Meat and Climate Change: It's Even Worse Than We Imagined

I got some great responses to a my recent post, "Why Won't Al Gore Talk About Meat?" The best came from Hope Bohanec, Grassroots Campaigns Director at In Defense of Animals. After first thanking me for "calling out" Gore on this issue, she informed me: "The 18 percent number is now out-dated." She was referring to the 2006 report "Livestock's Long Shadow, compiled by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Committee" which states animal agriculture accounts for 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.

Hope Bohanec promptly set the record (and me) straight:

"According to a new report from World Watch, animal byproducts are responsible for 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide human caused greenhouse gas. Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, are the co-authors of a new report called Livestock and Climate Change. In their study, they discuss how the widely cited UN FAO estimates grossly undervalues that sector's impact. Goodland, who was the lead environmental adviser for the World Bank for 23 years, and Anhang, also an affiliate of the World Bank as a research officer and environmental specialist, find that previous,calculations have misjudged and ignored certain emissions sources as well as assigned emissions they deem to be livestock-related to the wrong sectors. The authors bring to light these inconsistencies through analysis of livestock respiration, land use, and methane emissions."

Animal byproducts are responsible for 51 percent of annual worldwide human-caused greenhouse gas. Is your jaw dropping yet?

WATCH VIDEO: An Inconvenient Truth

"Based on their research," continued Bohanec, "Goodland and Anhang conclude that replacing animal products with soy-based and other alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. The report states, 'This approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations—and thus, on the rate the climate is warming—than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.' They argue that food producers should mount a major campaign to promote the consumption of plant-based foods, including meat analogs."

Hope sums up: "This is now one of the sharpest tools in our toolbox."

Keep reading and learn 2 Steps You Can Take Right Now.

1. Spread the Word:

Send this post out far and wide and save the link to use as a retort to all those who believe what they eat is merely a "personal choice."

2. Go Vegan:

Just say no to animal products and yes to plant-based life. It's good for you, the animals will thank you, and Planet Earth will breathe a tiny sigh of relief. Go vegan!