Eating Less Meat Helps Protect the Planet From Climate Change



By dramatically changing the food we eat as well as the way it is grown and produced, humans can help stop the devastating impacts of climate change according to the latest report by the United Nations body on climate science.

More than 100 scientists from 52 countries put together the report, which was published by the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. It takes a look at how land-use practices have impacted the planet and finds that deforestation, agriculture and other human activities threaten the world’s ability to limit the global temperature increase to 1.5 degrees celsius, the goal of the 2015 Paris climate agreement.

However, the report is not all bad news and finds that if more of the world’s population shifts toward plant-based diets and reduces their meat consumption, it could significantly boost the planet’s ability to fight climate change.

https://time.com/5648082/un-climate-report-less-meat/

"Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
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Comments

  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    I agree.  Eating lower on the food chain (especially since there are 7.7 billion of us) is good for the planet that sustains us. 
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    I like to think livestock know how delicious they are...  ;)
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • g under p
    g under p Surfing The far side of THE Sombrero Galaxy Posts: 18,236
    Well I gave up eating chicken a month ago and it will continue until the Trump Presidency comes to an end. I'll probably continue it after his presidency as well especially since we probably will be battling a recession of epic proportions.

    Peace
    *We CAN bomb the World to pieces, but we CAN'T bomb it into PEACE*...Michael Franti

    *MUSIC IS the expression of EMOTION.....and that POLITICS IS merely the DECOY of PERCEPTION*
    .....song_Music & Politics....Michael Franti

    *The scientists of today think deeply instead of clearly. One must be sane to think clearly, but one can think deeply and be quite INSANE*....Nikola Tesla(a man who shaped our world of electricity with his futuristic inventions)


  • Spiritual_Chaos
    Spiritual_Chaos Posts: 31,465
    edited August 2019
    I like to think livestock know how delicious they are...  ;)
    I like to think how Ontario isn't completely broken and that the government is something you can trust... ;)
    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"
  • tempo_n_groove
    tempo_n_groove Posts: 41,359
    I like to think livestock know how delicious they are...  ;)
    I like to think how Ontario isn't completely broken and that the government is something you can trust... ;)
    Relax and have a Porter House.
  • Meltdown99
    Meltdown99 None Of Your Business... Posts: 10,739
    Give Peas A Chance…
  • PJPOWER
    PJPOWER Posts: 6,499
    edited August 2019
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • PJPOWER
    PJPOWER Posts: 6,499
    edited August 2019
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    Okay, I agree, people should only eat meat from sustainable sources, not from Wal Mart’s corporate farms.  If 7.7 people ate bananas every day, no way that would be sustainable either.
    Post edited by PJPOWER on
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    PJPOWER said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    Okay, I agree, people should only eat meat from sustainable sources, not from Wal Mart’s corporate farms.  If 7.7 people ate bananas every day, no way that would be sustainable either.
    That is all very true but does not change the truth of the OP's thread.  Do you disagree with this:

    Eating Less Meat Helps Protect the Planet From Climate Change     



    ?
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • eddiec
    eddiec Posts: 3,959
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement?  
    It's the classic case of not seeing it, so it can't be happening. The beef industry is responsible for massive deforestation. There is money in beef, so forests are cleared for grazing. You know more about it than I do, so need for me to go on. I guess Spiritual comes on strong at times, so people want to take jabs at him even when he is preaching a positive message.


  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    edited August 2019
    eddiec said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement?  
    It's the classic case of not seeing it, so it can't be happening. The beef industry is responsible for massive deforestation. There is money in beef, so forests are cleared for grazing. You know more about it than I do, so need for me to go on. I guess Spiritual comes on strong at times, so people want to take jabs at him even when he is preaching a positive message.


    Yeah, it's sad, especially what's happened in Amazon that way.  Only a small percentage of people have the luxury of eating grass fed "sustainable" beef.  There have been some efforts in Brazil to move toward more responsible cattle grazing, and that is good news.  But the fact remains, less meat is better for the planet.  And that's not about you and me or S_C or anyone else being right or not, I just don't believe it is possible to refute that as fact.

    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • oftenreading
    oftenreading Victoria, BC Posts: 12,856
    brianlux said:
    eddiec said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement?  
    It's the classic case of not seeing it, so it can't be happening. The beef industry is responsible for massive deforestation. There is money in beef, so forests are cleared for grazing. You know more about it than I do, so need for me to go on. I guess Spiritual comes on strong at times, so people want to take jabs at him even when he is preaching a positive message.


    Yeah, it's sad, especially what's happened in Amazon that way.  Only a small percentage of people have the luxury of eating grass fed "sustainable" beef.  There have been some efforts in Brazil to move toward more responsible cattle grazing, and that is good news.  But the fact remains, less meat is better for the planet.  And that's not about you my and me or S_C or anyone else being right or not, I just don't believe it is possible to refute that as fact.

    It’s particularly bad in Brazil. Bolsonaro is actively opposed to the rights of the indigenous people and is allowing his government to ignore or even overturn legislation that protects their land, which then allows massive cattle ranching operations to just clearcut and then move their cattle in. 

