FOOD PROLOGUE


WAITING FOR A TABLE!
(Prologue) 

ABSTRACT: Whether dining out or eating at home, what kind of food do you typically eat and savor? Particularly, the kind of food products that satisfy your typical dietary preference. For instance, do you prefer eating meat, dairy, or fish entrees or prefer vegetarian selections? If you favor the former, perhaps you might be interested in supplementing meals with vegetarian selections. Thus, not confronted by an Either/Or alternative that says you have only one choice. There’s also the stricter vegan or raw food dietary preference. Thus, a vegetarian meal of a rarer kind that excludes dairy options and fish (which some vegetarians add to their standard dietary preference). 
Here’s another question that’s equally relevant to the subject matter introduced in my treatise: Do you see a connection between your dietary preference and the environment? Specifically, whether some sources of food production are beneficial or harmful. Let me put this query another way: Do you see a connection between farm animals processed for meat or dairy products affecting the environment adversely, starting with the spoils of groundwater, soil, and the atmosphere? 
Whether you are aware or unaware of such matters, as a working title, Food Awareness & Sustainability sets its focal point on what people prefer eating, as well as what’s happening to the environment given the connection where food products originate. Whether the link is beneficial or detrimental, today’s growing eco-awareness centered on ecosystems is analogous to a shift of consciousness. A paradigm, as it were. 
Accordingly, the text’s all-embracing narrative of this edifying publication invites you to join nine friends who meet at a restaurant once a month where they discuss a variety of topics. This evening’s affair, however, centers on dietary preferences that may ultimately affect one’s well-being, as well as what benefits or harms the environment, either directly or indirectly. Notably, each of the nine guests seated at the table denotes his or her preference for a preferred and standard diet. Thus, among the gathering, some relish meat and dairy products and others who prefer vegetarian or vegan selections. One among them also advocates supplementing one’s preferences by sampling vegetarian or vegan edibles. Therefore, an easier transition from one dietary preference to another if one chooses to alter one’s standard dietary choices.
With this candid introduction in mind, welcome to Dr. Élan Santé’s Tucson, Arizona dinner party and debate. As the surrogate maitre d' (read “author”), the title of this book, particularly the subtitle, states the intent of both the directive and thesis of the narrative: 

Debating Dietary Preferences that Abet or Mar the Environment

In short, an inquiry about how different food products and the source of edibles corresponds to the biosphere at all levels. Fifty or so years ago, the collective environmental habitat was deemed gainful and fecund. Today, however, toxic and harmful are the typical replacement adjectives, starting with contaminated soil, groundwater, and the atmosphere. Consequently, people, as well as key industries, are becoming more proactive. Thus, looking for solutions to reverse the damage and threat.
Presented with this grim declaration, the three mentioned culprits are directly traceable to select food industries that process a variety of food products for human consumption, including a variety of pet food. Specifically, feedlots where livestock is impounded, slaughtered, processed, packaged, and distributed to numerous market outlets (i.e., grocery stores and restaurants). Normally, one wouldn’t expect piles of manure and airborne flatulence impairing the environment at any level. In fact, dairy cows and cattle––through no fault of their own––are responsible. Thus, adding to the already heavy carbon atmospheric footprint. Factor in confirmed unfavorable global climate change that likely began in the early 1990s, planetary changes are evident, despite rebuttals and refutations to the contrary. Proof for this assertion? So far, there is no corresponding modification that has spawned an environmental resurgence!
Presented with this evening’s colloquy that mainly centers on the symmetry of food and ecology, the gathering’s respective dietary preferences are diverse. Élan and his friends not only explicate the nutritional value of food (or the lack thereof) but also the direct or indirect collateral damage caused by the source of noted food products––the aforementioned feedlots and dairy industry. Naturally, the primary purpose of this month’s meeting of hearts and minds at one of Tucson’s 5-star restaurants is the enjoyment of sumptuous Middle Eastern cuisine. Nevertheless, Élan has something else on his mind that he wants to discuss and share with his friends. That something connects to his deceased wife, Grecian and he thinks this evening’s timely affair presents the ideal forum for sharing what they discussed during the last months of her life.
That being said, Élan and his companions are objective and eco-minded individuals who, despite their different dietary preferences, are cognizant of the sobering facts relative to sustenance and where food products originate. Like Élan, they are also aware of an augmented vegetarian or quasi-vegetarian faction, as well as the more demanding vegan and raw foodism community that champions the ethics of wellness, for both the consumer and the environment. The establishment where they meet is also pivotal. Thus, serving a gamut of entrees that satisfies all dietary preferences––meat, dairy, vegetarian, and vegan food. One among the group, Shakti, is also an admitted staunch vegan who claims the most discriminating dietary preference. More about her background is mentioned further along in this introduction.
Returning to the issue of environmental concerns that blends with this evening’s discourse, the continuing and alarming deterioration of the environment characterize the essence of such mitigated subject matter. For instance, how the increased use of mineral fertilizers coupled with greater greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions adds to the degradation of water and soil. Consequently, proven harmful environmental effects can be grouped into three categories: environmental contaminants/pollutants, depletion, and replenishment of natural resources, and population and community disruption. What environmental scientists have learned from years of research and empirical data is something most people aren’t aware of, and some who take for granted the cited problems are nominal, and, therefore, under control. For these individuals, the food products consumed are already processed and there is no sense wondering or worrying about the reputed spoils to the environment. 
However, what this mindset says and suggests is anathema compared to what more informed people already know: the food we eat entails functioning ecosystems working in concert, as well as uncontaminated groundwater, high-yielding soil (as in agriculture-based), and an unpolluted atmosphere capable of synthesizing sunlight and not hampered by carbon emissions. Moreover, the two of the three heavy hitters causing most of the environmental damage are indisputably the previously mentioned meat and dairy industries (the third attributed to fossil fuel industries). This principal point defines the primary thesis of Food Awareness & Sustainability while addressing two leading questions: 

