Eating meat could become as socially unacceptable as drink-driving because of the impact it has on global warming, according to a senior authority on climate change. Lord Stern of Brentford, former adviser to the government on the economics of climate change, said people will have to consider turning vegetarian to help reduce global carbon emissions. “Meat is a wasteful use of water and creates a lot of greenhouse gases. It puts enormous pressure on the world’s resources. A vegetarian diet is better,” Stern said.
The Grumpy Vegan trying not to feel too smug as he reads People may have to go vegetarian to save planet says Lord Stern but it’s good to see someone who represents mainstream thinking catching up with what us vegans and vegetarians have been saying for decades.
Plus!
There’s the recent shocking revelation that
A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock’s Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions are attributable to cattle, buffalo, sheep, goats, camels, pigs, and poultry. But recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang finds that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions.
So says the prestigious Worldwatch Institute. Just can’t seem to wipe that smile off my face. But, seriously, want to save the planet (and, by the way, us humans)? Go vegan! Further, it’s clearly more than that but it’s a big start. If Singer thought meat should be taxed, perhaps, we’ll have to start charging unrepentant and persistent meat- and dairy-eaters with genocide, crimes against humanity and, of course, the animals. Just a thought. Admittedly, a deliciously evil one.
