What if I told you we can reduce a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. And that this approach can also reduce heart disease, lower blood pressure and overall lower mortality rates.

Food systems – what we eat; how we grow, ship and cook it; and how we dispose of and sometimes waste it – are responsible for roughly a third of global greenhouse gas emissions. But for the better part of three decades, the final agreements that emerge from the UN’s yearly climate summits have left out the impact food systems have on our climate. That changed this past year in Dubai. The conference opened with a declaration on sustainable agriculture signed by more than 130 countries. For the first time ever, it featured a whole day devoted to food and agriculture and saw a food systems road map laid out by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization.

The world’s meat-producing industry contributes more greenhouse gases into the Earth’s atmosphere than the emissions of all cars, trucks, airplanes, and trains put together.

Ok, so many of you have already heard that eating less meat, dairy and eggs is good for you, and some have heard that eating a plant-based diet is better for the planet but still some people are resistant to this call to action.

The Creation Care Ministry has been touching on this subject and feel that education and community support are two ways we can encourage everyone to increase their consumption of plant-based foods and reduce meat, dairy and eggs. Not everyone is going to eat a 100 % plant-based diet…some will reduce their consumption of meat, others may eliminate dairy and eggs but wherever you currently are with your consumption of meat and animal products, the care for our planet and for our bodies should make us consider the real impact of our food choices in light of all the research that we now have that links to both a healthier planet and healthier body.

To that end, the Creation Care Ministry invites everyone to join our Plant Based/Vegetarian Potluck on April 14th after worship service. We will be sharing recipes and more info will be shared as we get closer to April 14th.