[statecom-discuss] Fwd: Vegetarian is the New Prius By Kathy
Freston Huffing
Larry Ely
tetrahedrons at crocker.com
Mon Feb 5 07:49:26 EST 2007
Folks, here is a scientific component to the global warming issue that
perhaps GRP can include in its platform issues.
Larry Ely
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>Subject: Vegetarian is the New Prius By Kathy Freston Huffing
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>Vegetarian is the New Prius
>> * Vegetarian is the New Prius
>> * By Kathy Freston
>> * Huffington Post, 1.20.07
>> * <http://www.commondreams.org/>Straight to the Source
>>President Herbert Hoover promised "a chicken in every pot and a car in
>>every garage." With warnings about global warming reaching feverish
>>levels, many are having second thoughts about all those cars. It seems
>>they should instead be worrying about the chickens.
>>
>>Last month, the United Nations published a report on livestock and the
>>environment with a stunning conclusion: "The livestock sector emerges as
>>one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most
>>serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." It
>>turns out that raising animals for food is a primary cause of land
>>degradation, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution, loss of
>>biodiversity, and not least of all, global warming.
>>
>>That's right, global warming. You've probably heard the story: emissions
>>of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide are changing our climate, and
>>scientists warn of more extreme weather, coastal flooding, spreading
>>disease, and mass extinctions. It seems that when you step outside and
>>wonder what happened to winter, you might want to think about what you
>>had for dinner last night. The U.N. report says almost a fifth of global
>>warming emission¼é s come from livestock (i.e., those chickens Hoover was
>>talking about, plus pigs, cattle, and others)--that's more emissions than
>>from all of the world's transportation combined.
>>
>>For a decade now, the image of Leonardo DiCaprio cruising in his hybrid
>>Toyota Prius has defined the gold standard for environmentalism. These
>>gas-sipping vehicles became a veritable symbol of the consumers' power to
>>strike a blow against global warming. Just think: a car that could cut
>>your vehicle emissions in half - in a country responsible for 25% of the
>>world's total greenhouse gas emissions. Federal fuel economy standards
>>languished in Congress, and average vehicle mileage dropped to its lowest
>>level in decades, but the Prius showed people that another way is
>>possible. Toyota could not import the cars fast enough to meet demand.
>>
>>Last year researchers at the University of Chicago took the Prius down a
>>peg when they turned their attention to another gas guzzling consumer
>>purchase. They noted that feeding animals for meat, dairy, and egg
>>production requires growing some ten times as much crops as we'd need if
>>we just ate pasta primavera, faux chicken nuggets, and other plant foods.
>>On top of that, we have to transport the animals to slaughterhouses,
>>slaughter them, refrigerate their carcasses, and distribute their flesh
>>all across the country. Producing a calorie of meat protein means burning
>>more than ten times as much fossil fuels--and spewing more than ten times
>>as much heat-trapping carbon dioxide--as does a calorie of plant protein.
>>The researchers found that, whe¼é n it's all added up, the average
>>American does more to reduce global warming emissions by going vegetarian
>>than by switching to a Prius.
>>
>>According to the UN report, it gets even worse when we include the vast
>>quantities of land needed to give us our steak and pork chops. Animal
>>agriculture takes up an incredible 70% of all agricultural land, and 30%
>>of the total land surface of the planet. As a result, farmed animals are
>>probably the biggest cause of slashing and burning the world's forests.
>>Today, 70% of former Amazon rainforest is used for pastureland, and feed
>>crops cover much of the remainder. These forests serve as "sinks,"
>>absorbing carbon dioxide from the air, and burning these forests releases
>>all the stored carbon dioxide, quantities that exceed by far the fossil
>>fuel emission of animal agriculture.
>>
>>As if that wasn't bad enough, the real kicker comes when looking at gases
>>besides carbon dioxide--gases like methane and nitrous oxide, enormously
>>effective greenhouse gases with 23 and 296 times the warming power of
>>carbon dioxide, respectively. If carbon dioxide is responsible for about
>>one-half of human-related greenhouse gas warming since the industrial
>>revolution, methane and nitrous oxide are responsible for another
>>one-third. These super-strong gases come primarily from farmed animals'
>>digestive processes, and from their manure. In fact, while animal
>>agriculture accounts for 9% of our carbon dioxide emissions, it emits 37%
>>of our methane, and a whopping 65% of our nitrous oxide.
