TODAY Online Only- "Go meatless one day a week"
04:10 PM Nov 22, 2009
Letter from George Jacobs, President, Vegetarian Society (Singapore)
I refer to "Earth will get hotter", (Nov 19). The large majority of climate scientists are warning that we must prioritize the reduction of our greenhouse gas emissions or face catastrophic, possibly irreversible, consequences. This is not a science fiction movie, such as the recent film 2012; this is ever-worsening reality.
Fortunately, there is one easy way to cut our greenhouse gas emissions: eat less meat. The United Nation's 2006 report, Livestock's Long Shadow, attributes18 per cent of our greenhouse gas emissions on livestock, whereas transportation accounts for 13 per cent.
As a result of this and other research, more and more international leaders - including Nobel Peace Prize winner Al Gore - are asking us to reduce meat consumption. Instead, global meat consumption is projected to double by 2050.
Dr R. K. Pachauri, head of the UN's Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change believes that reducing meat consumption is the biggest single contribution people can make to curbing climate change, and he has called on people to try going meatless one day a week. He himself goes meatless every day.
Others are following Mr Gore and Dr Pachauri's lead. For instance, the cities of Ghent, Belgium and Sao Paulo, Brazil have one day a week in which everyone is encouraged to enjoy meatless meals. In the United Kingdom, meat-free menus are being promoted in hospitals as part of a National Health Service strategy to cut greenhouse gas emissions.
The German government's environment agency went further, advising people to eat meat only on special occasions. Meat reduction for green reasons is in line with a trend in Germany to eat less meat for health reasons. According to Destatis, Germany's federal statistics agency, meat consumption there has dropped from 64kg per capita per year in 1991 to 58.7kg today.
Let's hope that the world's governments meeting in Copenhagen in December reach an agreement that can strongly reverse our greenhouse gas emissions. However, we need not leave everything to government. Every day, every time we eat, we can do our part by enjoying a diet lower in meat. And, who knows, our health may benefit too.
