[...]reducing our energy consumption, Sharon argues, is how we contribute to solving the distribution problem.

Which is why my employer is running this program, of which I am a representive. It’s not much per person, but across 19000 employees, it can add up.

I have allergies to soy, wheat, and nuts. I have been vegan for 4 years and am in great health, at least according to my doctor.

You can be vegan if you really want to. :)

There do exist people with allergies to soy and diabetes (like me, for example). Do you have any idea how hard it would be for me to maintain a vegetarian diet and die of malnutrition?

However, points about grain (and corn!) being used to feed livestock are spot on. Animals such as cows are healthiest when the graze on grass (which cannot be consumed by humans. Meat coming from cows which feed solely on grass is food that would not have existed without the cows themselves). Feeding them corn causes bloating first, and infections later, which has cattle farmers feeding their cattle lots of antibiotics with their daily feed. Cattle consume antibiotics on a staggering level… and this is contributing to antibiotic-resistant bacteria.

I agree that buying Fair Trade is a good first step, as is staying away from biofuels (seemed like a good idea at the time, but we can’t afford the market consequences). We’re going to have to go farther than that, though, and really start eating locally and lower on the food chain. I’m not convinced that veganism or vegetarianism is necessary – if you live in the Midwest, some organic, grass-fed beef is entirely ecologically appropriate every once in a while – but reducing our energy consumption, Sharon argues, is how we contribute to solving the distribution problem. (Tons o’ links and citations over there.)