>>¼é
>>It's a little hard to take in when thinking of a small chick hatching
>>from her fragile egg. How can an animal, so seemingly insignificant
>>against the vastness of the earth, give off so much greenhouse gas as to
>>change the global climate? The answer is in their sheer numbers. The
>>United States alone slaughters more than 10 billion land animals every
>>year, all to sustain a meat-ravenous culture that can barely conceive of
>>a time not long ago when "a chicken in every pot" was considered a
>>luxury. Land animals raised for food make up a staggering 20% of the
>>entire land animal biomass of the earth. We are eating our planet to death.
>>
>>What we're seeing is just the beginning, too. Meat consumption has
>>increased five-fold in the past fifty years, and is expected to double
>>again in the next fifty.
>>
>>It sounds like a lot of bad news, but in fact it's quite the opposite. It
>>means we have a powerful new weapon to use in addressing the most serious
>>environmental crisis ever to face humanity. The Prius was an important
>>step forward, but how often are people in the market for a new car? Now
>>that we know a greener diet is even more effective than a greener car, we
>>can make a difference at every single meal, simply by leaving the animals
>>off of our plates. Who would have thought: what's good for our health is
>>also good for the health of the planet!
>>
>>Going veg provides more bang for your buck than driving a Prius. Plus,
>>that bang comes a lot faster. The Prius cuts emissions of carbon dioxide,
>>which spreads its warming effect slowly over a century. A big chunk of
>>the problem with farmed animals, on the other hand, is methane, a gas
>>which cycles out of the atmosphere in just a decade. That means less meat
>>consumption quickly translates into a cooler planet.
>>
>>Not just a cooler planet, also a cleaner one. Animal agriculture accounts
>>for most of the water consumed in this country, emits two-thirds of the
>>world's acid-rain-causing ammonia, and it the world's largest source of
>>water pollution--killing entire river and marine ecosystems, destroying
>>coral reefs, and of course, making people sick. Try to imagine the
>>prodigious volumes of manure churned out by modern American farms: 5
>>million tons a day, more than a hundred times that of the human
>>population, and far more than our land can possibly absorb. The acres and
>>acres of cesspools stretching over much of our countryside, polluting the
>>air and contaminating our water, make the Exxon Valdez oil spill look
>>minor in comparison. All of which we can fix surprisingly easily, just by
>>putting down our chicken wings and reaching for a veggie burger.
>>
>>Doing so has never been easier. Recent years have seen an explosion of
>>environmentally-friendly vegetarian foods. ¼é Even chains like Ruby
>>Tuesday, Johnny Rockets, and Burger King offer delicious veggie burgers
>>and supermarket refrigerators are lined with heart-healthy creamy soymilk
>>and tasty veggie deli slices. Vegetarian foods have become staples at
>>environmental gatherings, and garnered celebrity advocates like Bill
>>Maher, Alec Baldwin, Paul McCartney, and of course Leonardo DiCaprio.
>>Just as the Prius showed us that we each have in our hands the power to
>>make a difference against a problem that endangers the future of
>>humanity, going vegetarian gives us a new way to dramatically reduce our
>>dangerous emissions that is even more effective, easier to do, more
>>accessible to everyone and certainly goes better with french fries.
>>
>>Ever-rising temperatures, melting ice caps, spreading tropical diseases,
>>stronger hurricanes... So, what are you do doing for dinner tonight?
>>Check out <http://www.vegcooking.com/>www.VegCooking.com for great ideas,
>>free recipes, meal plans, and more! Check out the environmental section
>>of <http://www.goveg.com/>www.GoVeg.com for a lot more information about
>>the harmful effect of meat-eating on the environment.
>>
>>Kathy Freston is a self-help author and personal growth and spirituality
>>counselor. She is the author of Expect a Miracle: Seven Spiritual Steps
>>to Finding the Right Relationship. Her CDs offering guided meditation
>>have been featured in W, Self, and Mode. Kathy and her husband, Tom
>>Freston, divide their time between New York and Los Angeles.
