THEVOICE | 6 Watch and trust T= Vancouver Police Depart- ment’s Block Watch pro- gram is not vigilante justice. And it’s something we've forgotten we need. Block Watch was implemented in Vancouver 30 years ago to re- duce residential crime by giving neighbours an opportunity to start the conversation about community safety. Police would meet with the participating neighbourhoods to teach them to protect their homes, recognize crime and safely com- bat it. Vancouver police can’t be everywhere, especially in residential —ar- eas where fewer officers are de- ployed, so they OPINION TAESA use the program HODEL to help residents learn to trust one another. When I was very young, my dad took me and my younger sister to Guildford Town Centre and while we were inside the Sport Chek we saw a man run out carrying a heap of coats. As the security alarms went off my dad pushed us towards a young woman who worked there and apprehended the man. He is not a police officer, and if he hadn’t felt safe leaving us with a young female employee he wouldn't have chased the man down. The same works with residential crime. If people don’t feel comfort- able with each other they won't take the precaution of watching each other's property. Last week, a Marpole resident aided police in the arrest of a car thief in their area, and though they aren't Block Watch members the Vancouver Police Department is using their action as a positive ex- ample of what the program can do. In 2016 the annual commu- nity survey showed that the area deemed by police as District 4 — which Marpole is a part of — re- ported the most break and enters in Vancouver. As of 2014, District 4 is also recorded as the biggest district in Vancouver with 200,000 residents and only 129 officers. Police are often not the first ones on the scene of a crime, as in the case of my dad, so it’s important citizens are taught what to do not only to keep themselves safe but aid police in a safe and helpful manner. As the team of Marpole neigh- bours proved last week, residents will call police if they feel threat- ened with or without the Block Watch program, but people are more likely to call those they trust for help. And that trust is what the VPD should be encouraging the most. THURSDAY, NOV. 15, 2018 | EDITOR AMANDA POOLE Viewpoints “4 Have you tried the new B ~ Human™ burger?” eyond RENA MEDOW ILLUSTRATION Less meat is on the menu he dinner table has al- ways set the perfect stage for an argument. A group of too-familiar people, forced to face each other, held hostage by the meal before them. But only in recent years has the predictable ranting shift- ed to the politics of the plate. The popularity of films like Super Size Me and Food, Inc. and books like Wheat Belly — and the controversy surrounding them — _ sug- gested that society-at-large was starting to deconstruct the _ relation- ship between the supermar- ket wonderland and the Mordor of food produc- tion. But not much seemed to change. Phrases like “What can I do about it?” fit the self-assuag- ing bill. And then there was Whole Foods. Almost overnight, consumer consciousness elevated as bougie grandmas ogled aisles of organics for the first time. Fast forward 15 years and only the Amish don't microblog their meals. But now we millennials face a new crisis: How do we recon- cile the concurrent paradigms of peak wokeness and neoliberal ni- hilism? We have the knowledge to care about what we eat, but should we? OPINION NICK LABA Absolutely. Unless it’s your personal mission to limit the livelihoods of present and future generations, you should immedi- ately curb your dietary habits. The best and simplest way to start: eat less meat. And while 2 ’ ] . you're at it, don’t ever buy animal products raised on factory farms. A 2009 National Cancer Insti- tute study found that people who ate the most red meat were 20 per cent more likely to die of cancer and at least 27 per cent more likely to die of heart disease than people who ate the least. Though blindly trading your tube-steaks for tempeh isn’t the That’s right, a diet with less right approach either. The soy or no meat [— 7 boom has not only . devastated promotes In fact, studies show rainforests. feelings of Just like jour- profound | peoplewhoeatless | nalists, ‘veg- self-satis- ans should faction but or no meat greatly check their reduces en- * sources. vironmen- reduce the risk of However, tal, social . from an emis- and personal heart disease, stroke, sions stand- harms. Type-2 diabetes and | point, soy Even a . farming is a carnivorous a varlety of cancers. wheeze in a nutritionist . wind tunnel who believes Red meat is among compared to in the circle the carbon of life told the worst offenders. hurricane me it’s time of livestock for all of us LL — production. to eat “way” less meat. But with meat off the menu, surely you'll shrivel into an ema- ciated husk. Not according to Dieticians of Canada and the Academy of Nu- trition and Dietetics, who agree that a vegan diet can be nourish- ing for any life stage. In fact, studies show people who eat less or no meat greatly reduce the risk of heart disease, stroke, Type-2 diabetes and a variety of cancers. Red meat is among the worst offenders. Raising cattle pumps out almost 14 times more carbon dioxide than growing soy. And if you’re unconvinced by the hippie hype, maybe consider how factory farming — which makes up 99 per cent of the global meat industry — impacts the people who gut thousands of animals every day. The mental and physical fall- out experienced by slaughter- house workers is one of the sad- dest and least-reported stories of the industry. With a shocking turnover rate often exceeding 100 per cent, factory farms largely employ mi- norities with little education. There are a high rates of in- jury and forms of PTSD among workers, and many turn to sub- stance abuse and violent behav- iour as a result. My point isn’t to condemn car- nivores and exalt vegans. You can buy ethically sourced meat prod- ucts. Conversely, many plant al- ternatives aren’t sustainable. However, if you'll excuse my tree-hugging, we only have one planet. And if we still trust sci- entists, we're teetering on a tip- ping point of environmental oblivion. What we need more than ever is knowledge. Whatever you decide to put on your dinner plate, be prepared to justify those choices to your co- diners and to yourself. We want to hear from you Have a different point of view? Write to us. Have a concern with something we've said? Let us know. Think we got a fact wrong? Tell us. Journalism instructor Barry Link oversees The Voice. Email: blink@langara.ca The Voice is pub- lished by Langara College’s joumalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. They may be edited for brevity. Your letter must in- clude your name and phone number. HOW TO DROP-IN REACH US Room A226 Langara College PHONE 604-323-5396 SNAIL MAIL The Voice E-MAIL 100 West 49th Ave. thevoice@langara. Vancouver, B.C. be.ca V5Y 226 WEBSITE MANAGING EDITOR langaravoice.ca Amanda Poole PAGE EDITORS PAGE 7 PAGE 1 Cloe Logan Cameron Thomson PAGE 8 PAGE 2 Gabrielle Plonka Neil Amsler PAGE 3 Desirée Garcia MANAGING PAGE 4&5 WEBSITE Nikitha Martins EDITOR PAGE 6 Lisa Steacy Amanda Poole REPORTERS Nick Laba Darren Amner Adam Levi Joe Ayres Rena Medow Kirsten Clarke Agazy Mengesha Mathilda de Villiers Mandy Moon Nathan Durec Patrick Penner Roxanne Egan-Elliott = Kathryn Tindale Kelsea Franzke Alberto Tufano Nathan Gan Katelynn Gardiner Taesa Hodel Shabnam Jessa CONTACT US Online at langaravoice.ca Twitter @LangaraVoice