Australian Fashionista
Why is eating less red meat green?
November 2nd 2007 12:27
Red Meat - Should We Eat More or Less?
I may be willing to do anything our society will accomodate to "reduce my carbon emissions" and help our environment (that is, make sure there is somewhere for my kids to grow up..) but how will eating less meat help the planet?
Well...
Greenhouse gases from farming, especially those associated with livestock, currently account for about one fifth of the total emissions worldwide, according to the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO).
...while global methane emissions are much lower than carbon dioxide, the main greenhouse gas, methane is about 20 times more powerful a greenhouse gas, according to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.
AND
In a special energy and health series in the medical journal The Lancet, Tony McMichael of the Australian National University in Canberra and John Powles of Britain’s University of Cambridge said worldwide average meat consumption could be realistically reduced by 10 percent.
Doing so, they say, would decrease the amount of methane gas emitted by cows, sheep and goats. Such methane flatulence is a major greenhouse gas, the kind that most scientists tie to global warming.
Doing so, they say, would decrease the amount of methane gas emitted by cows, sheep and goats. Such methane flatulence is a major greenhouse gas, the kind that most scientists tie to global warming.
We can almost 'see' the greenhouse emissions from the cars that we drive, (and catching the bus is obsviously a more environmentally conscious descision) but who would have thought that what we eat makes a difference?
The release of nitrogen from fertilisers makes up for a percentage of this type of environmental damage, but most of us are aware of the environmental impact of fertilisers.
It may not be necessary to become a vegetarian just yet, as current research concludes;
"Climate change scenarios are far from conclusive and it is not possible to conclude that agriculture can't adapt in a sustainable way,"
"We don't deny that a great deal needs to be done to further reduce greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock industry ..."
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