The next time you sit down to a steak dinner, or decide to light up the barbie and throw on a few sausages, think of this – if everyone in Australia chose the garden salad, or the vegetable pie instead of the rump roast once a week, our collective effort would spare the environment 12 million cars worth of carbon emissions for that day.1
Ghent, the second largest municipality of Belgium with a population of almost 250 000, has introduced “Veggie Dag” (Veggie Day). Every Thursday, Belgians fight obesity, cruelty to animals and global warming by replacing one meal each week with a vegetarian alternative. In England, Sir Paul McCartney recently launched Meat Free Monday, to help slow climate change.
We are bombarded with the urgency of lowering carbon emissions. We are asked to think about our carbon footprint and how we can take steps to reduce it's massive size. There is no doubt that cars emit carbon and carbon dioxide emissions are a major issue, but CO2 is not the only greenhouse gas. There is methane, a gas that according to the CSIRO is 25 times more potent for global warming than CO2.2
Burping Cattle
We're made to feel guilty about driving our cars, particularly the four-wheel drive variety, but there are 26.7 million cows in Australia each producing more greenhouse gases in the form of methane per day, than the average four-wheel drive does on a 50-kilometre trip. There are jokes about burping cattle and their contribution to greenhouse gases, but how many of us take this seriously? How many of us think about the amount of meat and dairy products we consume to create the demand for every single one of those cows?
Livestock production contributes 18% of global warming gases and 30% of arable land has been cleared and dedicated to the production of livestock for meat alone. This includes the millions of acres that are planted with grain to keep these animals fed. The plight of the Amazon rainforest has occurred largely as a result of the international demand for meat and dairy products. Crops, such as genetically modified soya, are produced in this fertile soil, purely as feed for livestock. Because of this demand, half of the Amazon will be destroyed within 20 years.
History shows that Australians, per capita, consume 50% more meat now than they did in the 60s. The current figure is set to double by the year 2050. The global consumption of meat in 1999/2001 tipped 229 million tonnes and is set to climb to 465 million tonnes by 2050. At present, there are 1.5 billion cows in the world. This means that the global cattle population will increase to over 3 billion by 2050, to meet that demand. Australia will contribute 500 million to that figure. Interestingly, vegetables and grain production requires a fraction of the resources it takes to raise the equivalent protein value in meat. In fact, it takes 4.5 kilos of grain to produce 500 grams of steak.3
So what can we do?
Eat less meat. Eat more plants. Food writer, Mark Bittman believes it's that simple. The evidence is clear that heart disease, diabetes and many cancers can be reversed or halted by consuming less animal products. There is no argument that our diet has everything to do with the statistics that 60% of adults and 15% of children are obese. There is a symbiotic relationship between our own health and the health of the planet. At present, neither is doing well.
There are many who believe in the importance of meat in the human diet for nutrition. In reality, the human body requires no more than 250 grams of meat per week. Currently, the average person in Australia, Canada and America dines on 250 grams of meat per day.
If we are going to continue to eat meat, let's do it thoughtfully. Think about the welfare of the animals, the health of our bodies and most importantly, the health of our planet. Could we join Sir Paul and the good people of Ghent, by introducing a meat free day at our homes or schools? One meat free day per week, means a reduction in greenhouse gasses from livestock by one seventh. It's not enough, but it's a start.
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More information on this topic into our food and drink section.
1www.fao.orgLivestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options (2006)
One thing I particularly appreciated in this post is " Eat less meat. Eat more plants." It is absolutely true and important.
However, nothing is written on waste. A lot of food - between a quarter and a third - is wasted. That's a lot of meat as well...
Additionally, not all meat have the same impact. Chickens and pigs have a far lower impact than cows. This is why we need to eat less red meat first.
I cut my consumption of meat for the past two years and eat more cereals, veggies and fruits instead. Like for many other things I now tend to prefer quality instead of quantity :-)
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The next time you sit down to a steak dinner, or decide to light up the barbie and throw on a few sausages, think of this – if everyone in Australia chose the garden salad, or the vegetable pie instead of the rump roast once a week, our collective effort would spare the environment 12 million cars worth of 
Comments
One thing I particularly appreciated in this post is " Eat less meat. Eat more plants." It is absolutely true and important.
However, nothing is written on waste. A lot of food - between a quarter and a third - is wasted. That's a lot of meat as well...
Additionally, not all meat have the same impact. Chickens and pigs have a far lower impact than cows. This is why we need to eat less red meat first.
I cut my consumption of meat for the past two years and eat more cereals, veggies and fruits instead. Like for many other things I now tend to prefer quality instead of quantity :-)
Keep up the good work !