>>
>>© 2007 The Huffington Post
>
> Livestock a major threat to environment
>Remedies urgently needed
>29 November 2006, Rome - Which causes more greenhouse gas emissions,
>rearing cattle or driving cars?
>
>Surprise!
>
>According to a new report published by the United Nations Food and
>Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector generates more greenhouse
>gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport.
>It is also
>
>Says Henning Steinfeld, Chief of FAO’s Livestock Information and Policy
>Branch and senior author of the report: “Livestock are one of the most
>significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems.
>Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.â€
>
>With increased prosperity, people are consuming more meat and dairy
>products every year. Global meat production is projected to more than
>double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/2001 to 465 million tonnes in 2050,
>while milk output is set to climb from 580 to 1043 million tonnes.
>
>Long shadow
>
>The global livestock sector is growing faster than any other agricultural
>sub-sector. It provides livelihoods to about 1.3 billion people and
>contributes about 40 percent to global agricultural output. For many poor
>farmers in developing countries livestock are also a source of renewable
>energy for draft and an essential source of organic fertilizer for their
>crops.
>
>But such rapid growth exacts a steep environmental price, according to the
>FAO report, Livestock’s Long Shadow –Environmental Issues and Options.
>When emissions from land use and land use change are included, the
>livestock sector accounts for 9 percent of CO2 deriving from human-related
>activities, but produces a much larger share of even more harmful
>greenhouse gases. It generates 65 percent of human-related nitrous oxide,
>which has 296 times the Global Warming Potential (GWP) of CO2. Most of
>this comes from manure.
>
>And it accounts for respectively 37 percent of all human-induced methane
>(23 times as warming as CO2), which is largely produced by the digestive
>system of ruminants, and 64 percent of ammonia, which contributes
>significantly to acid rain.
>
>Livestock now use 30 percent of the earth’s entire land surface, mostly
>permanent pasture but also including 33 percent of the global arable land
>used to producing feed for livestock, the report notes. As forests are
>cleared to create new pastures, it is a major driver of deforestation,
>especially in Latin America where, for example, some 70 percent of former
>forests in the Amazon have been turned over to grazing.
>
>Land and water
>
>At the same time herds cause wide-scale land degradation, with about 20
>percent of pastures considered as degraded through overgrazing, compaction
>and erosion. This figure is even higher in the drylands where
>inappropriate policies and inadequate livestock management contribute to
>advancing desertification.
>
>The livestock business is among the most damaging sectors to the earth’s
>increasingly scarce water resources, contributing among other things to
>water pollution, euthropication and the degeneration of coral reefs. The
>major polluting agents are animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones,
>chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and the pesticides used to spray
>feed crops. Widespread overgrazing disturbs water cycles, reducing
>replenishment of above and below ground water resources. Significant
>amounts of water are withdrawn for the production of feed.
>
>Livestock are estimated to be the main inland source of phosphorous and
>nitrogen contamination of the South China Sea, contributing to
>biodiversity loss in marine ecosystems.
>
>Meat and dairy animals now account for about 20 percent of all terrestrial
>animal biomass. Livestock’s presence in vast tracts of land and its
>demand for feed crops also contribute to biodiversity loss; 15 out of 24
>important ecosystem services are assessed as in decline, with livestock
>identified as a culprit.
>
>Remedies
>
>The report, which was produced with the support of the multi-institutional
>Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative, proposes
>explicitly to consider these environmental costs and suggests a number of
>ways of remedying the situation, including:
>
>Land degradation – controlling access and removing obstacles to mobility
>on commo
>
>Atmosphere and climate – increasing the efficiency of livestock production
>and fe
>
>Water – improving the efficiency of irrigation systems. Introducing
>full-cost pricing for water together with taxes to discourage large-scale
>livestock concentration close to cities.
>
>These and related questions are the focus of discussions between FAO and
>its partners meeting to chart the way forward for livestock production at
>global consultations in Bangkok this week. These discussions also include
>the substantial public health risks related to the rapid livestock sector
>growth as, increasingly, animal diseases also affect humans; rapid
>livestock sector growth can also lead to the exclusion of smallholders
>from growing markets.
>
>
>Contact:
>Christopher Matthews
>Media Relations, FAO
><mailto:christopher.matthews at fao.org>christopher.matthews at fao.org
>(+39) 06 570 53762
>
>
>
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