Is Meat Consumption The Key to Climate Change?
Climate change will affect everyone. There is no escaping that fact. Sea levels will rise, animals will lose their habitats, and extreme heat will begin to affect more and more people (WWF). To many people this problem seems overwhelming and they don’t see how an individual’s actions could possibly slow it down. But they also don’t want to just sit around and wait for the inevitable to happen. So, many people choose individual actions that they can take to reduce their carbon footprint. For some people this is taking public transportation, turning off lights when leaving a room, or even planting trees. All of these are great options and do a lot to reduce carbon emissions. But they aren’t necessarily the easiest steps for everyone to take, and they aren’t always the most effective.
One step that most people don’t consider is reducing their meat consumption. Now don’t tune out on me just yet. Changing your eating habits can be very scary to many people. There are a few added costs, the assumption that meals aren’t as good if they don’t have meat, and the pure added work of trying to change a habit that you’ve probably had your entire life. But hear me out. We don’t need every single person to go vegetarian. That would be too much to ask. All we need is for every American to reduce their meat consumption by 25%.
Something that most people don’t know, even if they are fairly well educated on climate change, is that animal agriculture is one of the leading causes. In fact, animal agriculture is the second leading source of carbon emissions at 14.6% of all greenhouse gas emissions, even larger than all transportation combined (Cameron). This means that working to lower the animal agriculture rates would actually be more effective at slowing climate change than riding a bike to work or taking public transportation (although these are also still great steps). Not only does raising livestock pollute the Earth, it also takes up vast amounts of land that could be used for planting forests that would reduce the carbon in the air, or for beginning to grow more sustainable and healthy food sources.
Not only is meat consumption bad for the Earth, it’s also not healthy at the current levels that most Americans consume it. Eating meat at our current rate is increasing our risk of heart disease, type 2 diabetes, and multiple types of cancers (Cameron). All the signs point to one answer, we need to eat less meat. However, this can be a scary realization.
About a year and a half ago I was searching for ways to be healthier, not just for my own bodily health, but also for ways to lead a healthier lifestyle for the planet. I was walking more instead of driving short distances, carpooling if I needed to drive, and being cognizant of my electricity usage. But I was doing these things and then having a burger for dinner, or chicken strips for lunch. I realized in order to really create the most positive impact, I wanted to try and live vegetarian. I wasn’t sure how long I would be able to last, but I knew I had to try if I was really serious about reducing my carbon footprint. I immediately noticed a physical difference. I felt more energetic, less lethargic after meals, and my acne that had plagued me for years began clearing up. I was amazed and my family noticed the difference. They began reducing their meat consumption. They didn’t go full vegetarian as I did, they love meat too much for that, but they started setting aside a few days a week that they would cook a dinner without meat in it. Not only did they also notice some of the physical benefits, they felt positive about taking their carbon footprints into their own hands and significantly shrinking them.
Cutting out meat a few times a week may not seem like a lot, but if we all did it, there would be a massive reduction in the carbon emissions from our country. If every American reduced their meat consumption by just a quarter, greenhouse gas emissions would be reduced by around 1% (Mock). If we take it one step further and reduce our meat consumption by half, we’d have the equivalent of taking 26 million cars off the road. This impact is massive and could create real lasting change.
Reducing meat consumption can be very scary. As someone who has done it, there are some problems with it. Going full vegetarian requires some extra effort; you have to take supplements such as iron and vitamin B12 and make sure that you are getting enough protein from other sources. There is also the issue of cultural or religious meat centric meals. These traditions would be very hard to give up and I don’t want to ask you to do that. I don’t expect every American to completely cut meat out of their lives. Some people might and that’s great, but if you’re looking for an easy individual action to significantly reduce your carbon footprint, reducing your meat consumption should be the first step.
Many individuals who want to make a difference to climate change feel overwhelmed and like the problem is far too vast for them to really make an impact. Eating less meat is the perfect solution. It’s not a huge lifestyle change and doesn’t require huge amounts of effort but it still has a massive impact on both physical health and the health of the planet.
Works Cited
Cameron, James, and Suzy Amis Cameron. “Animal Agriculture Is Choking the Earth and Making Us Sick. We Must Act Now.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 4 Dec. 2017, www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/04/animal-agriculture-choking-earth-making-sick-climate-food-environmental-impact-james-cameron-suzy-amis-cameron.
Mock, Jillian, and John Schwartz. What If We All Ate a Bit Less Meat? 21 Aug. 2019, www.nytimes.com/2019/08/21/climate/what-if-we-all-ate-a-bit-less-meat.html#:~:text=So%2C%20according%20to%20a%20study,greenhouse%20gas%20emissions%20per%20year.&text=That%20includes%20beef%2C%20pork%2C%20poultry%20and%20lamb.
WWF. Our Planet Is Warming. Here’s What’s at Stake If We Don’t Act Now. www.worldwildlife.org/stories/our-planet-is-warming-here-s-what-s-at-stake-if-we-don-t-act-now.