An Environmental Reason Not to Eat Meat
Livestock's Long Shadow, a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations.
The entire report is rather sleep inducing, so skip to the summary and conclusions. As much as people tout their "green" or "organic" or "ethical" meat choices, the environmental impact of eating meat is probably one of your single, greatest contributions to water usage and greenhouse gas emissions. Look at Table 7.1 for a list of the facts and figures. Let's not even point out the pollution aspects of livestock.
Now, skip to the last two pages of the conclusion. The report is focused on the global problem of livestock's environmental impact and contains perfectly valid projections that show the demand for livestock will continue to grow over the coming years. As such, it is focused on the current parameters of the problem and not a single "line of action" even suggests finding a way to reduce the demand for livestock in the world. It is simply expected that people will continue consuming meat, eggs, and milk. I think that is perfectly valid for many undeveloped countries; livestock is one of their few sources of food. However, in developed nations, I think that need is far far less. Instead, it is mostly a desire to eat meat. And, I think this is my precise argument against eating meat, we don't need to eat meat and any rational person can see the harm it causes to our environment. So, if you are an environmentalist, you might really consider cutting down your meat intake.
The entire report is rather sleep inducing, so skip to the summary and conclusions. As much as people tout their "green" or "organic" or "ethical" meat choices, the environmental impact of eating meat is probably one of your single, greatest contributions to water usage and greenhouse gas emissions. Look at Table 7.1 for a list of the facts and figures. Let's not even point out the pollution aspects of livestock.
Now, skip to the last two pages of the conclusion. The report is focused on the global problem of livestock's environmental impact and contains perfectly valid projections that show the demand for livestock will continue to grow over the coming years. As such, it is focused on the current parameters of the problem and not a single "line of action" even suggests finding a way to reduce the demand for livestock in the world. It is simply expected that people will continue consuming meat, eggs, and milk. I think that is perfectly valid for many undeveloped countries; livestock is one of their few sources of food. However, in developed nations, I think that need is far far less. Instead, it is mostly a desire to eat meat. And, I think this is my precise argument against eating meat, we don't need to eat meat and any rational person can see the harm it causes to our environment. So, if you are an environmentalist, you might really consider cutting down your meat intake.
– Posted: March 15, 2009, 09:50 am