What we eat is a deeply personal and cultural choice; it seems worth reflecting on what we put into our bodies. There are many reasons for eating less or no meat, from animal welfare to personal health and the growing threat of antibiotic resistance. Another is climate crisis.
Much attention is paid to big industries such as ‘Big Oil’ and ‘Big Pharma’ but given its near-unrivalled impact on climate change, we should also be focusing on ‘Big Meat’.
The two reasons that animal agriculture and aquaculture is so destructive to the environment is the huge amount of resources that livestock need and their enormous volume of waste, polluting our ecosystem: see data here. Some animal products produce more greenhouse gas emissions than others, with cattle farming being the biggest offender.
Is local, grass-fed or free-range meat better for the planet?
From childhood we are fed fairy tales of family farms and a promise that locally raised livestock that graze on grasslands is good for the planet and helps absorb carbon back into the soil. An Oxford University report on grass fed livestock showed that the CO2 absorbed by grazing livestock in no way offsets the rest of the emissions from livestock. Another myth of the meat industry claims that land used for livestock can’t be used to grow crops. Regenerative agriculture puts nutrients back into infertile soil so crops can flourish. Plant- based diets require less land and energy which means some of the land currently used for livestock can be reforested to capture carbon and create habitats. Livestock and lack of biodiversity ruin soil. Grass-fed livestock live longer (leading to more resources and waste) requiring more land, and costing more. By not farming monocultured crops for animal feed and using up so much land for livestock, we can improve soil health and grow a variety of crops sustainably.
The Soybean
Veganism is often attacked in the media for long distance transportation and intensive farming practices of popular foods like soya, but the issue is primarily driven by animal agriculture. More than 90% of the soya imported to the UK goes into animal feed. Livestock consume a lot of food which could instead go straight to feeding the human population in a more sustainable, efficient manner. By ditching meat, less land is used to grow copious volumes of food for livestock (by only farming crops for humans) and less land is damaged by resource-intensive crops like soya.
Protein
Plant-based diets don’t have to be healthy (thanks to vegan junk food!) but getting protein from plants is easy – I’m far too lazy if it weren’t. The difference in health is in the fats that are consumed alongside the protein. The fat in animal products can lead to illnesses like heart disease according to a Harvard study. In documentaries like The Game Changers, we see that pro-athletes and bodybuilders thrive on plant-based diets. Animal protein is always packaged with saturated fats (especially red meat), however plant protein isn’t.
Avoiding animal products at the supermarket
You’ll have seen the growing abundance of tasty plant-based foods with celebrity investors like Shaquille O’Neal, Serena Williams and Trevor Noah. You can check out the entertaining reviews of these foods online. The transition to not eating meat is becoming easier with the multitude of vegetarian and plant-based recipes available to us. Avoiding meat no longer means you must stop eating ‘meaty’ food, even if you’re buying from the local supermarkets as a student living far from the big stores. Linda McCartney and Plant Pioneers are some of my favourites but see what suits your own taste. Affordability wise, there’s pre-made food that won’t put you further into overdraft, but you can just as easily pick up some cans of beans and tomatoes to whip up a deliciously fresh meal too.
