Earth Week Series (Part 2): Meat Eatin’
I really had a tough time deciding to write for fear of being a hypocrite. Being a meat lover, I refused to admit that it just may be harmful to eat Ol’ Bessy. However, as more and more studies came in, I just couldn’t overlook this topic even though it could be the hardest thing for me.
Your beef patty is actually worse on the environment then your neighbours SUV. According to a 2006 United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization report, almost 18% of the earth’s greenhouse gas emissions comes from the international meat industry.
The main reason? Poop. Dirty, nasty poop. And farts. Cow farts, that is. Nitrous Oxide is released from a cow’s poop while methane is released with its flatulence. Methane has 23 times the effect on the environment that carbon has, while nitrous oxide is 296 times greater. Yikes!
As of 2001 (yes i know thats 7 years ago) the cattle, sheep and goat population was 3.3 billion and the numbers were rising fast.
According to researchers at the University of Chicago, by simply becoming a vegetarian or vegan, you could dramatically reduce your carbon footprint by almost one and a half tonnes.
According to Canwest News Service “a meat-based diet requires seven times more land than a plant-based diet. Livestock production is responsible for more climate change gasses than all the motor vehicles in the world.”
If you’re not up for giving up meat entirely, then try eating a meat free meal at least one day a week. You can take it one step further and buy locally raised livestock at places like Paesano’s Gourmet Market and Cafe. Ask for Jamie and he’ll let you know what is locally raised.
Related posts:
Wow… good to know! I shared this on my blog because I’m a vegetarian