Who is the Greenest of Them All?

Most arguments advocating vegetarianism focus on the issues of animal welfare and animal rights. For many, these arguments are compelling enough. Yet as the debate on climate change continues to rage, the green side to vegetarianism is gaining prominence.
Despite the lobby by meat producers and marketers which is trying to suppress all such views as nonsense, the fact is that meat production is one of the worst causes of pollution and global warming on our planet. It is not being suggested that everyone must give up eating meat altogether but everyone who does can make a huge difference by simply eating less of it. Meat eaters are quickly scared off when they learn of the disease carrying potential of poorly farmed and managed meat production. If they demanded less meat and were more aware of the provenance of what they are eating, much of the disease that concerns them so greatly would be eradicated.
Anyone who has ever tried to calculate their carbon footprint will know that eating meat increases the impact on the environment significantly. There is not just one, but several reasons for this. Farmed animals produce more greenhouse gas emissions (18 per cent) than the entire global transport system (13.5 per cent*. Nitrous oxide is almost 300 times as damaging to the climate as carbon dioxide (CO2). And a staggering 65 per cent of the total quantity of nitrous oxide produced by human-influenced activity comes from livestock – mostly from their manure.
Another greenhouse gas is methane, which is twenty three times more damaging to the ozone layer than CO2. The digestive system of cows and sheep alone account for almost 40 per cent of the total methane produced by human activity.
And then there is ammonia. The animals we rear for meat account for 64 per cent of all the ammonia that we humans impose on the atmosphere, contributing significantly to acid rain.
This brings us neatly onto the question of water. It takes far less water to grow crops, pulses, fruit and vegetables than it does to produce meat. And as we all know, despite the high volume of rainfall we have recently experienced, water shortages are becoming more of an issue even for the UK. Livestock production accounts for over eight per cent of global human water consumption. It takes thousands more litres of water to produce a kilo of beef than it does to grow the same quantity of grains, vegetables or pulses.
Rearing animals for meat also increases water pollution dramatically. Animal waste, antibiotics and hormones enter the water system along with chemicals from tanneries, and the fertilizers and pesticides we spray on the crops we grow to feed them.
But it’s not just the air and water supply that livestock production affects. Farmed animal production accounts for 70 per cent of all agricultural land use. That’s a staggering thirty per cent of the entire earth’s land surface. We use a third of the world’s land which is suitable for growing crops just to produce animal feed. We cause deforestation on a massive scale just to provide pasture land. Livestock production alone is responsible for 70 per cent of the rainforest clearance in Latin America. And once we’ve grazed our livestock on the land it is considerably less rich; 20 per cent of the world’s grazing land has been degraded as a result of rearing animals for meat. It takes just half the amount of land to grow food for vegetarians than for meat-eaters.
What can we do to help?
The environmental arguments are pretty compelling. We all have a carbon footprint and we can all do our bit to help. By eating less meat and, more importantly, producing less meat, we can reduce these figures and help meet global targets to reduce emissions. If we look closely at out diets, we are all a little bit veggie. Already, more of us are eating less meat every day. A simple step such as eating two or three vegetarian meals a week could really make a difference.
And these days it is easy to do so. The Vegetarian Society, a superb resource for ideas and inspiration, has produced a selection of seasonal meat-free recipes entitled Season to Taste. Besides the abundance of cereals, pulses, fruit and vegetables there are good alternatives to meat such as tofu which contains the equivalent protein and amino acids of meat. The best source of “alternative” ingredients and easy to use chilled fresh and frozen “ready meals” – your local health food store.
Further information from: The Vegetarian Society: 0161 925 2000 www.vegsoc.org. Cauldron’s tofu products and recipe ideas: www.cauldronfoods.co.uk