Download Eating Our Way Out of a Pickle

Readers Digest
November 2009
By Scott Leslie
Eating Our Way Out of a Pickle
How Changing to a Healthier diet could help fight Global Warming
Can’t run out and buy a new hybrid car, can’t afford to install solar panels on the
roof of your house, or public transit just isn’t an option for you? Don’t worry: There is
something simple that each of us can do to help fight climate change and the answer just
might surprise you. By cutting back on our consumption of animal based foods—
meats, dairy, and eggs—we can greatly reduce global greenhouse-gas emissions.
Scientists from the Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency, using data
from the United Nations Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO) and integrated
assessment modelling, have found that through diet change alone, we could cut about
half of what’s needed to avoid the worst effects of global warming, limiting the
temperature increase to no more then 2 degrees C. And there’s more: By reducing our
greenhouse-gas emissions in this way, we would also lessen the need for expensive and
unproven technologies, such as “clean coal” power plants. This would save an estimated
$20 trillion by 2050.
This isn’t the first time a strong link has been shown between the consumption of
animal products and climate change. An in-depth 2006 FAO report that examined the
impact of livestock production on the global environment noted that livestock’s overall
contribution through deforestation for pasture lands and other activities related to rearing
the meat, “currently amounts to 18% of the global warming effect—an even larger
contribution than the transportation sector worldwide.”
Other studies have come to similar conclusions. But this latest research from the
Netherlands breaks new ground. “Our study is the first one that looks into the effect of
the reduction of meat consumption on climate change and on the costs of climate policy,”
says the lead author, Elke Stehfest.
Many experts agree that the diet and lifestyle decisions we make can make a big
difference. “Diet is factor over which consumers have a great deal of control. We can’t
always choose whether or not we use electricity from alternative, non greenhousegas-emitting sources, but we can readily adjust our diets to reduce our carbon
footprint,” says Nathan Pelletier, a PhD. Student in ecological economics at Dalhousie
University. And some changes make a bigger difference than others. “Beef products
typically have the largest greenhouse-gas footprint, while others, such as chicken, are
much smaller,” Pelletier adds.
At this point you’re probably asking yourself, am I going to have to become
vegetarian, to help save the planet? No you don’t. According to the Dutch study, simply
reducing our intake of meat and other animal products should do the trick. “We were
quite surprised how much effect a supposedly healthy diet with still-significant meat
consumption would have on mitigating climate change, “says Stehfest. In fact, the
benefits cited in the study are based on diet recommendations from Eat, Drink, and Be
Healthy; the Harvard Medical School Guide to Healthy Eating. The other surprise,” she
adds “was how much cheaper ambitious climate targets become when changing the diet.”
It looks like a win-win idea.
Pelletier echoes the positive outcome of such an adjustment in eating habits.
“According to most healthy eating guides, the typical North American currently
consumes twice as much meat as needed,” he says. “Such a change should be palatable
to many people, since we’re not talking about giving up meat altogether, just cutting back
to healthy levels.” The bottom line is that it appears that eating to become healthier
is also a boon to the planet.
So, you might be asking, why is eating less meat so beneficial for the climate?
Right now, there are just too many cows, sheep and other livestock on the planet.
Individually, they may seem harmless enough, but collectively, their numbers—in the
billions—take a huge toll on the global environment. They account for nearly one fifth
of the total contribution of all greenhouse gases to climate change. Through their
belching, flatulence and manure, they’re responsible for about 37% of the methane
and 65% of the nitrous oxide produced worldwide by human-related activities. On
a pound-for-pound basis, these two gases are 23 and 296 times worse respectively
for global warming than carbon dioxide.
In the simplest of terms, producing a single 250 gram beef patty for typical
hamburger results in roughly as much greenhouse-gas emissions as driving a midsized car about 16 kilometres. Moreover, the loss of the vegetation—which absorbs
carbon dioxide—from past and continued clearing of millions of hectares of forest for
grazing lands also contributes to warming of the Earth.
Far from being discouraging this newly emerging scientific knowledge shows that
each of us can easily do something to make the world a better place for ourselves and for
future generations. And while massive technological and institutional changes in energy
production and transportation are no doubt also necessary to address global warming,
dietary adjustment is increasingly being seen by scientists as a key piece of the puzzle for
tackling climate change.
It’s very encouraging to know that one of the most powerful solutions of all is
also the simplest, and it’s right under our noses, on our dinner plates.