Carnivore or Herbivore?

As part of Qatar’s public programme at COP18, they held a variety of talks ranging from the technical, dealing with Carbon Capture technology and more, to the social, how lifestyle changes can impact Climate Change. I had the pleasure of attending one of the latter which was entitled “Our Eating Choice is our Most Powerful Voice”. I particularly empathised with this subject considering I have been a vegetarian now for over two years but for many, particularly Muslims, I know this is a choice that is hard to understand or consider for oneself. So let me put across some of the arguments shared in this talk and maybe we can all get a better understanding of how our eating habits are impacting our planet.

There are several sides to the argument including how being vegan can actually reduce long term disease and improve your health. However, I will concentrate on highlighting solely the impact on poverty and climate change.

 

Did you know that 26% of the Earth’s land surface is used for livestock grazing? That 33% of global arable land grows feed grains for livestock not to feed us humans? Or that you need 16kg of grain to produce 1kg of meat? Meanwhile, around 1 billion people starve around the world. Does this not seem wasteful at all?  In fact, if we were to compare diets we would see that if the whole world ate meat daily we could feed only about 3 billion humans, yet if we were all vegetarians, we could feed 22 billion. In a world where the human population is ever on the increase having tripled since 1950, and food shortages are common across the developing world, this is a problem that we need to come to terms with as we look into our future. Surely the question of how our lifestyle could influence change is one we should take seriously? The more a country develops, the more meat consumption increases. This is unsustainable and will inevitably lead to concentration camp style meat production: unethical too. Yet, feeding everyone is easily achievable.

What does this have to do with climate change? According to the UNFAO, “Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems. Urgent action is required to remedy the situation.” The UNFAO’s Livestock’s Long Shadow report states that, “Livestock are the main driver for deforestation... (and) the largest single source of water pollution.” At the current rate of deforestation, in the next 10 years Borneo’s famous forests will be gone. Such large scale deforestation is due to a single decision, to clear forest and plant palm trees for the production of palm oil instead, the most widely used oil in the world present in food, lipsticks, biofuels and more.

Monocultures are growing, but they are not forests and cannot provide the biodiversity or habitats that forests do (Trees provide a habitat for three quarters of the world’s biodiversity). This same pattern of loss is true of areas of the Philippines, Indonesia, the Amazon and elsewhere where Soya is also planted mostly for use in agriculture. Today, more than 50% of grain traded is used for animal feed or biofuel. We are clearing forest, a natural carbon capture device to feed livestock and power factories. Does this make sense?

 (Amazon rainforest cleared for cattle farming)

The Livestock’s Long Shadow report states that, “... livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emission, a bigger share than that of transport,” although some have put the estimate as high as 51%, taking into account the loss of respiration and carbon sequestration provided by forests. Livestock is a large producer of methane, a gas much more dangerous to our climate than carbon dioxide. According to Dr. Kirk Smith, Professor of Global Environmental Health at Berkeley, “A ton of methane emitted today will exert more warming in one year than a ton of carbon Dioxide emitted today would exert until 2075”:  a worrying statistic to be sure.

So why be vegan? For all the reasons stated above. It would mean less suffering for you and the planet, it leaves food for the needy, it cuts global warming by up to 51%, it allows forests to re-grow, and it leaves more grains available to create biofuels if needed. Allah has asked us to be the caretakers of this Earth, it is a responsibility on us and though lobbying, green transport and green policy are important, this is a simple way we could make great change. It means the power is in our hands: There is no need to wait for governments or corporations to institute change. You can make change yourself by a simple change in your lifestyle. If being vegan is too large a step, cut down your meat intake, inform yourself on how your meat has been produced, become a vegetarian.

And for those sceptics amongst you who believe the old wives tale that I long thought was true i.e. a vegan diet is unhealthy and lacks protein and nutrients, the American Dietetic Association, the world’s largest association of professional nutritionists, states that “...appropriately planned vegan diets ... are healthful, nutritionally adequate... are appropriate for individuals during all stages of the life cycle.”

“Be the change you want to see in the world”