The guy’s leading the charge to invigorate global warming advocacy, he’s consistently getting attention for the issue in the mainstream media, and he’s setting the agenda by which people think about global warming and its effect on our lives. So why the hell is PETA publicly rebuking him? Well, honestly, it’s for pretty much those same reasons. It’s great that he cares —; it really is — but for him to leave factory farming (i.e., the number one cause of the problem in the first place) out of the debate just because it doesn’t seem particularly convenient to him to have to reevaluate his lifestyle is irresponsible to a degree that’s almost unfathomable in light of the influence that he has on public opinion about this issue.

Of course, if you’ve been reading this blog more or less regularly, you will have already heard variations on this theme—but I’m bringing it up again today to highlight a really fantastic article by PETA Vice President Bruce Friedrich in yesterday’s Huffington Post. Here’s an excerpt:

“Personal choices can only be allowed to go so far. For example, most environmentalists would agree that people shouldn't have the personal choice to dump their motor oil in a river. And if our choices involve direct support for the number one human cause of global warming—and a refusal to even mention the meat industry when telling people what they can do to decrease their global-warming footprint—at what point is someone's oversight on such a crucial issue cause for publicly calling them out on it?”

I think Bruce nails it with this one, so be sure to check out the full article here, and feel free to comment with your perspective. I know this issue’s a bit controversial, but it’s a vitally important discussion to have.

-Jack

Here’s how this works: By neglecting to address the number one cause of global warming, Al Gore—as one of the world’s most prominent environmental advocates—is arguably doing a fair bit of damage to his cause. So if he’s not going to set an example by boycotting the industry that generates 40 percent more greenhouse-gas emissions than all the cars, trucks, ships, and planes in the world combined … well, somebody needs to pick up the slack.

Which is where OffsetAlGore.com comes in. Visitors to the site can learn the full extent of the meat industry’s role in causing global warming, and actually do something to help stem the tide by taking a pledge to go vegetarian for 30 days. That's enough time to prevent the release of more than 270 pounds of carbon dioxide into the Earth's atmosphere, and a more effective way of combating pollution than giving up driving every weekday for the same amount of time. As PETA VP Bruce Friedrich puts it:

"Visitors to OffsetAlGore.com can undo some of the damage that Al Gore is doing to the environment every time he sits down to a steak. Mr. Gore's own addiction to meat is adding to the very crisis he's devoting his life to stopping."

Anyway, check out the site, take the pledge (if you haven’t already), and let me know what you think of the campaign. We’re big admirers of Al Gore’s work here, but it really seems like the guy is doing his own cause a serious disservice by avoiding the single most important issue facing the environment today.

In case you thought we were just kidding when we wrote to Al Gore urging him to go vegetarian to help stop global warming, maybe this ad will clarify our position for you.

The evidence is in, and though it may be a little inconvenient for Mr. Gore to hear, the facts don’t lie. This U.N. report shows that animals raised for food generate more greenhouse gases than all cars and trucks combined, and goes on to say that meat is "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global," including land degradation, air pollution, water shortage and pollution, loss of biodiversity, and of course climate change. And according to a recent University of Chicago study, switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Prius. We even went so far as to offer to cook him faux “fried chicken” as an intro to vegetarian meals, since, no matter how many of those cool little energy saving light bulbs you put in, the reality is that there just isn’t such a thing as a meat-eating environmentalist.

This story about the whole issue ran in The New York Times today, but Gore declined to comment. Mr. Gore, you’ve done so much good by putting yourself out there as the face of the anti-global warming movement, and you’re so right on so much of it, but come on, it really is high time to put some substance behind it by leading by example and doing the single most effective thing you can do to address the issue: simply going vegetarian.

As you probably know, our letter to Al Gore, urging him to go vegetarian to reduce global warming, has been covered by media all over the place. But my favorite piece so far comes from a recent segment on The Glenn Beck Show on Headline News. Whether you’re a fan of Glenn or not, this certainly makes for some riveting television. Enjoy!

