049 | Combating the Global Anti-Meat Narrative with Diana Rodgers of Sustainable Dish
Our newest episode, Combating the Global Anti-Meat Narrative with Diana Rodgers of Sustainable Dish, is now available on: Apple Podcasts | Spotify | Stitcher | Google Podcasts | iHeart Radio
Today, we are excited to have an Advocacy episode! In these episodes, we’ll cover topics around advocating for agriculture and interviewing changemakers in the industry who are passionate about ag. We've discussed the Global Anti-Meat Narrative before but never with a guest so gear up for a great episode. In today’s episode of Combating the Global Anti-Meat Narrative, we cover several important topics including:
Covering the facts about animal protein is an essential part of our diet
How to start advocating for agriculture and how it relates to our diet
The real problem in today's food production and how food is marketed to consumers
The lack of real information being shared about animal agriculture and what we can do to change that
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How to Combat the Global Anti-Meat Narrative
We cannot wait to dig into today’s episode. One thing we should note is that one of our co-hosts, Tara is away filming for our docu-series so it will just be Natalie Kovarik chatting with Diana Rodgers today. One of the very first topics that are broken down on the show today, is how meat is being portrayed across the globe. Diana has been traveling the world, spreading the news that meat is not the villain. It is crucial to agriculture and it is a crucial part of our diet. Before getting even deeper into this conversation, you should go check out the Global Food Justice Alliance for more resources and graphics to share on this topic.
Cattle and Climate in Relation to Nutrition
One of the aspects of changing the anti-meat narrative is the argument that cattle have on the environment. If you’re familiar with our platform, then you know we share quite a bit on the environmental aspects, but Diana takes this conversation to the next level. In this part of the conversation, Natalie and Diana start talking about the Arable vs Non-Arable land discussion. Did you know that 60% or more of the global agricultural land is not suitable for growing crops? This is just one part of the conversation that you can share with your own audience about changing the narrative around meat.
Removing Animal Agriculture is Not the Solution
When you tune into this episode, around the 19:00 minute mark, Diana mentions the view that George Monbiot has, where he claims that “Agriculture is arguably the most destructive industry on Earth”. Diana listened to him speak at the Groundswell Conference, where he essentially tore down English farmers telling them that farming was killing the planet. What he suggested was to stop all farming practices and just plant trees to let nature take its course. When in reality, Diana mentions that we have a growing population that doesn’t have access to nutrient-dense food so by eliminating animal agriculture, we would actually be increasing the nutrient deficiency problem worldwide.
Study About Removing Animal Agriculture: https://www.pnas.org/doi/10.1073/pnas.1707322114
The Future of Animal Agriculture
When wrapping up this conversation, Natalie asks Diana to share what her thoughts are on what the future of animal agriculture looks like based on what she’s seeing from traveling the globe. After spending a lot time in New Zealand and Wales, Diana shares that farmers are getting tired of getting beat up for feeding the planet. In a time where we are seeing more and more restrictions on farmers and ranchers, this is the time when it’s time to step up our advocacy and turn up the heat on combating this narrative around agriculture.
About Diana Rodgers & Sustainable Dish
Diana Rodgers, RD, is a “real food” nutritionist and sustainability advocate near Boston, Massachusetts.
She’s an author of three books, runs a clinical nutrition practice, hosts the Sustainable Dish Podcast, and has served as an advisory board of numerous nutrition and agriculture organizations including Whole30, Animal Welfare Approved and Savory Institute.
Diana is a leader in sustainable food systems and speaks internationally about the intersection of optimal human nutrition, regenerative agriculture, and food politics. Diana is co-author of, Sacred Cow: The Case for (Better) Meat and the director, producer of the companion film, Sacred Cow. Her new initiative, the Global Food Justice Alliance, advocates for a nutritious, sustainable and equitable worldwide food system.
Resources and links mentioned in this episode:
Follow Diana Rodgers on Instagram
About Elevate Ag the Podcast
Where can I find tools and strategies to confidently and effectively share my story online? How do I monetize my brand? Where can I find community among women in agriculture and business? Can I cultivate my passion while also making money?
Welcome to Elevate the Podcast where we will answer ALL of these questions and so much more! Hosts Tara Vander Dussen and Natalie Kovarik, along with their guests, will bring you tangible advice, useful tools, and bold strategies that you can implement to drive your business forward and elevate the voice of agriculture. This business interview and storytelling podcast serves agriculture, western and rural entrepreneurs who want to excel in the social space and make their dreams a reality. Tune in every week to dig into entrepreneurs’ stories as they share the problems they encountered and opportunities they created as a way to educate, inspire and encourage the dreamer inside of all of us.
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