Eating right for the planet
Just in time for Blog Action Day, I came across this interesting Globe and Mail article about diet and the environment.
Meat consumption’s negative effect on the planet has been big news especially since the release of the UN’s report Livestock’s Long Shadow in 2006. Animals raised for human consumption do more damage to the environment than all those SUVs combined. So what’s an environment-loving person to do? Simple: eat a lot less meat.
It is generally thought that a vegetarian diet has the least negative impact on the environment, but the Globe and Mail article unveils results from a Cornell University study that suggest that this might not exactly be the case. According to the article, a diet containing just a little bit of meat and dairy “is more efficient because it relies more on pasture land that is widely available.” It goes on to make the following conclusion:
In order to more efficiently use land that supports a moderate-fat, vegetarian diet, the study suggests limiting annual meat and egg intake to about two cooked ounces a day – a significant drop from the typical North American high-meat, high-dairy diet. (Canadians and Americans consume almost 220 pounds of meat per capita each year, or more than nine ounces a day.)
What the article fails to explore is this: in a world where most of my neighbors consume way too much meat, wouldn’t I be doing the best I could for the environment by not eating any at all? Surely the neighbors are more than consuming my share of the efficiently-produced meat and dairy products.
At any rate, the article makes it clear that a low- or no-meat diet is the way to go if you are interested in doing right by the environment. But is this information enough to sway your eating patterns?
I already had healthy eating habits before I cut meat out of my diet over a year and a half ago, so my main reasons were the environment and the treatment of animals (which are really very closely connected).
I did a Blog Action Day post about publishing and the environment today on my blog, fadetheory.com. I didn’t officially sign up littlerinch.com, but I think I’ll do a round-up of BAD posts. Expect to see this one there…
There’s a fantastic book, called Deep Economy, which also talks to the gallons of fuel to deliver those crops to storage, then storage, to stores or canneries, then canneries to our store shelf… then to our home or restaurant.
It was quite an eye opener! I believe the book said the average vegetable that you eat at dinner travels about 1800 miles!!!
One thing all of us could do according to the book (and I’m guilty of not doing it) is to support our local farmers’ markets and our local farms.
Hey! I did a Blog Action Day post as well. Pretty much about the same topic above. I also made a link to your blog.
Just like Rachel, I have been eating healthily and reasonably by taking into account the treatment of animals and the effects of choosing food on the environment. I find out about the origins of my food and I know the consequences my choices have, I educate myself constantly on these topics to make better choices every day. However, the vast majority of people are not educated. They do not know where their food comes from before it goes on their plate. They probably do not really care. I feel that there is a total disconnect between how food is produced and what it looks like as an endproduct, say, a cow in the slaughterhouse and the steak that people choose at the restaurant. Do kids know how butter or cheese is made? If we want to lessen our impact on the environment and alleviate animal suffering, we’ve got to start by (re)educating people. Which is what many of us do by writing blogs. Let’s keep it up!