,
the governments can help the agriculture sector transition to being an
organic vegan sector First, it will help the world be veg easily, thus
eliminating more than half of the greenhouse gas emissions which are
heating up our planet and endangering our lives; and second, the
high-quality organic soil will absorb much of the rest of the greenhouse
gas emissions and it will also help to save our planet.
According
to respected Dutch scientists, tens of trillions of US dollars can be
saved by world governments if all the world becomes vegan. In addition,
the governments of the world have the power to make the veg trend an
exciting movement for everyone toward a healthier lifestyle.
http://www.portlandonline.com/bps/index.cfm?c=49989& http://vegnews.com/web/articles/page.do?pageId=143&catId=6 http://www.goveg.com/f-vegcities-portland.asphttp://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2010/04/posole_and_column_about_fresh.html http://www.oregonlive.com/foodday/index.ssf/2010/03/a_vegans_journey.html
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