Pound for pound, raw lentils have more protein than steak. A handful of almonds provides about six grams of protein, about the amount you’d get from eating an egg. So why does the animal industry get to own an objective nutritional term that applies just as well—if not better—to so many other foods? Rebranding animal flesh as anodyne 'protein' amounts to whitewashing. It immunizes them from revulsion by taking the sting out of calling it what it is, which is animal flesh.
Mention the word “protein” and most people will think of steak or
eggs or some other animal product. Order a nice, healthy salad at a
restaurant and the server will no doubt try to upsell you by asking,
“would you like to add a protein with that?” Your choices?
Invariably, beef, chicken or fish.
But consider this: Pound for pound, raw lentils have more
protein than steak. A handful of almonds provides about six grams of
protein, about the amount you’d get from eating an egg.
So why does the animal industry get to own an objective nutritional
term that applies just as well—if not better—to so many other foods?
Rebranding animal flesh as anodyne “protein” amounts to
whitewashing, says Priscilla Feral, president of Friends of Animals.
“It immunizes them from revulsion by taking the sting out of calling
it what it is, which is animal flesh.”
“The problem is, these chefs and food companies are perpetuating a
tunnel-visioned conception of what protein is,” Feral wrote in an
“In My View” column published in late December. “They’re
disregarding the merit of vegetable protein. Rest assured; you can
meet your protein needs with plant-based foods alone.”
Fortunately, major news outlets appear to be heeding FoA’s call to
“make animal-free protein the norm in 2024.” Both The New York Times
and The Washington Post kicked off the new year with substantial
news articles extolling the virtues of plant-based protein, not only
to save the lives of millions of cows, billions of chickens and
trillions of fish each year, but to save the planet.
“The lentil is again on the front lines,” opined Michael J. Coren in
a Post article about why you should eat lentils every day. “This
time, against climate change. While start-ups scramble to engineer a
sustainable protein, from lab-grown meat to fake burgers, lentils
are a ready solution, one with a proven record.”
“And unlike red meats, particularly those that have been
processed, lentils have none of the saturated fats and additives
that raise the risks of cancer and heart disease,” Coren added.
“Legumes are a key source of plant-based protein in the
Mediterranean diet,” observed Alice Callahan, health and science
reporter for the Times. “One cup of cooked beans, lentils or peas
contains about 15 grams of protein — just under a quarter of the
daily needs of an average adult. And research suggests that people
who get more of their protein from plant (rather than animal)
sources tend to live longer, healthier lives.”
For Feral, who has followed a vegan lifestyle for decades and has
been fighting to end the cruelty toward and exploitation of animals
even longer, the clarion call for plant-based proteins came last
summer with new research from the University of Oxford. The study
found that, compared to meat-heavy diets, vegan diets resulted in 75
percent less land use, 54 percent less water use, and 66 percent
less biodiversity loss. In terms of greenhouse gas emissions, people
who ate more than 3.5 ounces of meat daily accounted for 22.5 pounds
of carbon dioxide emissions a day compared to vegan diets which
accounted for 5.4 pounds of carbon dioxide a day.
Animal agriculture and land use directly accounts for 18.4% of
global greenhouse gas emissions, according to a report published by
Climate Watch and the World Resources Institute. The publication
noted that the provision of adequate grazing land and food for
livestock fuels deforestation, while the animals also produce
tremendous quantities of methane, a greenhouse gas found to be up to
87 times more potent than carbon dioxide over a 20-year period.
The meat and dairy industry’s response to this irrefutable evidence?
More “greenwashing” and a massive lobbying effort aimed at
convincing people that animal protein can be climate friendly. Tyson
has launched a brand called Brazen Beef, which is selling steaks and
other cuts of meat marketed as “climate friendly,” reports The
Washington Post.
Talk about brazen. Tyson justifies this misinformation by claiming
it raises cattle in a way that emits 10 percent fewer greenhouse
gases than the industry average. Worse, the U.S. Department of
Agriculture has approved Tyson’s “climate-friendly” marketing scheme
for Brazen Beef.
“Eating a hamburger is always the worst choice for the climate,”
climate activist Scott Faber told the Post. His organization, the
Environmental Working Group, is petitioning the USDA to revoke the
misleading label. “There is no such thing as a climate-friendly
hamburger,” said Faber.
Sigal Samuel of Vox.com likens Big Meat’s deceitful spin to Big
Oil’s decades-long quest to deny climate science. “These companies
have spent millions of dollars lobbying against climate policies and
funding dubious research that tries to blur the links between animal
agriculture and our climate emergency.”
So let’s stop the efforts by the meat and dairy industry to claim that their “protein” is in any way healthier for people or the planet than plant-powered protein. BE VEGAN!