Presented with the source of one’s dietary preference, is there a correlation between consuming an eco-friendly food selection (i.e., vegetarian or vegan) and a sustainable environment?

Presented with the realization and corroboration of known environmental stress and hazards caused by the meat and dairy-producing industries, what can be done about ongoing ruinous consequences?

As a corollary to nutrition and wellness, Élan summarizes the cogent matter in the following example, which addresses both queries: 

First, he relates an analogy of using different types of fuel for different types of engines. Namely, gasoline, kerosene, or diesel. Next, he correlates each type of fuel for the human body. Namely, what works best for health and performance? He then asks why put kerosene or diesel in a tank for engines that are made to run on gasoline? Finally, he states that even if one can find cheaper fuel, other than gasoline, would the individual risk the life and performance of the human engine?

The second question he addresses concerns having the choice to change the oil in the engine by one’s self or pay a service station to have the work done. If one chooses to do the work, would he or she let the oil spill on the ground or even into a stream to get rid of the oil? Thus, the direct link between food choices, nutrition, and the environment is established early on in the text. 


As a caveat to the reader, the motivation behind this publication does not seek to lambaste, condone, or promote any specific dietary preference. Instead, the first part of the two-part text garners insight and general information about food, food sources, and sustainability (or non-sustainability) factors based on various dietary preferences. The second part discusses anatomy, as well as prime examples are given what happens to select organs of the body affected by disease and neglect. Lest it goes unsaid, the free-spirited dialogue in the restaurant is not intended to intimidate or preach any specific philosophy predicated on such subject matter. Besides, the nine friends featured in the narrative represent all food preferences. For instance, some who enjoy meat and dairy products and some who prefer vegetarian or quasi-vegetarian meals. As mentioned, there is one among the gathering who advocates a strict vegan or a raw food preference (i.e., cooked and unprocessed). Presented with Shakti’s zealous perspective and enthusiasm for a healthier diet, Mark Twain fostered an entirely different perspective when he wrote, “The only way to keep your health is to eat what you don’t want, drink what you don’t like, and do what you’d rather not.” 
Regarding part one, which denote the four main entrees discussed at the restaurant, throughout this text there is no synthesis regarding the subject matter of food production and a corollary to the environment (i.e., agriculture and farm animals, both cattle and dairy), including dietary preferences that cause no harm or damage (i.e., organic and raw foods). This shared information merely offers a pragmatic perspective intended to enlighten readers about both aspects without favoring one or the other mindset and proclivity. That said, the contemporary social trend given such awareness is developing in many countries and continents, especially the United States, Europe, and Scandinavia. It also follows how more people are interested in learning about the nutritional value of food given what they consume. This expressed reality is especially valid when considering individuals who are diagnosed with potentially fatal diseases (i.e., diabetes, heart and liver ailments, high blood pressure, and similar other potential cancellation notices to one’s health and life). Therefore, embracing the concept of better nutrition entails eating better food to help preserve lives and defines the essence of proactive individuals who pay attention to what they’re eating. In short, people who realize there is more to food than just taste and aroma. 
As previously mentioned, there are also those who are concerned about the environment’s sustainability, just as they are concerned about the ruinous aspects caused by neglect and contamination. The bottom line: there is a growing concern and focus on Mother Earth, as Shakti often refers to the planet, and not just a dietary preference for food consumption. 
Promoting awareness without a forceful presentation to the evening soiree, Élan avoids disputation by pointing out an individual’s dietary preference denotes a corollary to eating and ecology. He also thinks both aspects are inextricably bound in an integral way. The six supplements in the second part of the text amplify this theme while exploring a more focused (i.e., academic and scientific) relationship between eating and the environment. Moreover, for those who have little or no knowledge about the organs and internal systems of the body (i.e., circulatory, respiratory, digestive, excretory, nervous, and endocrine), as well as how each function (or should function), this creative rewrite of Grey’s Anatomy elucidates the complexities of the human body and is explained in simple layman’s terms (see the below-listed Table of Contents).  
One more point to mention. . .despite Shakti’s radical dietary crusade (her husband’s occasional and teasing epithet), all the friends are tolerant of each other’s food preferences. Thus, non-judgmental given whatever perspective is discussed throughout the evening. Manifestly, the import of Food Awareness & Sustainability charts new waters. Given the lively debate centered on food selection, the source of food (i.e., feedlots, agriculture, automated milking systems (dairy farms) and how some food industries strain the environment by producing packaged meats of all kinds, canned goods, dairy products, vegetables, rice fields, including the spoils of aqua farming (i.e., chemicals changing the composition of the aquatic ecosystem, disease, and pollution due to the accumulation of fish waste and uneaten food that degrades the quality of the water), the text covers primary food and environmental aspects. Whether one prefers meat and dairy products or favors a vegetarian or vegan’s preference, organic and non-organic food products, the ecology, and key ecosystems all play a vital role in the combined matrix of sustenance and the environment. Depending on the source of food and the environs where food products originate, there are always prescribed consequences that can be beneficial or harmful. 
Given with this synopsis, the essence and memorandum to readers will monitor as an invisible guest, once the nine patrons meet at the restaurant. Throughout the entrees (chapters) presented in the first part of the text, the repartee is easygoing and sometimes argumentative. There is also a secondary aspect that promotes eco-awareness and discernment into a profound and integral symbiosis humans share with the environment. That said, the subject matter urges and epitomizes an individual’s tacit responsibility to maintain one’s health by way of nutrition but also champions a sustainable environment for future generations. In short, doing what we can to ensure the health and status of sustainable ecosystems for all time. Presented with such wise counsel, too  many people tend to think of the human genus as an eminent force and contender in the planet’s trophic levels (i.e., how energy flows through an ecosystem and essentially who eats what). At the very least, humankind is encouraged to do something about the ubiquitous and topical concern of a new millennium geared to a faltering environment on many levels, including the prophetic global warming. Thus, a credible threat. 


