Cutting back on meat

You might be concerned with climate change but you may be overlooking a very important contributor. That is the message from the latest report from Chatham House — “Livestock: Climate Change’s Forgotten Sector“. The think tanks goes on to put some of the blame on governments and green groups who they claim don’t mention the issue because they are nervous of the backlash of consumers.

According to the report, the livestock sector accounts for 14.5% of the global emissions total. That is higher than the total transport emissions. Green groups are very willing to tell you that the plane journey you are taking is damaging to the environment or that you should use a bike rather than a car. Even airlines offer the option to offset your emissions when you fly. You don’t get that option when you are buying your steak!

So why can’t we recognise that by eating meat we may be contributing to climate change? Can we really not go without or simply cut down on something we enjoy?

It seems very blinkered to ignore the issue yet, despite it being raised repeatedly, there is no doubt that it is often skimmed over. There are few groups who even encourage or campaign for a reduction in our meat consumption. Meat Free Monday is probably the most high profile through winning celebrity support in Paul McCartney yet even’s it attempt to get people to go meat free for one day a week has largely fallen on deaf ears.

So how can we encourage people to eat less meat in their diet?

Well, one clear option is to make everyday eating uneconomical. The first step could simply be to increase welfare standards by ensuring that animals are not contained in feedlots but are let out on to pasture land. Rather than feeding them with concentrated grains, grass fed livestock is both better quality and slower growing. This means that the cost of meat would rise.

Introducing further measures such as a greenhouse emissions tax on the sale of meat would encourage people to eat less. But these measures need governmental implementation. That is not going to happen politically until there is a better understanding and acceptance from consumers that their dietary choices have a huge impact on climate change and the environment.

It may be unpopular but it is perfectly doable. The anti smoking laws which were introduced have been widely accepted in the UK. There is no reason why this could not be the same with meat. Simply cutting some meat out of peoples diets would be a great first step and would certainly help climate change as well as health problems which are associated with eating meat.

Its time we stopped ignoring the issue and started accepting that in the face of climate change our lifestyles might have to change.

Thanks for reading!

Please let us know what you think by leaving a comment below. You can follow our blog or follow us on twitter @shrksuplychain

Like this:

Like Loading…

Related

Originally published at shrinkthesupplychain.com on December 3, 2014.