By now, most people in the country, and certainly everyone in the blogosphere, have heard about the letter we sent Al Gore urging him to face the reality that while the steps he asks people to take in An Inconvenient Truth are certainly important, the most effective way to stop climate change is through diet change. So, for Big Al (oh and by the way, vegetarians weigh, on average, 10 percent less than their meat eating-counterparts … I'm just saying) we want to make the veg thing easy by offering to cook him food and giving him recipes.

The story has been covered all over the world, but my favorite by far is the Fox News piece that starts with “Can Al Gore be a meat-eating environmentalist? PETA says no… and is offering to cook the following meal for the former vice president to prove it!” and goes on to list the vegan recipes we are offering to cook for him. Brit Hume also talked about the issue on his show last night, which is pretty cool too.

Anyway, since this whole thing made the news, we’ve been getting tons of requests for the recipes, so here you go. Have fun!

Fried 'Chicken'
(Makes 4 servings)

Ingredients:
1 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. onion powder
1 tsp. pepper
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 cups unbleached white flour
4 Tbsp. nutritional yeast (optional)
3 Tbsp. yellow mustard
1/2 cup water
2 Tbsp. baking powder
1 lb. soy chicken (Morningstar farms chicken strips)
3 1/2 cups vegetable oil

Method:
Mix together the salt, onion powder, pepper, garlic powder, flour, and nutritional yeast in a deep bowl.
In a separate bowl, dilute the mustard with 1/2 cup water.
Add 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to the mustard mixture and stir. Add the baking powder to the dry flour mixture and mix.
Dip chunks of the soy chicken into the mustard batter, then drop each chunk into the flour mixture and coat with the desired amount of "crust."
Fry the chunks in hot oil on medium-high heat in a large skillet or deep fryer until crispy and golden brown, turning as needed.

Slow-Cooked Collard Greens
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients:
4 bunches collard greens
4 Tbsp. olive oil
4 medium onions
4 cloves garlic, minced
4 carrots, minced
1 1/2 cups vegetable stock
2 chipotle peppers
Salt, to taste

Method:
Heat the oil in a large saucepan. Add the onions and the garlic cloves. Sauté until the onions are soft.
Add the collard greens, carrots, and vegetable stock. Cook until tender.
Season with the salt.

Cornbread
(Makes 6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients
6 Tbsp. water
2 Tbsp. ground flax seed
1 cup all-purpose flour
1 cup cornmeal
1/4 cup sugar
4 tsp. baking powder
3/4 tsp. salt
1 cup plain soy milk
1/4 cup canola oil
Walnut halves, optional

Method:
Preheat the oven to 425ºF. Lightly oil an 8-inch square baking dish.
Bring the water to a boil in a small saucepan. Add the ground flax seed and reduce the heat to medium-low. Stirring occasionally, simmer for 3 minutes, or until thickened.
In a medium bowl, whisk together the flour, cornmeal, Florida Crystals, baking powder, and salt.
Add the flax seed mixture, soy milk, and canola oil to the flour mixture. Combine just until smooth.
Pour the batter into the prepared baking dish and place the walnut halves on top. Bake for 20- 25 minutes or until an inserted toothpick comes out clean.

Creamy Chive Mashed Potatoes
(Makes 4 to 5 servings)

Ingredients:
5 large potatoes, diced
1 cup liquid nondairy creamer (try Silk brand)
2 Tbsp. margarine
1/4 cup fresh chives, chopped
Salt and pepper, to taste

Method:
Place the potatoes in a large pot and cover with water. Bring to a boil and cook for 20 minutes.
Drain the potatoes, place in a bowl with the remaining ingredients, and mix until smooth.
Serve hot.

