Steak 'n Bake? 51% of Greenhouse Gas Emissions Now Come From Meat & Dairy Industry. Photo: Fiona MacGuinty via flickr. We've long said that cutting meat and dairy out of your diet, or at minimum cutting back deeply on their consumption, is one of the most powerful personal steps you can take towards mitigating climate change.
But new analysis from Worldwatch Institute shows that the impact of raising livestock and poultry is much greater than previously thought and actually amounts to approximately 51% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions:The FAO's widely-cited 2006 report Livestock's Long Shadow listed annual greenhouse gas emissions from livestock to be 11.8%. However, Worldwatch shows that the FAO severely undercounted or misallocated emissions from a number of areas in the livestock production chain. More than anything it seems an exercise in making sure emissions are properly attributed. They go on to argue that in one crucial way livestock are like automobiles: Both are essentially human inventions, for our "convenience" but not survival.
Nil Zacharias: It's Time to End Factory Farming. Food is undoubtedly a very contentious issue that divides the American public, with no shortage of opinions on what's right or wrong, healthy or unhealthy and eco-friendly or unsustainable. However, even when it comes to such a polarizing topic, there is common ground to be found by everyone ranging from vegans to die-hard meat eaters.
No one can deny the destructive nature of the force that dominates our food system (i.e. industrial animal agriculture or factory farming). When you take into account the fact that factory farms raise 99.9 percent of chickens for meat, 97 percent of laying hens, 99 percent of turkeys, 95 percent of pigs, and 78 percent of cattle currently sold in the United States, it's shocking how much time we waste debating each other, rather than trying to actually change the system.
I chatted with Gene Baur, President and Co-founder of Farm Sanctuary about what inspired him to put together the National Conference to End Factory Farming. Sustainable Animal Products: An Oxymoron. Go to any Whole Foods and you will see a variety of terminology describing a “new way” of raising farmed animals: local, organic, sustainable, free-range, etc.
While it is certainly optimistic that the environmental and ethical impact of our diet has come into the collective awareness, we must pause to question how “green” this new meat really is. While supposedly sustainable, free-range beef and dairy cows are not gobbling up as much grain, they are drinking notably more water than a factory farmed animal because they are more active. As byproducts of their metabolism, they are still producing methane and nitrous oxide, a dangerous greenhouse gas almost 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide. And it takes vast amounts of land to graze these cows, land that was once habitat to wildlife and endangered species. Local Buzz When we think of eating green, we often think of locally produced food as being the most ecological choice. Free-Range/Sustainable Family Secret.
The Disappearing Bees And What You Can Do To Help. Earth Day, Every Day: Going Green with Plant-based Cuisine. Happy Earth Day! Going green is the new chic. The signs are everywhere that the green trend is here to stay. Green businesses are sprouting up all the time, hybrid cars populate our roadways, energy efficient light bulbs illuminate our homes, our documents are printed on recycled paper (100% post consumer of course).
It is wonderful that so many are seeking ways to preserve the resources of our precious planet. For those who are serious about making a positive change this Earth day, I suggest that you look no further than your dinner plate. In fact, one of the most effective ways to conserve and protect our environment has to do with the foods we decide to eat. How can I make such a bold statement? A United Nations report entitled “Livestock’s Long Shadow” indicates that livestock production contributes to more greenhouse gasses than the entire world’s transportation industry combined.
The environmental impact of a plant-based diet is a fraction of that of a meat-based one. 1. 2. 3. 4. Eco-Eating: Going Green Begins With What’s On Your Plate. The food and drink an average person consumes are the single largest determining factor of one’s overall ecological footprint. Why is this good news? Because knowing this, it’s easy and affordable to make important improvements to our global impact. You don’t need to buy a hybrid or get solar panels to make the biggest difference; just changing our shopping and eating habits to delicious plant-based choices can have positive effects.
Our food choices have dramatic consequences on the environment. Reducing or eliminating the consumption of animal products is one of the most powerful ways an individual can reduce his or her carbon footprint. What we put into our bags at the grocery store actually has more environmental impact than whether we bring a reusable shopping bag or drive a hybrid to the store. Unfortunately, recognizing animal products for the global warming culprits they are is an abstract concept. So how does an animal product come to have such a profound carbon footprint? Water.
How Many Food Miles Have You Accumulated This Holiday Season? The Holiday season will be over soon and most of us will look back and reminisce about all the good food and the good times that were had. You may have some regrets about the sweets you allowed yourself to indulge in or the numerous alcoholic beverages you consumed. But besides the impact that these meals will on your health, have you considered the impact on the planet?
