Letters to MinnPost: Data centers and health, the state of our democracy, food choices on campus

Stop and study the health and climate impact of data centers

I am writing to express my concerns about data centers. I work as a family physician, caring for people in the Mankato community and across the region. I have long been interested in climate change and its effects on health.

As communities across Minnesota are being asked to make fast approvals of large-scale data centers, Mankato’s July 13 passage of a one-year moratorium and study was a step in the right direction — and other cities should take note.

It is my hope that city officials and business leaders will seek to understand the full health and climate stakes of data center development. A recent report from Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate has delineated the health impacts that we can’t afford to ignore.

The energy that data centers require could significantly increase air pollution, since much of that energy is fossil fuel-generated in our area. We would need many more solar and wind resources to do this safely. Data centers have also been shown to raise local land temperatures, and extreme heat can affect many aspects of health.

Related: In pausing data centers, Minnesota courts did what local officials wouldn’t

Future meetings on this topic should be transparent, free, accessible to all, and include climate research and environmental health experts. As we move forward into the future, we need to study the healthiest and safest ways to do so.

Keith Stelter, MD, is a Mankato-based family physician and a volunteer with Health Professionals for a Healthy Climate.

It’s time to rebuild our democracy

We’ve seen what good people can do when they’re outraged, having been subjected to the kind of indignities the current administration likes to inflict with no regard to right and wrong. But we’ve also seen what brute force can do, and the threat isn’t over. Hard times and societal volatility are ahead, I believe, thanks to the destruction caused by the present administration.

The government in Washington is not helping. The institutions built to give us the sense of Good Government might be more dysfunctional than ever. Budget cuts in the name of increased efficiency have been misguided in the extreme. Probably everyone is weary from all the infighting. We have to restore the constitutional checks and balances among the three branches of government in ways we learned about in civics class, recently high-jacked, so that no single branch of the government overtakes another.

The next several elections will be critical and must not be tampered with; states have done a good job conducting elections, but their integrity is threatened by those who would destroy democracy and take power for themselves.

Big Money is not helping. Fewer and fewer people see the American dream; more and more are experiencing the American nightmare. Marketplaces have been wrecked, lifelines have been severed, health and health care are in the tank, and the demand for relief from charitable organizations has already increased mightily; it will probably double or triple when the shortfalls from today’s cruel governance trickle down. Capitalized medicine is ruining us, capitalized philanthropy is hobbling us, capitalized politics is killing us – new models will be necessary to ward off the extremism likely to hit from both ends of the spectrum.

It would be good to take a step back and take this opportunity to re-seed the gardens of democracy and let the Constitution’s flag fly. That garden needs watering and tending, and we’re all empowered to be judges in making the process work better. Beginning with ourselves, letting loose of high-strung partisanship will be the hardest part, because everyone has to give up something to restore the balance.

A multi-party system, financed by people and not corporations, could reduce the I win/You lose mentality that defeats cooperation. Leadership has to allow good people to come forward and be given roles, resources, and encouragement to do high stakes work with more freedom and imagination than has been permitted recently, so we can build the best damn constitutional government this country has seen. Idealistic, aspirational and without a plan, I know, but it’s time to give more attention to our ideals and prioritize a more workable governance.

Steven E. Mayer, Ph.D., is the author of the recent memoir, “My Father Against the Nazis,” and “How to Save the World: Evaluating Your Options.” Both are published by Calumet Editions. His recent essay, “Is the US becoming like Germany in the 1930s?” is now part of an emergency collection of prose and poems called ICE OUT: MINNESOTA  AUTHORS RISING UP, published by the Minnesota-based Afton Press and Calumet Editions.

Close the University of Minnesota’s plant-based food divide

Have you ever been in the University of Minnesota’s Pioneer Dining Hall, at a restaurant or in a coffee shop wondering if you would be able to find an option that aligned with your ethical beliefs and didn’t leave you revulsed? This is the reality for students on campus. Whether they’re on a vegan or semi-plant-based diet, it’s harder for them to consistently find meals that line up with their values and that are made with care. 

As a rising senior at the university, trying my best to eat plant-based meals while also having to eat halal, it has been a struggle. I have to constantly keep tabs on ingredient lists and special logos to indicate abbreviations as if I’m trying to interpret some sort of secret code, just so I can have a cup of coffee or eat a sandwich. 

This is inherently ridiculous. 

People with plant-based diets or other dietary restrictions shouldn’t constantly feel less important than their meat-eating counterparts. It’s time for the roles to shift and for plant-based meals to get their moment in the spotlight on campus. 

In addition to making students, staff and community members more comfortable during their dining experience, having plant-based meals be the default also helps in mitigating climate change. Reduction of animal products in our day-to-day lives would significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions, along with reducing the animal agricultural industry’s impact on the planet.

Compared to meat-based and dairy-based diets, plant-based diets use fewer natural resources and are not as taxing on the environment. Environmental data is rapidly confirming that current worldwide food practices are unsustainable, mainly the diets that are high in meat and dairy products. 

A study done by Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) researchers found that not labeling foods as vegan or vegetarian made people more inclined to choose it for their next meal. This study’s findings suggest that labeling foods as vegan or vegetarian made it less appealing to people, especially men. This shows that having plant-based options as the default, without all these confusing labels, would make people more prone to consuming the food due to reduced stigmas and the removal of conscious biases that are surrounding their food choices. It would also give people with dietary restrictions peace of mind knowing that they don’t have to worry about another ingredient list. 

You might be thinking, “Here we go again, another animal-obsessed vegan wannabe.” To this I respond, it’s time to change. A study on multiple campuses found that when vegan food was the default, 81% of the students indulged in the plant-based foods. The goal is not for the University of Minnesota to ban meat, or to never give out meat again, it’s to make people with dietary restrictions and different lifestyles stop feeling like second-class citizens and to better the health of the population on campus. 

A plant-based diet arguably has a leg up on the health scale than an average Minnesotan’s diet. Plant-based diets are low in saturated fats and high in fiber. This combination is better for long-term health and wellness. Vegans are known to have a lower risk of diabetes, and generally known to have better overall health. And as the years go on, more and more people are making the switch, for good. It was reported that nearly 51% of coffee drinkers have now started preferring non-dairy milk over the “usual” dairy option. 

While you might not be running around campus like a headless chicken looking for a cup of coffee or sandwich that can satisfy your morals and your appetite, your roommate might be. So show some compassion and empathy towards them. And give plant-based food a try, you most likely won’t be able to tell the difference without the labels! 

I’m asking you to support the University of Minnesota to push for plant-based meals to be the default. I highly encourage you to reach out to the university staff, and fight for change by contacting dining@umn.edu, and Jay Hackett, the vice president of operations, at hackettj@umn.edu. Let your voice be heard! 

Anisa Ismael is a senior at the University of Minnesota’s School of Public Health and a novice plant-based eater. She’s passionate about giving back to the community through advocacy and education. 

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