Just to clarify, I am referring above to the millions of jobs, the billions of animals and the trillions of dollars -- that are all associated with two industries in the United States -- giant industries that are currently blocking the kind of action it will take to slow, stop or possibly even reverse climate change.

I am talking about two humongous industries that are threatening our future as a species.

For starters, animal agriculture is by far the leading driver of climate change. Few elected officials are aware of that fact and, even for the ones who do know the truth -- they are terrified of admitting it.

That's because even if our governmental leaders were familiar with that particular factoid, they would almost certainly not stay in power very long if they asked their constituents to join them in urgently shifting 100% to plant-based eating.

There are a plethora of reasons why that is the case -- and all of them fall into one of these two buckets: Money and Power. Here are four of those reasons:

Choice #1: Support maintaining the status quo regarding food preferences all over the world -- a grossly unsustainable way of eating that almost guarantees that climate change will spell the end of most humans well before the end of this century.

Choice #2: Quickly figure out a new global financial model that will promote the necessary actions (including the abolition of animal agriculture) for slowing, stopping and/or reversing climate change as quickly as possible -- something like the Earthonomics Model that was discussed in our 2020 book OUTCRY.

Related to that model are the first few words from Chapter 11 of Outcry that are provided here: a Cree Indian Proverb.

Back to our conundrum here in the United States -- and around the world. Even if our leaders are aware that animal agriculture is the leading driver of climate change, they're understandably reluctant to suggest that their constituents stop eating all animal-based food products.

As for that earlier bullet point regarding the shrinking of the healthcare industry, it is entirely possible that most world leaders are unaware that animal agriculture is, by far, the leading driver of climate change.

Plus, they're likely unaware that eliminating animal agriculture globally would make much of a difference to the healthcare industry. Let's clear that up:

You see, if hundreds of millions of people in the USA began to sharply reduce or stop eating animal-based foods altogether, they would be replacing those choices with *plant-based foods -- a dietary shift that has been proven capable of preventing and/or reversing most chronic diseases, thereby lowering the overall cost of healthcare in this country by over 70%.

Obviously, such a dietary shift would trigger an immediate downsizing of the industries that produce and distribute those foods. That's a reason why most presidents would not even think about taking such action.

But, herein lies the opportunity for Biden's legacy. Read on. Let's take a look at recent numbers involved (in just the USA) if the entire animal agriculture industry were completely eliminated.

These numbers also touch on the downsizing of the global healthcare industry as billions of people start reversing their chronic diseases. These USA numbers are staggering:

You may be wondering about the plant-based food industry that arguably should be providing us with 100% of our calories. The collective, beneficial impacts on the environment would be enormous and they would be swift -- as I sum up in this slide from my latest presentations:

Why don't most people get it? At least 90% of the people over 16 years old in the developed world truly believe that they must eat animal protein to be healthy.

They don't. I call this phenomenon "the protein myth" that has been promoted by the world's governments, academia and the animal-based food industry for far too long.

I summarize it succinctly and simply in this single slide from that same presentation.

As for the "sustainability crises" mentioned in the above slide, climate change is at the top of the list of every environmental crisis that the world is now facing.

But it is an opportunity that will not be initially understood or appreciated by the vast majority of adult citizens in the developed world.

And it will probably NEVER be appreciated by a large portion of them, no matter how brilliant our ultimate plan for promoting human health, saving money and stopping climate change in its tracks -- all at the same time.

So what about that "ultimate plan?" I would like to think that President Biden could assign the development of this ultimate plan the highest of priorities -- and then designate his most brilliant cabinet member the full-time task of quickly digging into the details and then coming up with a well thought-out plan in less than 90 days.

I am envisioning a "moonshot" kind of plan described in this SOS Memo in September of 2021: Entirely new vision of Earth stewardship.

In my opinion, Biden's most brilliant cabinet member is the current Transportation Secretary, Pete Buttigieg. I am envisioning an initial meeting with the two of them along with Dr. Sailesh Rao, NYC Mayor Eric Adams, legendary film-maker James Cameron, Dr. T. Colin Campbell and myself. Given what I know about Secretary Pete's whip sharp mind, I believe that his "light will come on" quickly.

He may not "totally get it" about our dilemma immediately, but give him a half day with the five of us and I have to believe that this brilliant young man would totally get it.

