EFFECT OF EATING MEAT ON THE ENVIRONMENT

Two meatless days a week will not be
enough to undo the environmental damage that farming industries caused. The UN Environmental Program (Unep) is asking us to reduce our meat consumption in half.
If the early man doesn’t control his dying appetite for meat, the fragile balance of the natural world will fall off. As reported by the Unep, the huge expansion of industrial beef-farming methods in the Europe and the US causes “a web of water
and air pollution.” The fertilizers, pesticides and chemical weed-killers so freely used in growing grain to feed ruminants don’t only pass
into the bodies of beasts (and eventually man).
The sea animals are dying from toxic
runoff. The bees that pollinate our plants are dying out . And methane emissions produced by our ruminants industries are proved to cause global warming on a very high scale.
And while people in poor countries actually need more animal protein, advanced countries are consuming much more meat than they need
to maintain healthy living.
Professor Mark Sutton, author of the Unep study, says, “Eat meat, but less often – make it special. Portion size is key. Many portions are too big, more than you want to eat.”.
The UN scientists paint an optimistic picture in which the undernourished in the world are given more meat, while developed countries conscientiously reduce meat in their diet.
The best people can do is start
planning more meatless meals every week. One less cow killed, one less cow raised. At least, people can turn to poultry and pork.
Chicken in particular is the most
environmentally friendly meat, according to Professor Sutton.
” Chicken is one of the most efficient
meats, as it grows very quickly and
you can collect the manure,” he says.
The Unep study forewarns of dark scenario for the planet. “Unless action is taken, increases in
pollution and per capita consumption
of energy and animal products will
exacerbate nutrient losses, pollution
levels and land degradation, further
threatening the quality of our water,
air and soils, affecting climate and
biodiversity.”