Why this is a Global Human Problem

Vegetarians for the Climate

Yesterday I had someone seriously question why I was a vegetarian. Its been a Really Long Time since this has happened. I had assumed that, at this point in the United States, most people had heard about factory farming. I figured that everyone had taken a second to look at the packaging of their food, list of ingrediants, and considered how much processing and travel had taken place. And I thought people had seen the various fake-meat products that were available to make the transition easier.

I found myself explaining the ethics and the larger picture of it and how I felt that this was a simple personal choice I was making. But, I also found myself talking about how this isnt't for me, but for the larger community, not animals but people and the health of the environment.

Perfect timing. Take a look at this Washington Post op-ed on whether eating meat is a personal choice.

James E. McWilliams writes: "So it's hard to avoid concluding that eating cannot be personal. What I eat influences you. What you eat influences me. Our diets are deeply, intimately and necessarily political."

No Deal in Copenhagen?

Leaders Will Delay Deal on Climate Change

"President Obama and other world leaders have decided to put off the difficult task of reaching a climate change agreement at a global climate conference scheduled for next month, agreeing instead to make it the mission of the Copenhagen conference to reach a less specific “politically binding” agreement that would punt the most difficult issues into the future."

Instead of attempting to hammer out a final pact, negotiators will seek a "politically binding" agreement—one that will likely lay out broad principles rather than concrete specifics.

What does this mean for the International Youth Delegation? How do you think we should shift our focus?