As for Dr. Santé’s eco-philosophy, he advocates less dependency on the meat and dairy processing industries. Moreover, and traditionally speaking, he is not an avowed vegetarian or vegan. Instead, and referring to what was mentioned earlier about Élan’s other agenda planned for this evening’s gathering, recently, he concluded how supplementing a standard dietary preference with a vegetarian or quasi-vegetarian diet is the ideal way to get started on a healthier diet, as well as selecting food sources having less of an impact on the environment because there are no processed farm animals. (Of course, depending on the credo of vegetarianism’s broad dietary standards, some meals can include fish, eggs, or dairy products but never animal flesh.) By seeking moderation in all things, starting with food preferences, Élan points out what Shakti openly admonishes: most people aren’t aware of a correlation between what they enjoy eating not only can ruinous to their health, but also adversely adverse effect the environment. For example, Agriculture contributes approximately seven percent of the total U.S. greenhouse gas emissions. Methane from enteric (microbial) fermentation represents some twenty percent and manure management seven percent of the total methane emitted. Factor in the rest of the world and the percentages are much higher.
Before meeting tonight’s guests and speakers, consider these five easy pieces (aphorisms) that speak directly to one of the greatest barriers to most minds—the ability to change: 

• "Things do not change, we do." (Henry David Thoreau)
• "Everyone thinks of changing the world, but no one thinks of changing himself." (Leo Tolstoy)
• "He who will not apply new remedies must expect new
evils." (Francis Bacon)
• "There is nothing permanent except change." (Heraclitus)
• "The world's apathetic and I really don't give a damn. Furthermore, I just want my steak and eat it, too. While you're at it, make mine bloody rare, and to hell with the environment and ecology and what's good for my health. In short, I'm simply not buying what you're preaching!" (source unknown, but fostered by too many people today) 

Hopefully, the introduction to this educational tome interests the reader. Meanwhile, mesdames et messieurs, pour ta santé, bon soir, et bon appetite! Salut (to your very good health and good evening)! We also praise the environmental health given Mother Earth’s ecosystems, including all animals great and small. As a life-giving organism, our planetary host might not need us as much as we need and depend on Her. Nevertheless, the fact is we vitally depend on the environment to sustain our lives and so does every living organism. It is, therefore, our actions and intentions that matter the most, and, therefore, not just the words we try to live by. Food & Cognizance is a text meant to whet appetites and stir consciousness to new heights using nutritional and environmental awareness.
I want to also mention the reader’s comments are also appreciated and can be sent via email as viewed on my website: www.richholtzin.com. Indeed, this second revision was made possible because of thoughtful and helpful advice and criticism expressed by some readers. 

Richard Kerry Holtzin
Flagstaff, Arizona


Please note: This text was originally published under the title, FOOD & COGNIZANCE –– Debating Conscious Food Choices for a Sustainable Environment

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