You may be wondering why I think that James Cameron should be in that meeting with Biden and Buttigieg. It's because this is a crucial story that the world simply must hear -- and there's never been a better story-teller in the history of humankind.

Here's how my friend, who is also one of the world's most knowledgeable environmentalists, described what's at stake on the cover of our 2020 book, OUTCRY:

You may also be wondering why Joe Biden would even consider walking away from a possible second term? I can think of several reasons:

I sincerely believe that his best-case scenario is that he agree to the Pete Buttigieg scenario outlined above -- and then do everything he can during the next 2.5 years to ensure that humanity has the best possible chance of minimizing the deadly effects of climate change.

As for his decision, there are numerous articles in the news this week suggesting that his chances are not looking so good for the 2024 election. Here's a link to the latest one, published yesterday in the New York Times: Joe Biden Is Too Old to Be President Again.

Read on for more details related to this idea -- beginning with a free book.

Prior to our meeting, hopefully Pete will have taken two hours to read this compact book that, as of today, is now being offered free of charge to the international public.

Written in 2015, it remains one of a very few of the world's books that address both human & environmental health. Click the above image to begin reading now -- and please share it with everyone you know.

That problem is simply this. If we humans are not able to slow, stop or reverse climate change within the next few years, we will have missed our chance -- and Mother Nature will then start taking care of business herself -- beginning with ridding the Earth of the most destructive species in the history of the planet. That would be us.

In earlier SOS Memos, I have written about the possibility of a huge media/environmental NGO kind of organization that could fully educate the entire human population in the developed world regarding the dilemma in which we now find ourselves. Those SOS Memos also describe what we can do about the challenges ahead. Here are links to the most-recent three:

I am envisioning that the work of Pete Buttigieg could lead to the launching of one or more of those giant media NGO described above -- giant organizations with the mission of quickly influencing the global shift away from eating animal-based foods.

But for that to happen, Joe Biden is going to have to grow a spine NOW. A little background, this is not the first time I have appealed to him.

In 2016, during the final year of the Obama administration, VP Biden was assigned the task of overseeing a "Cancer Moonshot" project that ultimately accomplished absolutely nothing -- other than perpetuating a giant industry that oversees the world's highly profitable "cancer management industry."

On February 1, 2016, I sent this Jumbo “poster-size” Cancer Letter to VP Joe Biden. Other than a meaningless form letter or two, I heard absolutely nothing of substance from his office.

With the help of a friend, we (Dr. T. Colin Campbell and I) did get a one-hour conference call with the Executive Director of that moonshot, Mr. Greg Simon. Not surprisingly, we have heard nothing from him since.

So why am I expecting more from President Biden now? It is because he is now six years older, has terrible approval ratings and is suffering through perhaps the most brutal confluence of global events the world ever seen.

He will turn 80 on November 20 and is no doubt thinking a lot about his legacy these days. If he is elected to a second term, he will be 82 when he is sworn in -- and will be 86 when he completes that term.

Without a doubt, during that second term, if not before, Mother Nature will be grabbing our attention like never before -- as she begins to loudly remind us that we humans are doing a horrible job of working with her to prevent climate change from destroying most of her billions of species, including us humans.

My conclusion about the future legacy of Joseph Robinette Biden, Jr. is that he has an opportunity to distinguish himself from all other leaders in the history of planet Earth.

He has the opportunity to become the sole individual that history may someday conclude was the most courageous leader in recorded history -- the leader who relinquished a chance at a second term as President of the United States to tackle the existential threat of climate change to our future.

There is no other leader in the world who could match what President Biden can accomplish over the next thirty months when it comes to slowing climate change.

As he approaches his 80th birthday, President and Mrs. Biden may be currently enduring the most challenging, the most stressful and the most painful times of their lives.

It's almost like he has zero chance to be remembered fondly by history. He is literally in what I would I would have to call a "no win" situation. That's why this situation begs the question,

Maybe someone who reads this SOS Memo will have the ability and the connections to get us a meeting with President Biden in the near future -- or will at least pass this SOS Memo along to someone who can.

Here's what could possibly happen. A few days after meeting with us, he will schedule an emergency one-on-one meeting with Secretary Pete.

If by some miracle, someone gets this SOS Memo in the hands of President Biden -- and it strikes a nerve with him, who knows what could happen?

