Huge reduction in meat-eating ‘essential’ to avoid climate breakdown
Dear friends around the world,
As most of you already know, I am a strong advocate of vegetarianism. I have always believed that a vegetarian diet can provide the nutrients our bodies need while giving us the option to live healthier and cruelty-free lives. It is a false belief that we can’t get enough protein and other nutrients from a plant-based diet. Much research has been done to refute this out-dated norm. We do not need to harm or slaughter animals for our sustenance at all.
Now in 2018, a major study has shown that it is crucial for us to change our diet in order to avoid disastrous climate change and to sustain the Earth. A primarily meat-based diet is extremely harmful to the ecosystem and environment. If climate change can be delayed or stopped just by us becoming vegetarians, imagine the amount of damage we are causing to the environment daily by simply just eating meat.
Please read this article and see for yourself how your daily diet is affecting Mother Earth. Every single effort counts – will you do the necessary to save our planet before it’s too late?
Tsem Rinpoche
Huge Reduction in Meat-Eating ‘Essential’ to Avoid Climate Breakdown
Damian Carrington | Environment editor | Wed 10 Oct 2018 18.00 BST
Major study also finds huge changes to farming are needed to avoid destroying Earth’s ability to feed its population.
Steak and a healthy vegetarian meal with pulses. Composite: Getty Images
Huge reductions in meat-eating are essential to avoid dangerous climate change, according to the most comprehensive analysis yet of the food system’s impact on the environment. In western countries, beef consumption needs to fall by 90% and be replaced by five times more beans and pulses.
The research also finds that enormous changes to farming are needed to avoid destroying the planet’s ability to feed the 10 billion people expected to be on the planet in a few decades.
Food production already causes great damage to the environment, via greenhouse gases from livestock, deforestation and water shortages from farming, and vast ocean dead zones from agricultural pollution. But without action, its impact will get far worse as the world population rises by 2.3 billion people by 2050 and global income triples, enabling more people to eat meat-rich western diets.
This trajectory would smash critical environmental limits beyond which humanity will struggle to live, the new research indicates. “It is pretty shocking,” said Marco Springmann at the University of Oxford, who led the research team. “We are really risking the sustainability of the whole system. If we are interested in people being able to farm and eat, then we better not do that.”
“Feeding a world population of 10 billion is possible, but only if we change the way we eat and the way we produce food,” said Prof Johan Rockström at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research in Germany, who was part of the research team. “Greening the food sector or eating up our planet: this is what is on the menu today.”
The new study follows the publication of a landmark UN report on Monday in which the world’s leading scientists warned there are just a dozen years in which to keep global warming under 1.5C, beyond which even half a degree will significantly worsen the risks of drought, floods and extreme heat. The report said eating less meat and dairy was important but said current trends were in the opposite direction.
The new research, published in the journal Nature, is the most thorough to date and combined data from every country to assess the impact of food production on the global environment. It then looked at what could be done to stop the looming food crisis.
“There is no magic bullet,” said Springmann. “But dietary and technological change [on farms] are the two essential things, and hopefully they can be complemented by reduction in food loss and waste.” About a third of food produced today never reaches the table.
The researchers found a global shift to a “flexitarian” diet was needed to keep climate change even under 2C, let alone 1.5C. This flexitarian diet means the average world citizen needs to eat 75% less beef, 90% less pork and half the number of eggs, while tripling consumption of beans and pulses and quadrupling nuts and seeds. This would halve emissions from livestock and better management of manure would enable further cuts.
In rich nations, the dietary changes required are ever more stark. UK and US citizens need to cut beef by 90% and milk by 60% while increasing beans and pulses between four and six times. However, the millions of people in poor nations who are undernourished need to eat a little more meat and dairy.
Reducing meat consumption might be achieved by a mix of education, taxes, subsidies for plant-based foods and changes to school and workplace menus, the scientists said.
To halt deforestation, water shortages and pollution from overuse of fertiliser, profound changes in farming practices are needed. These include increasing crop yields in poorer nations, more universal water storage and far more careful use of fertilisers.
“I was surprised by the fact we need a combination of very ambitious options,” Springmann said. “We really need to push it to the edge of what is possible.”
All the diet and farming options are already being implemented somewhere in the world, said Springmann. In the Netherlands and Israel, fertilisers and water are being better used, while big cuts in meat consumption are being seen among young people in some cities.
