Let’s talk diet and climate change. Again. Because this is as close to home as you can get. And for many of us, changing to a plant-based diet seems like a step too far. But really. Take it from one who’s made the transition. It isn’t all that hard. Particularly these days, when veganism has become a ‘glam’ identity. Let’s say you just make a decision to dramatically cut back on meat and dairy. That might be enough. For now.
Listen up.
A major IPPC report on land use and climate change suggests we could increase the number of people we can feed using less land if meat wasn’t such a major source of nutrition, according to the BBC. (Plant-based diet can fight climate change - UN). A vital point, given that food insecurity is one of the largest challenges we face due to a changing climate.
"We're not telling people to stop eating meat. In some places, people have no other choice. But it's obvious that in the West we're eating far too much," said Prof Pete Smith, an environmental scientist from Aberdeen University, UK.
The world’s 1.4 billion cattle contribute 40% of methane admissions (interesting they pass more methane through belching than they do by farting).
A report published in The Lancet in 2019 concluded that a dietary shift toward plant foods and away from animal products is vital for promoting the health of our planet. The report states that projections for the future show that “vegan and vegetarian diets were associated with the greatest reductions in greenhouse-gas emissions.” www.pcrm.org/...
According to a report by GRAIN and the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy, the five largest producers of meat and dairy products are responsible for more GHG emissions than BP, Shell, and ExxonMobil. The unregulated growth of these two industries, coupled with the subsidies they receive raises emissions to even more dangerous levels. If the production of meat and dairy remains unregulated, these two sources of GHGs would account for 80% of production by 2050.
Swapping beef for beans could help the United States reach targeted greenhouse gas emission reductions, according to one study. Researchers compared simulated net emissions of legume production, subtracted those from average beef production rates, and used U.S. reduction goals for 2020 as a reference. Based on the results, legume substitution could account for 46-74% of the required reduction www.pcrm.org/… www.pcrm.org/...
While there is little doubt that how and what we eat contributes to climate change, studies differ about the quantitative changes; with some research showing going vegan would only reduce greenhouse gas emissions per person by 3%. Others evaluate halving meat consumption and reflect a reduction in emissions per person of 20-30%, the Guardian reports.
“Probably the most important thing to point out is that emissions are often viewed as the only metric of sustainability: they are not. Impacts of farming systems on carbon sequestration, soil acidification, water quality, and broader ecosystem services also need to be well considered,” said Matthew Harrison, systems modeling team leader at the Tasmanian Institute of Agriculture.
“There is also a need to account for farming systems that may replace livestock,” he said.
George Monbiot points out in the Guardian piece that the numbers vary depending on what scientists measure.
“There are two completely different ways look at the carbon impact of diet: one is carbon released by producing this or that food – that is ‘carbon current account’. But another one is ‘carbon capital account’, which is the carbon opportunity cost of producing this food rather than another one,” he said.
“If you are producing meat, for example, what might land be used for if you took meat away? If you are growing forests there instead or peat bog there.”
Changing how we eat is an issue that needs to be addressed by world governments in addressing climate change but even so, Monbiot says, “we should still try and change our diets.”
Going All the Way: The Vegan Lifestyle
“Nothing really compares to beef, lamb, pork, and dairy – these products are in a league of their own in the level of damage they typically do to the environment, on almost every environmental issue we track,” says Joseph Poore, a researcher at the University of Oxford who studies the environmental impacts of food. “But it’s essential to be mindful about everything we consume: air-transported fruit and veg can create more greenhouse gas emissions per kilogram than poultry meat, for example."
While Charlotte Willis (How to go vegan: 31 top tips to make the transition easy) provides a tantalizing primer to introduce newcomers to the vegan diet, there’s a lot more to living a vegan lifestyle than just what you eat.
The Vegan Society defines the vegan lifestyle as “a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose.”
We know that animals are used to create many consumer products, from soaps and cosmetics to clothing. Vegans wear synthetic fabrics, for instance, instead of wool made from sheep, llamas, alpacas, and other animals. It’s true that these animals aren’t killed for their fur. However, they’re terrorized during the shearing process, which they don’t understand, and are left without their natural protection from the elements.
Just as the vegan lifestyle is about intent, it’s also about mindfulness. Before buying something at the store, a vegan considers whether or not it has had a deleterious impact on animals in any way. www.veganfoodandliving.com/...
Just how environmentally friendly, however, is wearing and using synthetic products?
Synthetic fiber nylon has the highest impact per kilogram for climate change and fossil fuel use.
Plastic-based or synthetic textiles are woven into our daily lives in Europe. They are in the clothes we wear, the towels we use and the bed sheets we sleep in. They are in the carpets, curtains and cushions we decorate our homes and offices with. And they are in safety belts, and car tires, workwear and sportswear. Synthetic textile fibres are produced from fossil fuel resources, such as oil and natural gas. Their production, consumption and related waste handling generate greenhouse gas emissions, use non-renewable resources and can release microplastics. This briefing provides an overview of the synthetic textile economy in Europe, analyses environmental and climate impacts, and highlights the potential for developing a circular economy value chain www.eea.europa.eu/....
The writers in Climate Brief work to keep the Daily Kos community informed and engaged with breaking news about the climate crisis around the world while providing inspiring stories of environmental heroes, opportunities for direct engagement, and perspectives on the intersection of climate activism with spirituality, politics, and the arts.
