A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.
As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.
— The Guardian
"Professor Edgar Hertwich, the lead author of the report, said: 'Animal products cause more damage than [producing] construction minerals such as sand or cement, plastics or metals. Biomass and crops for animals are as damaging as [burning] fossil fuels.'"
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19 Comments
LOL
my youngest daughter at 4 years old has decided she is vegan, I know this because she says " I hate meat!"....dad eats lots of meat. the 7 year daughter waivers between crackers and meat.
with that said, I will gladly die of cancer due to my bacon beer grilled chicken diet.
carry on.
Go Steak!
Happy thanksgiving! Gobble gobble
You guys don't seem to understand how important this is. A global shift is needed! And it's the UN, so you know it's got to be right.
Feeding livestock as dangerous as burning fossil fuels, according to the experts. That's the rhetorical kiss of death.
We all have to change, not just those who choose to. Get with it, carnivores!
^ It's like you don't understand how delicious a well cooked (rare to medium rare) steak is.
A wise man once said: "You don't make friends with salad."
(was mocking the story)
I'd rather less population and more meat. How do we vote on this?
vote 4 the (soylent) green par-tay!
Dang it, Frac, you beat me to it. I'd been looking for a good Soylent Green meme and couldn't find one...
I'm with you, midlander. But I'm also for far *less* meat. Really, only a half a dozen bites of meat should constitute a serving.
I ate some quinoa two weeks ago and I've been dreaming of it ever since. So delicious (if anyone from Naptown is reading, it was at Yolk.)
Agree with you on that Donna, or save it up and have a steak once a week, vegetarian most days. Just as a matter of health and exercise in self-control. My post was flippant with a side of sincerity.
I take issue with the moralizing tone of many such reports relating to climate change. There is something very dull-witted that looks upon humanity as a numbers game, the goal being great quantity at maximum efficiency. These are genuine philosophical questions, and I find them far more interesting than the stuff that's usually discussed within the architectural academy.
I think to some extent the large mass of climate-change deniers or do-nothings are simply reasonable people who are unmoved by the assumption that we need to economize in order to prepare the world for a future of overpopulation.
I'm vegetarian, trending towards vegan, I don't miss meat, partly because I love the smell of burning flesh and I have a great restaurant next door.
kill whitey!
^ Damn tootin'
I eat mostly vegetarian because I don't enjoy being constipated... but hey, if it's good for the environment I get to feel a little extra smug while i'm eating my kale and chia snacks.
white meat bad.
^ red meat worse.
If by "worse" you mean delicious, then yes!
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