Increasingly environmentalists are examining every aspect of human existence to find ways to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions. A common criticism of many developed nations is that they eat a carbon emission intensive diet. The typical diet of an individual in a wealthy nation often includes many ingredients shipped from distant locations to local supermarkets. It is estimated that at least several ingredients in an average North American meal travel about 1,500 kms from farm to plate.
The standard diet in a developed nation is also heavy on meat consumption. ‘Meat is the most resource costly form of food because livestock waste most of the energy and protein value of their feed in digestion and bodily maintenance. More food can be obtained by using land to grow crops for direct human consumption,’ reports Compassion in World Farming (CIWF). The National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science reports producing a kilogram of beef results in greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to an estimated 36.4 kilograms of carbon dioxide.
Less meat means less heat.
Meat Based Diet
A diet heavily centered on meat produces much more greenhouse gases than a vegetarian or vegan diet. Individuals in developed nations eat as much as 10 times the meat consumed in developing nations. On average each person in a developed nation consumes about 225 grams of meat per day. In Africa, individuals consume less than 31 grams of meat per day according to the Associated Press.
A report released by the UN’s Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found that from 2000-2002, USA consumers ate an estimated 38.5 million tons of meat per year. The UK consumed an estimated 5 million tons of meat per year. Compare that to meat consumption in Uganda, which was an estimated 308,647 tons per year. The David Suzuki Foundation reports Canada is also among the top three meat-consuming nations on the planet, consuming two times the global average. The two top consumers of meat are the USA and Australia. The USA alone consumed more than 28 billion pounds of beef in 2006. The demand for meat is expected to increase in coming years. A CIWF report indicates, ‘…total global meat demand is expected to grow from 209 million tons in 1997 to around 327 million tons in 2020.’ Meat represents a significant contributor to climate change.
Livestock production is responsible for 18% of all human induced green house gas emissions.
Meat and Methane
Livestock manure is a significant contributor to greenhouse gases through its creation of methane emissions. The Union of Concerned Scientists found that animal livestock, and especially cattle, produce large quantities of methane through belching, flatulence, and dried animal waste. About 1.4 billion metric tons of solid manure is produced by U.S. farm animals each year reports the Wildlife Wilderness Fund (WWF).
According to FAO, livestock production is responsible for 18% of all human induced green house gas emissions. Methane’s contribution to climate change is significant in that it is 20 times more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide over a 100-year period reports the United States Environmental Protection Agency. Some studies indicate livestock production creates more greenhouse gases than the transportation sector.
Meat Production Destroys Forests
Aside from the high levels of methane associated with consuming meat, an enormous amount of fossil fuel energy is expended through production and transport. An Inconvenient Truth, the book, reported much of the world’s deforestation is a result of clearing or burning forests to create grazing land for livestock. The FAO report found ‘Grazing occupies 26% of the Earth's terrestrial surface, while feed crop production requires about a third of all arable land.’ An estimated 70% of previously forested land in the Amazon is now used for animal pasture.
The USA livestock and feed crop agriculture are responsible for 37% of pesticide use, 50% of antibiotic use, and a third of the nitrogen and phosphorus loads in freshwater resources.
Meat and Water
It takes roughly 2,500 gallons of water to produce one pound of meat according to John Robbins, author of Diet For A New America. Beef remains the most resource intensive meat on the planet. Yet, high water demand for beef production is only one aspect of the meat related water problems. Industrial farming now involves significant use of antibiotics, growth hormones and pesticides, the residue of all these toxic chemicals often remain in the copious amounts of waste produced by the world’s 1.3 billion head of cattle. Much of the cattle waste is mixed with water and then sprayed on crops. The FAO reports …’it is estimated the USA livestock and feed crop agriculture are responsible for 37% of pesticide use, 50% of antibiotic use, and a third of the nitrogen and phosphorus loads in freshwater resources’.
What Can You Do?
Eat one less meat meal each week. Individuals in developing nations should attempt to gradually reduce meat intake by 15%, this reduction represents a significant contribution to eliminating greenhouse gases.
Consume organic meat. Most organic meat is raised on smaller decentralized farms that are less damaging to the land and waterways. Smaller farms also place less strain on local aquifers and other fresh water sources. Organic farms do not use growth hormones, pesticides, fertilizers or antibiotics in their meat production.
Consider going vegetarian or vegan. Studies indicate vegetarians or vegans enjoy better health than meat eaters. Vegetarians suffer less from diseases like hypertension, obesity, coronary artery disease, certain kinds of cancer and diabetes.
Resources
United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization: http://www.fao.org/
The David Suzuki Foundation: http://www.davidsuzuki.org/
World Wilderness Foundation: http://www.panda.org/
Compassionate World Farming: http://www.ciwf.org.uk/
Friends of Animals: http://www.friendsofanimals.org/
PETA: http://www.peta.org/
The Toronto Vegetarian Association: http://www.veg.ca/
Go Veg: http://www.goveg.com
Green Pages
Cheap protein sources. Even though North American regulations prevent cattle being fed to other cattle, dead pigs, horses and poultry are still fed to commercially grown cattle, along with sawdust, old newspapers, and anything else that might contain a bit of cheap protein to help fatten them. Source: The David Suzuki Foundation
Read the Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat by Compassion in World Farming.
Expansion of grazing land for livestock is a key factor in deforestation, especially in Latin America: some 70% of previously forested land in the Amazon is used as pasture, and feed crops cover a large part of the remaining area. About 70% of all grazing land in dry areas is considered degraded, mostly because of overgrazing, compaction and erosion attributable to livestock activity. Read Livestock’s Long Shadow published by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
Meat: the website the meat industry doesn’t want you to see: http://www.meat.org
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