Global warming has been discussed in the news for a very long time. The global world temperature and emissions in the atmosphere are continuing to rise. 97% of actively publishing climate scientists agree that global warming and climate change is caused by humans. Some evidence for rapid climate change includes that the global temperature is rising, the ocean is getting warmer, ice sheets and glaciers are melting, sea levels are rising and extreme events are increasing in frequency. The impact of climate change is massive. If we don’t change our lifestyle quickly and fight global warming, we will have to deal with stronger hurricanes, more droughts and heat waves and changes in precipitation patterns. Especially the midwest will experience extreme heat, heavy downpours and flooding which will affect many parts of our lives.
Most of us are familiar with the fact that burning fossil fuels causes a big part of emissions which leads to global warming. Another part of our life with great significance is our diet, especially a meat-focused one. According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, about 15% of the global emissions are contributed by the livestock farming industry. The use of animals for meat causes twice the pollution of producing plant–based foods. Furthermore, industrial meat is the single biggest cause of deforestation globally. Rainforest gets burned down because the space is needed for cattle ranching or to grow industrial animal feed like soya. The meat industry also accounts for one quarter of the total use of freshwater worldwide.
WIth more and more people understanding that meat is not so good for the environment, there are also more people becoming vegetarian or vegan. In a vegan diet, there are no animal products like meat, fish, eggs and dairy products included. According to a study, 10% of U.S. adults identify as vegan or vegetarian. There is steady growth as well. From 2004 to 2019 the number of vegans in the U.S. has increased by 30 times. Plant-based food options also become more and more popular. For example, Burger King’s vegan burger was one of the most successful product launches in Burger King’s history. You may think that the vegan/vegetarian movement is still pretty small, but it is not only about vegans. Another big plant based company called “Beyond Meat” states that 70% of their vegan beyond burger patties are purchased by meat eaters. Furthermore, there are researchers working on developing lab-grown meat. There is the opportunity to take a cell sample from an animal and let it grow into animal tissue or meat in a laboratory. The Food and Drug Administration recently just cleared lab-grown meat for human consumption.
In my opinion, it is important to take climate change seriously and try to incorporate more sustainable habits into one’s own daily routine. Reducing meat consumption could be one part of that. I decided to not eat meat anymore in 2020. I also try to eat less of other animal products as well. I’m aware that meat plays a big role in the American diet and culture - especially in the Midwest. However, if we want to continue living on this planet I think that we have to alter our dietary habits at least a little bit. It is not about abolishing meat or going 100% meatless, but adjusting one's own lifestyle to a more sustainable world as much as possible.
Questions
Do you eat meat?
Have you ever tried vegan meat alternatives?
Do you think that we have to change our eating habits in the future?
Do you think that meat will become a luxury in the future?
Sources
https://climatecommunication.yale.edu/visualizations-data/ycom-us/
https://unfccc.int/blog/we-need-to-talk-about-meat
https://climate.nasa.gov/effects/
https://climate.nasa.gov/causes/
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2021/sep/13/meat-greenhouses-gases-food-production-study
Replies
I agree with you. Some of the meat alternatives can be quite good!
I don't think that stopping eating meat will help anything for our future, they are bred to be eaten. We are humans and we have to have that type of nutrients for us to survive. I eat meat and I love eating meat, I have never tried an alternative. It looks gross to me.
I do not think that stopping the consumption of meat is going to solve, or help climate change. It takes more land to grow plants than it does to raise livestock. Growing all of these plants to meet the demand of plant based meat will also cause deforestation. Building these labs to make fake meat will also cause deforestation. These labs and factories making the fake meat will also produce large amounts of harmful emissions, reversing the goal they are trying to meet. Producing so many plants will also take large amounts of land. Farmers are already fighting the lack of farm-able land, but they have to produce more for the growing population. So producing more plants with the decreasing amount of farmable land is out of reach. Farmers could meet the demand with GMO’s and fertilizers, but people disagree with that too. Personally I would never try a diet with no animal products, but I respect your opinion.
I appreciate that you took time to write a little more detailed comment. Your main point is that it will take more land to grow all the plants when people start reducing their meat consumption. I can understand why you could think that, but it is not true. An animal eats so much plants that more people could be fed with the plants that animal has eaten than with the actual dead animal. If the majority of the population adopted a plant based diet, the need for farming croplands would decrease by 75%. If we cut the "middle men" (aka the animal) betwenn the plants and humans, we could actually decrease emissions and needed farm land.
Personally, I do eat and love meat. I have never tried being a vegan and don't plan on it because I think that lifestyle is strange. I think that we should focus more on factory pollution and consumer goods pollution over animal pollution. Although farming is the most of the pollution problem it is our best food source.
I eat foods with meat in them and I don't think I would ever try vegan meat alternatives. I think that meat is good for you and gives you nutrients that you can't get in other foods, even vegan alternatives. I think meat will continue to be in most meals in the future.
If you plan your plant-based diet well, you can get most nutrients from plants as well. Vitamin B12 might be one of the critical ones. However, livestock animals often also get some kind of nutrient supplement with their food.
I eat meat, and I refuse to try a meat alternative or fake meat because it's not the same. I don't think a change needs to be made in our eating habits, humans have been eating meat since the beginning of time, I don't see why we would stop now. My family eats meals with meat in it every night and I really enjoy it I think prices could continue to rise but I don't think it will become a luxury.
No, I would never try fake meat or ever not eat meat is one of the best foods I think we need to raise for animals so then the meat wouldn't be so expensive but I would never eat fake meat try and I will always eat meat until I die I always have some type of meat for supper almost every night. Personally, climate change is not a thing. Just think if we didn't have farmers we wouldn't be eating.
I personally believe that meat is probably one of my favorite types of food. Anything that has meat in it sounds good to me. People who are vegans are very weird in my opion. How to some people eat food without meat in it. Meat is super expensive but it is worth it.
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