But a global change is needed, he said: “I think we can do it, but we really need much more proactive governments to provide the right framework. People can make a personal difference by changing their diet, but also by knocking on the doors of their politicians and saying we need better environmental regulations – that is also very important. Do not let politicians off the hook.”
Prof Tim Benton at the University of Leeds, who was not part of the research team, said:
“Ultimately, we live on a finite planet, with finite resources. It is a fiction to imagine there is a technological solution allowing us to produce as much food as we might ever want, allowing us to overeat and throw food away.”
He said the environmental burden of the current food system “undermines the ability of future generations to live on a stable and ecologically rich planet”.
Prof Peter Smith at the University of Aberdeen, who was also not part of the research team, said: “We know food choices are very personal, and that behaviour change can be difficult to encourage, but the evidence is now unequivocal – we need to change our diets if we are to have a sustainable future. The fact that it will also make us healthier makes it a no-brainer.”
Source: https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/10/huge-reduction-in-meat-eating-essential-to-avoid-climate-breakdown
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- Wonderful News from Moby!
- 7 Things That Happen When You Stop Eating Meat
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It is so important, to start now eating healthily, for the planet’s sake. Food that is normally used to feed livestock can be used to feed people. It is not new news that the worlds’ hunger problem can be solved if we grew less livestock for meat, and grew more grains for human consumption.
For some being a vegetarian is for own health beneficial. But on a bigger scheme of things, when we consume lesser meat, we will help save the environment because animals farming contributes to global warming. It will be great if everyone on earth are kind and mindful and contribute by starting to eat vegetables and reduce in killing. Thank you Rinpoche and blog team for this article to create more awareness ??☘️??
Being vegetarian or vegan has alot of benefits to our body and now scientists are able to prove that adopting the no animal diet is also saving our planet. How cool is that?
Farming animals require alot more resources and they produce alot more harmful byproduct into the environment as well. These byproducts are capable of causing global warming which can be proven to be disastrous for humankind. Why do we want to risk our future and also our children’s lives by ignoring what science had proven to us? Just because we want to indulge in our attachment to meat?
Eating meat itself is already a harmful thing to do to our body and also our mind. We are creating killing karma which is very heavy. Some people think that they are just there to enjoy the meat and they are not involved in the killing process and therefore they are spared from the negative karma. Sadly, that is not the case.
They are indirectly supporting the killing because if there is no need for meat, the butcher will not have killed those animals. That is why vegetarianism is called the compassion of diet where no animals have to suffer and killed just for the sake of filling our stomach.
All these changes, be it massive or small changes, it has to begin with ourselves. We should realise the sufferings and the amount of pain inflicted to these animals. We should meditate and think about it again and again and from then on we will have genuine understanding and undeterred by any challenges to change our diet and succeed.
I find that some people really cannot relate the whole picture of massive damages done to the world such as climate changes, the destructions the environment and planets and etc. However, if we were to explain such as the significance of it affecting our health and the wellbeing of our child, that could be easily acceptable and relatable. Hence, we should try to change our approach that will suit their mind and the best is example through ourselves. On the other hand, we also hope the government to change and take actions, and yet on a daily basis, nearly most of us, if not all are consuming meat and dairy products. That has to change as well. ? “ I have to change “ slogan would be most appropriate.
Thank you Rinpoche for this article
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Thank you Rinpoche for sharing.
It will be great if everyone on earth are kind and mindful and contribute by starting to eat vegetables and reduce in killing.
For some being a vegetarian is for own health beneficial. But on a bigger scheme of things, when we consume lesser meat, we will help save the environment because animals farming contributes to global warming. This is a very important message and all of us as the residence of the earth have responsibility to care and sustain the earth life span. Thank you Rinpoche for sharing this article and it is very informative.
In recent research scientist have discovered that the average global temperature has increased at the fastest rate in recorded history. Hence with the reduction in meat-eating and eating mainly plant-based foods will help to avoid climate breakdown. Choosing to go on eating vegetarian may be the right choice after all for health reasons as well as global change. The food we eat is responsible for almost a third of our global carbon footprint. Recent years , health expects has found that eating red meat is causing more harm than good. They also found that field-grown vegetables produce the least greenhouse gas. The smallest change of our diet will reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease and diabetes. Reducing meat consumption can be achieved by educating the younger ones from the beginning at schools and changes in our menus. Be a vegetarian .
Thank you Rinpoche for this sharing and awareness of climate change.