Switching to a plant-based diet is ‘greenest’ For the record

CUT OUT meat and dairy from your diet – that’s the single best thing you can do to curb your impact on earth.

New research by Oxford University published in the journal Science this week has revealed the environmental cost of food by studying the land use area of over 38 000 farms in 119 countries and 1 600 processors, packaging types, retailers and consumption.

The authors also studied the production of greenhouse-gas emissions, nutrient build-up and land acidification.

“Most strikingly, impacts of the lowest-impact animal products typically exceed those of vegetable substitutes, providing new evidence for the importance of dietary change,” wrote the authors of “Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers”.

Their research shows that sourcing protein from plants, nuts and pulses – and adopting a vegan lifestyle – best protects the environment.

“Our findings support an approach where producers monitor their impacts… meet environmental targets by choosing from multiple practices, and communicate their impacts to consumers.” THE SATURDAY Star published an article on February 5, 2011, on page 8 under the headline, “Gangster hired cops to do his dirty work”. The article in question referred to well-known Middelburg businessman Frikkie Lutzkie and a multimillion-rand civil suit between Lutzkie and three West Rand businessmen, At Shepherd, Dave Smith and Ken Stricker.

It was reported in the Saturday Star that Shepherd claimed that Lutzkie had hijacked a multimillion-rand property development and attempted to have Shepherd and his two partners, Smith and Stricker, arrested by 25 members of the SAPS’S crack intervention unit.

Shepherd, as a result, then issued summons for damages worth R10 million against Lutzkie, Drummond Hammond, the SAPS and the National Prosecuting Authority for the wrongful arrests, which matter was struck from the roll with costs against Shepherd in the Gauteng High Court last year.

At the centre of the dispute was a prime development near Salt Rock on the Kwazulu-natal North Coast which was valued at more than R600m. The valuation was withdrawn shortly thereafter by DJR Valuators.

Lutzkie and the three partners had been locked in numerous court cases and interdicts since 2007.

New information which has emerged from high court judgments and documents provided to the Saturday Star revealed how Lutzkie was scammed by the three others into believing that fraudulent bank guarantees purportedly signed by the Land Bank, backing the Mount Richmore development, were legitimate.

The Saturday Star has now received documentation from the Land Bank confirming the guarantees were fraudulent and not issued by it.

The series of court hearings and interdicts stretching over 11 years finally came to a head on March 26 this year when Acting Judge Lawrence Nowosenetz delivered an order declaring Adam Johannes “At” Shepherd to be a “vexatious litigant”.

The judge also declared that Shepherd shall not be permitted to commence any (legal) action or application against Lutzkie or any entity in which he is involved, in the high court or any lower court.

Lutzkie confirmed that the three businessmen have legal costs and court judgments against them to the combined value in excess of R500m, and Shepherd was finally sequestrated in 2013 and Smith provisionally sequestrated in 2016 as a result.

The Saturday Star was told that Shepherd was one of only two people declared to be vexatious litigants in South African courts in 20 years – the courts effectively restrict their access to approach them due to continuous malicious abuse of court processes and proceedings.

“Who is the real gangster in this case?” Lutzkie asked, referring to the headline seven years ago labelling him a gangster.

It would appear that Shepherd and his partners better fit the description.

The Saturday Star has received further information confirming that Shepherd has a history of fraud and commercial crimes going back to 1991.