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Item #13 - Plant Based Diet Comments Received After 1100 a.mFrom: Karen Aidi Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 3:50 PM To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Plant-Based Educational Program in the 2040 General Plan EXTERNAL SENDER Good afternoon dear mayor and council members, I will be speaking tonight in favor of funding for the plant-based educational program in the 2040 General Plan. I am attaching a copy of my speech and I will be coming in-person to the council chambers. I look forward to engaging with you all and I appreciate your attention to this matter. Thank you and best regards, Karen P. Aidi From: Juliana Sent: Tuesday, November 1, 2022 3:23 PM To: Council <Council@losgatosca.gov> Subject: Plant-based education EXTERNAL SENDER Dear Town Council members, I am a resident of Los Gatos. I have lived here for 3 years. I want to thank you so much for including a Plant-Based Education Program in the 2040 General Plan. I’d like to request that you please develop and fund a program to educate residents on the hows and whys of plant-based eating. I’d like to see items like plant-based cooking classes, speaker series, cooking contests and a Vegfest. Thank you for your consideration. Sincerely, Juliana Lockman, M.D. ATTACHMENT 10 Good Evening Mayor Rennie and Town Council Members. My name is Karen Aidi and I’m a long term resident of Los Gatos. I want to thank you for adding a plant-based educational program to Section 8.12 of the 2040 General Plan. I encourage the Town to create and fund a meaningful plant-based educational program with speakers, cooking classes, informational brochures, etc., for the future of our children and grandchildren. So, why is a plant-based educational program so important? There are three reasons: •the health of our residents •the health of our environment •the health of our animals Health of Our Residents Many people are confused about what to eat because there is so much nutritional dis- information in our society. Antiquated platitudes or marketing slogans like “milk does a body good,” “meat is the best protein,” “eat white meat instead of red meat,” etc. are just a few examples of this confusion. These statements are not based on scientific evidence. Children as young as 10 years old who drink milk, eat fast food, and over indulge in the dietary excess of highly processed foods and sugary snacks exhibit pre-diabetes and have fatty streaks in their arteries, setting them up for heart disease as adults. If we continue down this path In the 21st century, our children and grandchildren may not live as long as their parents and grandparents.1 Most deaths in the United States are preventable, and they are related to what we eat. Heart disease is our number one killer.2 These illnesses can be prevented all-together and many existing illnesses can be reversed with a Whole Foods Plant-Based Diet (WFPB)3. Health of Our Environment Our environment has been severely damaged and degraded as evidenced by our nearly year-round fires, poor air quality, dwindling water supply, and ever warmer summers. Among all the factors negatively impacting our environment is that meat production accounts for the majority of all greenhouse gasses.4 For example, to raise cows, land must be cleared for them and their food, both of which require large amounts of water. In California, 1.7 million cows living on dairy farms use 142 million gallons of water a day.5 If more Los Gatans were to shift to a predominately plant-based diet, we could improve our health, our environment, and reduce greenhouse gasses. Healthy and sustainable diets are high in coarse grains, pluses, fruits and vegetables, and nuts and seeds; low in energy-intensive animal-sourced and discretionary foods (such as sugary beverages) 6 This shift supports the Town’s stated goal to promote a sustainable community that protects environmental resources and the climate to prevent negative impacts to future generations, please see Goal ENV-13 in the General Plan. 1 Crimmins EM, Beltran-Sanchez H. Mortality and morbidity trends: is there compression of morbidity? 2 “How Not to Die,” Michael Greger, M.D. founder of nutritionfacts.org with Gene Stone 3 WFPB is an initialism coined by T. Colin Campbell, see “The China Study.” 4 The Guardian https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/13/meat-greenhouses-gases-food- production-study and https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-021-00358-x 5 https://civileats.com/2022/06/30/california-dairy-water-uses-climate-change-drought-pollution/ 6 https://insideclimatenews.org/news/21102019/climate-change-meat-beef-dairy-methane-emissions- california/ The Animals Eating more plant-based meals lowers the demand for meat, dairy and eggs, which dramatically reduces animal suffering on factory farms. In addition, plant-based diets are crucial to saving global wildlife. It’s amazing what a small number of individuals can do to reduce our town’s greenhouse gasses just by shifting to a more plant-based diet.