Perhaps it could plant a rare seed of hope that his legacy will survive, his grand-children will have joyful and meaningful lives and that he may experience the comforting satisfaction of knowing that he did the right thing -- when no other prominent world leaders had the courage.

If he asks Secretary Pete to reach out to us and schedule a planning meeting, I am going to recommend that we meet for one full day in his office ASAP.

Included in that meeting will be the five from the previous meeting -- along with the former Secretary of Energy for Obama, Professor Steven Chu of Stanford University.

Dr. Chu should be there because he is one of the few, if not the only, cabinet member of any administration EVER who knows the truth about the role that animal agriculture plays in climate change. You can read about that rare knowledge in this 2019 Forbes piece.

But, up until now, he has not voiced the need to totally eliminate that industry quickly, but he has spoken out regarding the need for meat and dairy substitutes.

We tried late last year to arrange a meeting with Dr. Chu but he never responded to our message regarding the ICCLC, an organization that Dr. Rao and I were in the process of forming: International Climate Collaboration & Leadership Coalition.

Maybe if he gets a call from Secretary Buttigieg, he will respond and we will see him soon at the White House.

Don't have time to watch the entire Honolulu video? Click here to view all 60 slides in that talk

jmorrishicks@me.com 

PS: Scroll on down to the "Big Picture Data" below for compelling verification of all of the information included in this SOS Memo. 

We're talking about replacing it with an entirely new, ultra-green civilization of the future -- and we do our best to paint a picture of that envisioned way of sustainable living in OUTCRY. For what one Ohio State professor emeritus of history had to say about that book on Amazon, click here.

In 2014, Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn produced their first documentary film Cowspiracy. Executive producer is Leonardo DiCaprio, it runs 90 minutes and has been on Netflix since 2015. In 2020, I met Kip and Keegan in Sedona where I was honored to be able to speak at the same conference with them and other great leaders in this movement like Dr. Sailesh Rao and Dr. Michael Greger.

Also on Netflix, Kip and Keegan teamed up again in 2017 to produce What the Health, which is also on Netflix. It runs 92 minutes and may be the best documentary ever that focuses on the health reasons for choosing to eat plant-based. Click here to watch the short trailer. You can also watch the full movie for free on Vimeo.

In 2021, Kip Anderson teamed up with British filmmaker Ali Tabrizi, to produce Seaspiracy, an 89-minute film that vividly and alarmingly reveals what is at stake when it comes to the crucial importance of our oceans to our future as a species. Most people have no idea regarding the environmental horrors of commercial fishing -- a disgusting industry that kills dolphins by the thousands and tosses them back into the ocean. It runs 90 minutes on Netflix. Click here to view the trailer.

As our situation becomes more desperate, the documentary films become more terrifying. As alluded to earlier, we are literally Eating Our Way to Extinction, a process that is vividly covered in this 2021 film (81 minutes). Narrated and produced by Kate Winslet, you can watch this great film on Amazon Prime or on YouTube for $3.99. The great ocean scientist and former head of NOAA, Dr. Sylvia Earle lends powerful credibility to such a crucial topic.

The film uncovers alarming information about the environmental and health impacts of the industry -- leading up to the discovery that we are on the edge of the biggest global disruption of food and agriculture in history. This new film is now available for free at waterbear.com

This 83-minute documentary is all about the findings that were documented in Dr. Stephen Emmott's 2013 book. TEN BILLION.

Finally, this half-hour video was published in November of 2021. It was produced by Michael Dowd, a non-scientific researcher like me who does a very fine job of explaining the many facets of the obstacles standing between us and our survival as a species. Dowd focuses on the problem; not the solution. I prefer to focus on both.

I am confident that if a few million people carefully read and digested this book that there would be a more robust conversation around the world regarding our grossly unsustainable way of living in the developed world.

To my knowledge, OUTCRY remains the only book ever published that features an envisioned, totally-green, ultra-sustainable, super-desirable, future way of living for humans -- along with ideas for how we might get there as quickly as possible.

You can join my mailing list and/or find all of my previous postings by visiting the SOS Memos page on my website. 

Want to see earlier SOS Memos? Click here

If you got this blog from a friend or found it on our website and want to receive more of these Bite-Size Blogs? Join Our Mailing List

Want to get started nurturing your own health and the health of our planet? Take our survey at 4leafsurvey.com

Click here to learn more about this free online dietary assessment tool.