If not, please read on and make wise choices while having fun. The origins of our daily meals are as exotic and distant as the faraway places we daydream about or visit during the holidays. While technology has helped economies grow and connect, it has also given us easy access to global food sources. This is what makes the processed curry mix sold at our supermarkets have spices from India, coconut milk from Thailand and packaging from a factory in New Jersey. So what can you do in the new year to change your eating habits in support of your health and the planet? Image Source: Image 1, Image 2. The Dangers of Factory Fish Farming. Ocean factory farms are no different from their land based counterparts.
They cram thousands of fish into open net pens and cages, which leads to filth and disease, thereby necessitating the use of pesticides, antibiotics and chemicals, which flow into the surrounding marine environment and people’s plates. In addition, caged fish can escape and often interbreed with wild fish, harming native fish populations. Despite these alarming facts, the U.S. government continues to subsidize the development of open ocean aquaculture, a type of factory farming that clearly threatens the health of our oceans, coastal communities and consumers. A new report by the consumer advocacy group Food & Water Watch (FWW) claims that the government is promoting factory fish farming in offshore waters. The report calls for the U.S. Image Source: Benson Kua/Flickr. Facts On Animal Farming And The Environment. Fossil Fuels More than a third of all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in the United States are used in animal production (“Ecological Cooking” by Joanne Stepaniak and Kathy Hecker)The production of one calorie of animal protein requires more than ten times the fossil fuel input as a calorie of plant protein.
(The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition)Producing a single hamburger uses enough fuel to drive 20 miles and causes the loss of five times its weight in topsoil. (“The Food Revolution” by John Robbins) Water Nearly half of all the water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food (“The Food Revolution” by John Robbins). Land Raising animals for food (including land used for grazing and land used to grow feed crops) now uses a staggering 30% of the Earth’s land mass. Air The massive amounts of excrement produced by livestock farms emit toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia into the air.
Food Climate Change Image Source: Image 1, Image 2, Image 3. Easy Eco-Friendly Travel Tips — Part One. Many travelers think that, in order to travel green, they must sign on with an organized ecotour or stay at an expensive ecolodge, but there are many other ways to tread lightly and responsibly when traveling and perhaps even help to improve the places that you visit. With many of the world’s natural wonders disappearing or suffering the ravages of consumer and industrial pollution, it’s more important then ever to act responsibly and at times, proactively, so that next generation travelers can also enjoy the incredible beauty of our planet. The assumption that places such as the tepuis of Venezuela, the Pantanal of Brazil, the Grand Canyon of the United States or the Great Barrier Reef of Australia will be here forever, untouched and preserved, is a way of thinking that we can’t afford.
The good news is that travelers, organizations and individual volunteers are making a positive difference every day. 1) Travel, Especially Globally 2) Buy Locally 3) Pick Up After Yourself. Eco-Friendly and Ethical Yarns And Textiles. The Do It Yourself movement is enjoying a resurgence amongst the environmentally conscious. As a result, the range of eco-friendly and ethical arts and craft materials available to the conscientious shopper is rapidly expanding. While some are returning to the traditional wool, jute and linen, other companies are creating entirely new non-animal, non-oil based renewable textiles from plant matter like bamboo and soy. The most inventive are finding ways to reclaim otherwise disposable materials like plastic bags and tires to create new inspired works. The Problem with mass produced textiles and yarns Mass produced textiles and yarns typically use chemicals, oil and energy to a degree that is not ecologically sustainable as many are neither recyclable nor biodegradable and end up in incinerators or landfill sites.
The production of oil-based synthetic fabrics like nylon and polyester require the mining, refining, and processing of oil. The Alternatives So what CAN we wear? Science + Vegan Recipes = One Good Healthy Eating Book. I had the opportunity to catch one of the first screenings of Forks Over Knives in New York City last year. Besides loving the film myself, I came away feeling that I could show it, with confidence, to an omnivore of any background and feel confident that veganism was being presented in an accurate and inarguably rational and positive light. Yes! We need more media of this sort. Needless to say, as the film has been making its way around the country, it’s been starting up conversations and, we hope, changing everyone’s eating habits right and left.
But if it hasn’t come to your town, there’s a new companion book that’s almost as tasty. It’s called Forks Over Knives: The Plant-Based Way to Health, edited by Gene Stone. Just like the film, the book sets out a 3-pronged rationale for following a plant-based diet. First, it’s more healthful. Second, it’s better for the environment. And third, a vegan diet banishes cruelty to animals and allows us to be more humane.