Why We Should Eat Less Meat
There’s no denying it: we are changing our environment, and not for the better. The Earth’s temperature is warming, sea levels everywhere are rising, fresh water is dwindling, and these issues are all due to global warming caused by greenhouse gas emissions.
Greenhouse Gases and Agriculture
The World Resources Institute reported that 13 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions were produced by the agricultural sector in 2011, second only to emissions caused by energy production and transportation.
It takes nearly 1,800 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef. Photo courtesy of Roy's Farm.
Livestock enteric fermentation (i.e. flatulence) produces methane, a greenhouse gas 25 percent more efficient at trapping heat in the Earth's atmosphere than carbon dioxide. Agricultural fertilizers and manure decomposition emit nitrous oxide, one of the absolute worst greenhouse gases. Combined, livestock such as cattle, sheep, buffalo, and goats produce the majority of greenhouse gas emissions on farms.
While livestock flatulence may sound silly, it’s actually a prominent global issue. Because these animals are ruminants—meaning they do not directly digest their food, but rather pass it through multiple stomachs where it is fermented and eventually digested with the help of microbes—they belch constantly, each time releasing significant amounts of methane (the most harmful greenhouse gas) into the atmosphere.
Cattle are the largest contributors of enteric emissions, making up 77 percent of methane produced by ruminants.
Livestock contribute heavily to greenhouse gas emissions. Image courtesy of the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.
According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), greenhouse gases are gases that allow the sun’s rays to permeate them and hit the Earth directly. These gases reflect the sunlight back to Earth and trap the thermal heat in the lower atmosphere, effectively warming the planet.
A Complicated Issue
While ruminants contribute a dangerous amount of methane emissions on their own (30 percent of global emissions), the meat and dairy industries contribute their share of greenhouse gases as well. First, about 80 percent of global agricultural land is used to raise livestock and grow their feed. That's an exorbitant amount when you consider that farmed animal products are intended to make up only 18 percent of our daily calories and 37 percent of our protein.
All that land also means that areas have had, and will continue to require, massive deforestation.
The Hidden Costs of Hamburgers. Video courtesy of Reveal via Youtube.
Transporting meat and dairy to grocery stores also has a major carbon footprint, and is a factor often overlooked by consumers. According to Skeptical Science, "Fossil fuel combustion for energy and transportation is responsible for approximately 64% of human-caused greenhouse gas emissions globally, and more in developed countries (e.g. 80% in the USA)."
Refrigeration units in grocery stores also require a lot of energy to keep meat and dairy products cold, since they are the stores' most perishable products. The average U.S. grocery store emits around 1,900 tons of carbon dioxide every year, 50 percent of which comes from refrigeration and lighting.
Framing: How to Reach the Other Side
Author and cognitive linguist, George Lakoff, explains in his book, Don't Think of an Elephant, that the way we understand issues comes from the frames we filter the world through. Our frames stem from our values and beliefs, and can be changed—though not easily. Lakoff says that if you want to sell someone on an issue, it's important that you use your own language and focus on values/ideas/beliefs that he or she cares about.
That being said, I'm not advocating that every person on Earth needs to stop consuming meat and dairy. Veganism is a word that has negative connotations and will provoke defensive reactions in many omnivores; this is partly because meat eaters feel as though their morality is being attacked when people talk to them about veganism.
Food for thought: reducing your meat and dairy consumption can have an impact. Image courtesy of Family Counseling.
Instead of such a radical dietary shift, I think it's important to enact change on this issue by advocating for responsible meat and dairy consumption. This is empowering for omnivores because no restrictions are being placed on them and their morals are not being threatened. Instead, they have the power (and the responsibility) to reduce their consumption of animal products.
Meatless Mondays are already popular in the U.S., and are a good way for omnivores to begin scaling back their consumption. Eating vegetarian for a day or two a week can also provide significant benefits to our environment. The important message here is to stray away from "all or nothing" thinking.
And for those who want to make a radical shift? Consider the words of Joseph Poore, a researcher at the University of Oxford: "A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth."