Conclusion
‘Big Meat’ is feeding into the climate crisis at an alarming rate with the resources it uses and waste it produces. Reducing your meat consumption is the best lifestyle change you can make. As mentioned, it’s more eco-friendly to stop eating meat than eating local meat. And if you’re hoping to become a pro-athlete, a plant-based diet can be a good first step! Have a go at a plant-based diet and try out this excellent app you can download, unimaginatively named ‘I’m vegan’. It keeps track of your impact with data on the number of animals’ lives, grain, water, forest and CO2 emissions you save each day. Collectively, individual reduction in meat consumption has a large impact on the climate. But if you are looking to encourage structural change then lobbying institutions (starting with your university) like the #NoBeef campaign, Meat Free Mondays or simply asking to increase vegan options in cafeterias could be of interest. Happy eating! :)
Further reading/watching
Good videos and documentaries
1) Vox ‘Why beef is the worst food for the climate’ https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3lrJYTsKdUM
2) Netflix Documentaries: Cowspiracy, Explained (Season 2, Episode 3 ‘The Future of Meat’), What the Health, Knives Over Forks
3) Netflix (non-documentaries) - Okja
4) 73 Cows documentary about ex-cattle farmer - https://vimeo.com/293352305
5) Alex O’Connor on animal rights - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gcVR2OVxPYw
6) The Future of Meat: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Tn-GG1zDu1E
7) Collection of short clips: Earthling Ed responding to different arguments - https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PL03LZR09P2gQJyBgHk_XE8gbj8j9uFs8GThe Need to Grow (regenerative agriculture documentary) - https://grow.foodrevolution.org/?fbclid=IwAR1B_ET3FtBgoD6kk6lIUOvqFvfKisAXoWSGLkO7phzwR1rYQXg2ATWOwyo
Reading
1) Meat and Dairy Production – Our World in Data: https://ourworldindata.org/meat-production
2) Vegan cheat sheet: Nearly everything about veganism on one spreadsheet - https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/19Cm5yHp16zSTSFrQ3B_3_vIK0b5QlJ8jpyPVrPrCKS0/htmlview?fbclid=IwAR3-D7T8ARArB73w3BveLIB8KymluPRUMaEUOOUrfFUillMzDwTEX8mKaG8#
3) Local food isn’t always an option - https://www.aalto.fi/en/news/relying-on-local-food-is-a-distant-dream-for-most-of-the-world
4) Huge Reduction In Meat-Eating ‘Essential’ To Avoid Climate Breakdown - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/10/huge-reduction-in-meat-eating-essential-to-avoid-climate-breakdown
5) Food Production Is Responsible For One-Quarter Of The World’s Greenhouse Gas Emissions - https://ourworldindata.org/food-ghg-emissions
6) The consequences if the world decided to go meat-free - https://www.bbc.com/future/article/20170612-the-consequences-if-the-world-decided-to-go-meat-free
7) The best way to save the planet? Drop meat and dairy - https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2018/jun/08/save-planet-meat-dairy-livestock-food-free-range-steak
8) Giving up beef will reduce carbon footprint more than cars, says expert - https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2014/jul/21/giving-up-beef-reduce-carbon-footprint-more-than-cars
9) Making Veganism accessible - https://wearyourvoicemag.com/white-vegans-accessibility-poc/
10) You Want To Reduce The Carbon Footprint Of Your Food? Focus On What You Eat, Not Whether Your Food Is Local - https://ourworldindata.org/food-choice-vs-eating-local
11) Vox crops going to animal feed - https://www.vox.com/2014/8/21/6053187/cropland-map-food-fuel-animal-feed
12) The Ecologist. (2019). Intensive farms gain £70m from taxpayers: https://theecologist.org/2019/jan/03/intensive-farms-gain-ps70m-taxpayers
13) https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/17/uk-has-nearly-800-livestock-mega-farms-investigation-reveals - 800 UK (US style) mega farms in 2017
14) https://youaretheirvoice.com/pages/the-daunting-facts - Facts about animal agriculture
16) Organic, No till Farming - https://www.ecofarmingdaily.com/build-soil/tillage/book-week-organic-no-till-farming/
Health
1) NHS easy guide to a vegan diet - https://www.nhs.uk/live-well/eat-well/the-vegan-diet/
{I take a B12 vitamin most days, it’s a good idea to take this vitamin whatever your diet is since many people are slightly deficient, including some meat eaters}
Apps
I’m vegan/vegetarian – keeps track of what you save every day
Happy Cow – restaurants nearby
TooGoodToGo – for food waste
Abillionveg – restaurant and food item reviews
*** The vegan cheat sheet linked in the reading section contains a huge number of books, studies, speeches, podcasts, videos, recipes (basically everything) in one nice spreadsheet.
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