BUNKERVILLE | God, Guns and Guts Comrades!

I had just read the Weekly Standard article that Obesity was the “New Global Warming, here is an issue governments can get fat on”, and the U.N. involvement when what should I get in my e-mail:

Imagine my surprise last week, when I learned my company was now going to “Meatless Mondays” in our cafeteria. The headline starts out, “Do you want to remain healthy”? Of course, and having an alternate thought would put me down as I don’t. Look, I don’t care if it is an option, But Humans like to be carnivores. What a surprise. Al Gore is knee deep in this. Clever. I might have left that pass, except for one of the five bullet points of the benefits:

“Helps minimize water usage”. Hey, our guys are smart, but to come up with this one? I was tempted to shoot off an e-mail to ask how these Meatless Mondays were going to do the trick, but I copped out. What I did remember, is that our company had just hired Sodexo to manage our cafeteria. Ah, the chase was on for me. Sodexo is an International firm, out of France.

First from Weekly Standard New Global Warming:

Obesity is the new global warming, and the battle plan for the crusade against it was published in the August issue of the journal Lancet. ,The document is entitled “Changing the Future of Obesity: Science, Policy, and Action.” Its appearance was timed to coincide with the September “High-level Meeting of the U.N. General Assembly” on noncommunicable diseases, with the intention of moving the fight to the international front burner.

Thus, obesity prevention “should be considered in relevant trade, economic, agricultural, environmental, food, and health agreements and policies.” The paper urges that the U.N. “coordinate policies and funding to prevent obesity … across its agencies” (maybe through a body like the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change?). The World Health Organization “should develop global standards, particularly for food and beverage marketing to children and for nutrient profiling.” 

Wealth redistribution is another familiar component of fighting the bulge. Since the poor among us tend to be fatter, government leaders are called upon to “ensure [that] taxation and social policies support reduction of socioeconomic inequalities that contribute to health inequalities.” Also, “increased investment in population obesity monitoring” will be required. In other words, tax the rich to make us thin. 

Sodexo website Sodexo The Better Tomorrow Plan (Two of 14)

Sodexo is a recognized leader in global sustainability. Sodexo wants to take its leadership to the next level with a sustainability plan that will affect 80 countries, 30,600 sites, and our 380,000 employees.

• We will reduce our carbon intensity across all our operations and clients’ sites
  Climate change is expected to cause rising temperatures, rising sea levels, and damage to natural ecosystems over the coming decades. These consequences of climate change are projected to become the leading cause of hunger and supply chain disruptions in the near future. The two biggest sources of climate altering greenhouse gas emissions in the U.S. are commercial buildings and agriculture. We at Sodexo are heavily involved in both of these sectors and feel that reducing our carbon intensity is not only the right thing to do, it is also an opportunity to reduce operating expenses and establish Sodexo as an important partner in our clients’ sustainability efforts.
• We will reduce our water intensity across all our operations and clients’ sites
  Freshwater is the most essential natural resource to sustain life. Yet over a billion people in the world lack water for daily needs and severe water shortages are growing in the U.S. and around the world. We depend on an abundant and clean supply of water for a variety of our business functions and water scarcity will impact pricing, supply and the health of our employees, customers and clients. Many of the actions we need to take to reduce our impact on water supplies will save Sodexo money and provide greater value to our clients.

Now back to my Meatless Monday:

Meatless Monday is an international campaign that encourages people to not eat meat on Mondays to improve their health and the health of the planet

• Institutional feeder Sodexo announced in January 2011 that it would be offering Meatless Monday materials to more than 900 hospitals in their network. ^[38] This effort was expanded in April 2011 when Sodexo provided materials to more than 2000 corporate and government client locations in North America, including Toyota, Northern Trust Bank and the U.S. Department of the Interior.^[39]      

• In December 2009, Al Gore formally endorsed the Meatless Monday campaign before EU Parliament. Gore now lists Meatless Monday as one of the Top 12 Things You Can Do Now for a better world on his Climate Crisis blog.^{[26]      Wikipedia}