Graham Hill speaks at TED
Graham Hill, founder of treehugger.com, calls himself a “weekday vegetarian.” Yesterday, I saw a 4-minute video of him talking about that topic on TED. In the video, he asks himself “why am I not a vegetarian?” He talks about all the reasons why he should be—water, health, animal suffering, etc. He talks about being raised by hippie parents and really caring about the environment.
Yet, he admits (with laughter response) that he just can’t imagine how he would feel if he was about to eat his last hamburger. But, there is one thing he didn’t mention—the simple fact that there is not enough land for humans to continue eating meat, dairy and eggs three meals a day. He talks about switching from beef to “sustainably harvested seafood” as if that’s going to solve anything. But what he has failed to recognize is the single most important issue at stake:
The longterm sustainability of the human race
So here is a 4-minute video of the founder of quite possibly the “greenest” organization on the planet—talking about why he is copping out when it comes to walking the talk about truly living green.
Ladies and Gentlemen — Mr. Graham Hill
About Graham Hill. Founded the eco-blog treehugger.com, to help, as he says, “push sustainability into the mainstream,” with a design-forward style and an international, wide-ranging team committed to transforming complex issues into everyday concepts. It’s been called “the Green CNN.” Before Treehugger, Hill studied architecture and design (his side business is making those coolceramic Greek coffee cups). His other company, ExceptionLab, is devoted to creating sustainable prototypes — think lamps made from recycled blinds and ultra-mod planters that are also air filters. He is the author of Weekday Vegetarian, available on Amazon.
About TreeHugger. It is the leading media outlet dedicated to driving sustainability mainstream. Partial to a modern aesthetic, we strive to be a one-stop shop for green news, solutions, and product information.
Consecutive daily blogs. And today’s image was intentionally GREEN.
The Bottom Line. I would very much like for Mr. Hill to read a few of my blogs about the longterm sustainability of the human race. Maybe it will help him get serious about the most important topic in the world—preserving our planet’s ability to sustain us as a species.
As one of the most prominent GREEN leaders, he must get real clear about EXACTLY what we should be eating—and WHY.
And “sustainably harvested seafood” is not it.
Dear Mr. Hill, Our 4Leaf for Life concept is not necessarily vegetarian or vegan; it just describes the optimal diet-style for humans (and the planet) and encourages everyone to get as close to that target as they can. We find that most people like the flexibility and “wiggle room” that this concept implies. But, sir, my issue here is LEADERSHIP.
Surely you know that the way humans eat affects the planet more than everything else we do—combined. And if we can’t depend on the founder of treehugger.com to show us the way, it’s going to be a very long journey indeed. And it will cost the lives of billions of innocent humans in the process. Think it over Mr. Hill. Read a few of these blogs; then give me a call. And let’s talk about leadership. Sincerely, J. Morris Hicks (Jim) 917-399-9700.
- Forget “saving the planet.” Think great grandchildren.
- Drought, famine and the sustainability of the human race
- Graduation Day—An Essential “Top 10 List” for Life
- “Harmony” for the ages—from E. O. Wilson and Wendell Berry
- Why are the “world’s greatest thinkers” missing the boat…
Handy 4-piece take-charge-of-your-health kit—from Amazon.com
- The movie that’s changing the lives of millions: Forks Over Knives DVD
- Healthy Eating, Healthy World, The “big picture” about food (our book)
- An essential scientific resource: The China Study by Dr. T. Colin Campbell
- Dr. McDougall’s new book, The Starch Solution, with lots of great recipes.
Want to find out how healthy your family is eating? Take our free 4Leaf Diagnostic Survey. It takes less than five minutes and you can score it yourself. After taking the survey, please give me your feedback as it will be helpful in the development of our future 4Leaf app for smartphones. Send feedback to jmorrishicks@me.com
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J. Morris Hicks, working daily to promote health, hope and harmony on planet Earth.
For help in your own quest to take charge of your health, you might find some useful information at our 4Leaf page or some great recipes at Lisa’s 4Leaf Kitchen.
Got a question? Let me hear from you at jmorrishicks@me.com. Or give me a call on my cell at 917-399-9700.
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Blogging daily at hpjmh.com…from the seaside village of Stonington, Connecticut – Be well and have a great day.
—J. Morris Hicks, board member, T. Colin Campbell Foundation
J. Morris Hicks, engineer. writer. big picture guy. 
Our egos serve a purpose. When they become inflated, havoc, incongruity, and self-centeredness emerge.
I remember coming back from an appointment with a loved one, opening my deep freezer to view a beef roast (lovingly grass-fed by a local fifth-generation farmer), and realizing I would never cook or eat beef (or any other non-pescatarian) meat) again. And even the fish is a once-in-a-while thing now. I hope this young man never faces that awful means of forcing him to live what he at least partially professes.
It seems in the modern world, it is OK to believe almost anything as long as it does not cost you anything significant long-term. You can be a healthy eater-sometimes- as long as you are not dogmatic about it, and you don’t offend anyone by not eating their food. You can be an environmentalist- as long as you drive your hybrid SUV from the mall to the protest, and wear approved designer environmentalist gear. Walk to work, keep your house cold enough to require a sweater, walk a few miles to the store, wear your clothes and possessions out rather than being fashionable, eat classic peasant food- now that’s too much sacrifice.
On the other hand, a lot of the conservative resistance to the environmentalist approach comes from the perception of hypocrisy in it. If approached from the health aspect, from the aspect of saving money as energy and healthcare costs skyrocket, by people who actually sacrifice instead of saying “you can help the environment without actually changing”- then more people would respond more positively.
Weekend vegetarian. Now that’s a concept that will be as effective as moderation. It won’t work.
Do you still feel that Clinton or Obama will lead us to the glory path of nirvana? If Jesus didn’t do it; If Gandhi didn’t do it; If the Catholic Pope didn’t do it . . then why these common mortals?
The world eating hamburgers, do people give a damn what Clinton or Obama think or say. We can preach forever about plant foods, the world will still be eating hamburgers and now with bacon strips.
Halleluiah!
This is an example of real moral cowardice. IF he has an much knowledge as he seems to have how can someone take half steps to solve the serious problems he describes. He note the harm to animals but is willing to allow a few animals to be a slaughtered for his hamburger. For him right and wrong seem to be relative rather than absolute. He compromises his beliefs leaving his beliefs without substance. It is a struggle to see people unaware of the problem but it is really a challenge to see someone with a treehugger site with such lack of committment. Sad
Well said. In Jonathon Foer’s book, Eating Animals, Foer tells the story of his grandmother, a survivor of Nazi concentration camp survivor at the end of WWII. She was starving and was offered a pork dish. She, being an observant Jew, turned it down. She would not compromise her beliefs, even to survive. She survived. I recall that story often when I confront convenience versus compromising my principals. Mr Hill would rather compromise his principals than stop eating hamburgers. I hope he’s stopped compromising in the two years since that TED talk was given.