Chicken-less Gravy
(Makes 6 to 8 servings)

Ingredients:
2 cups boiling water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
3 Tbsp. nutritional yeast
1 vegetable bouillon cube
1/2 cup fresh mushrooms, diced
1/2 cup onion, finely chopped
Onion salt, to taste
Unbleached all-purpose flour

Method:
In a large saucepan, simmer all ingredients except the flour for approximately 5 minutes.
Slowly add the flour by tablespoons, whisking after each addition, until the desired thickness is reached.
Keep warm.

Preparation time: 10 minutes

All-American Apple Pie
(Makes 8 servings)

Ingredients for the Crust:
2 cups unbleached all-purpose flour
1 tsp. salt
1/4 cup cold water
3/4 cup solid vegetable shortening

Ingredients for the Filling:
1 3/4 lbs. Golden Delicious apples, thinly sliced
1 3/4 lbs. Granny Smith apples, thinly sliced
3/4 cup sugar
1 tsp. fresh lemon juice
1/2 tsp. vanilla extract
1/2 tsp. ground cinnamon
1 Tbsp. unbleached flour

3 Tbsp. Earth Balance margarine, diced
1 Tbsp. soy milk
1 Tbsp. Florida Crystals sugar
Large pinch of ground cinnamon

Method for the Crust:
In a bowl, combine the flour and the salt. Mix the water with 1/3 cup of the flour mixture to make a paste. Set aside.
With a pastry cutter or a fork, cut the vegetable shortening into the remaining flour mixture until the texture is "pebbly." Add the paste and mix well. Shape into a ball and divide into 2 parts.
Lightly flour a clean countertop and rolling pin. Roll 1 portion of the dough at a time. Roll from the center out, lifting the roller at the end of the dough (rather than rolling back and forth). Roll to a 1/8-inch thickness.
Have an 8- or 9-inch pie pan ready. The rolled dough should be at least 2 inches larger than your pie pan. Loosen from the rolling surface, fold in half, and place in the center of the pie pan. Unfold and gently work into the pan, pressing lightly. Trim any excess dough with a knife.

Method for the Filling:
Preheat the oven to 400°F.
In a large bowl, combine the apples, sugar, lemon juice, vanilla extract, and cinnamon. Let stand for approximately 15 minutes, or until juices form. Add the flour and mix.

To Assemble:
Spoon the filling into the bottom crust and dot with margarine.
Roll out the second ball of dough to form a 13-inch round circle. Drape over the filling.
Seal the top and bottom crust edges together and trim any excess dough, leaving a 1/2-inch overhang. Fold under and crimp decoratively with a greased fork.
Brush the pie with the soy milk. Combine the sugar and the cinnamon in a small bowl and sprinkle over the pie.
Transfer to a baking sheet and place in the oven.
Immediately reduce the temperature to 375°F. Bake for approximately 2 hours, or until the crust is golden brown, the apples are tender, and the filling is thick and bubbling. If the edges are browning too quickly, cover with foil.
Serve warm or at room temperature.

And if you’ve read this far, chances are you’d like some more ozone-friendly vegan recipes, so here you go.

For all the good he's done for the environment—which, to be fair, is an awful lot—Al’s leaving out a huge piece of the puzzle by ignoring the fact that the devastation caused by the meat industry is among the worst environmental disasters ever to happen to the world. As we told him in our letter, sent earlier this week:

While the steps that you urge people to take in An Inconvenient Truth are inarguably important, the quickest and most effective way to fight climate change will come through diet change.

An inconvenient truth for him, maybe, but it’s the truth nonetheless. Since he might not have seen the recent U.N. reports on the subject, we pointed out to him that animals raised for food generate more greenhouse gases than all cars and trucks combined, and that (according to a recent University of Chicago study), switching to a vegan diet is more effective in countering global warming than switching from a standard American car to a Prius. We've also offered to cook him some faux "fried chicken" as an introduction to meat-free meals, since, however many documentaries you make, you just can't be a meat-eating environmentalist. I'll let you know if he gets back to us.