    And much of that beef goes to the US. 
    my small self... like a book amongst the many on a shelf
  • PJPOWER
    PJPOWER Posts: 6,499
    brianlux said:
    PJPOWER said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    Okay, I agree, people should only eat meat from sustainable sources, not from Wal Mart’s corporate farms.  If 7.7 people ate bananas every day, no way that would be sustainable either.
    That is all very true but does not change the truth of the OP's thread.  Do you disagree with this:

    Eating Less Meat Helps Protect the Planet From Climate Change     



    ?
    On the global scale, yes, corporate ranching practices are lacking.  But for those that hunt or are small ranchers...I got “no beef”
  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    brianlux said:
    eddiec said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement?  
    It's the classic case of not seeing it, so it can't be happening. The beef industry is responsible for massive deforestation. There is money in beef, so forests are cleared for grazing. You know more about it than I do, so need for me to go on. I guess Spiritual comes on strong at times, so people want to take jabs at him even when he is preaching a positive message.


    Yeah, it's sad, especially what's happened in Amazon that way.  Only a small percentage of people have the luxury of eating grass fed "sustainable" beef.  There have been some efforts in Brazil to move toward more responsible cattle grazing, and that is good news.  But the fact remains, less meat is better for the planet.  And that's not about you my and me or S_C or anyone else being right or not, I just don't believe it is possible to refute that as fact.

    It’s particularly bad in Brazil. Bolsonaro is actively opposed to the rights of the indigenous people and is allowing his government to ignore or even overturn legislation that protects their land, which then allows massive cattle ranching operations to just clearcut and then move their cattle in. 

    And much of that beef goes to the US. 
    For sure.  And that's been going on for a long time.  B Traven revealed a lot of the early abuses in his "Government" (also known as "Jungle") novels written in the late 1920's and early '30's.
    PJPOWER said:
    brianlux said:
    PJPOWER said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    Okay, I agree, people should only eat meat from sustainable sources, not from Wal Mart’s corporate farms.  If 7.7 people ate bananas every day, no way that would be sustainable either.
    That is all very true but does not change the truth of the OP's thread.  Do you disagree with this:

    Eating Less Meat Helps Protect the Planet From Climate Change     



    ?
    On the global scale, yes, corporate ranching practices are lacking.  But for those that hunt or are small ranchers...I got “no beef”
    Yeah but, again, it's the corporate ranching that is by far most predominant world wide and there is not enough open space or wildlife to feed 7.7 billion people as you suggest.   Hunting and small ranch meat is not going to feed that many people.  Those are first world wealthy luxuries.  We are talking about a global situation here.
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Smellyman
    Smellyman Asia Posts: 4,528
    edited August 2019
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    Because people are dicks.

    I am vegan, but never mention I am to people anymore because invariably they start saying 'I am going to eat a burger, love dead cow.  Or bacon give me some pig. hahaha yum yum yum.'


  • brianlux
    brianlux Moving through All Kinds of Terrain. Posts: 43,662
    edited August 2019
    Smellyman said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    Because people are dicks.

    I am vegan, but never mention I am to people anymore because invariably they start saying 'I am going to eat a burger, love dead cow.  Or bacon give me some pig. hahaha yum yum yum.'


    I always find that kind of response super irritating and I really have to restrain myself from lashing back.  I'll often use that kind of snarky response as motivation to eat more vegetarian and vegan meals.  Eating well and low on the food chain is the best revenge!
    "It's a sad and beautiful world"
    -Roberto Benigni

  • Glorified KC
    Glorified KC KCMO Native Posts: 2,814
    I’ve gone vegan for a short while and I liked it.  It was the best I’ve felt in a while.  It’s also nice that a city like Milwaukee (if you can believe it) has a ton of vegan options.  I’m in one of the city cafes having a piece of vegan pie.
    I wish I was a sacrifice, but somehow still lived on.
  • HughFreakingDillon
    HughFreakingDillon Winnipeg Posts: 39,473
    Smellyman said:
    brianlux said:
    It's always interesting to me when someone makes a true statement like "Eating less meat helps protect the planet from climate change", and then other people get on the post and start talking about how much they like meat.  Well yeah, OK fine, but what does that have to do with the fact presented in the statement? 
    PJPOWER said:
    My family and most in my neck of the woods use regenerative ranching practices, so I’m going to eat a steak that my family raised tonight and not feel guilty about it in the least:
    https://www.forbes.com/sites/neilyeoh/2018/04/14/going-vegan-eating-sustainable-beef-can-be-good-for-the-environment/
    I eat meat rarely but when I do, that is what I look for as well.  But the fact remains, eating less meat/ eating lower on the food chain is better for the planet.  If 7.7 billion people ate beef every day, no way would that be sustainable.
    Because people are dicks.

    I am vegan, but never mention I am to people anymore because invariably they start saying 'I am going to eat a burger, love dead cow.  Or bacon give me some pig. hahaha yum yum yum.'


    that's a really juvenile response. how odd. 
    By The Time They Figure Out What Went Wrong, We'll Be Sitting On A Beach, Earning Twenty Percent.




  • that's a really juvenile response. how odd. 

    I like to think livestock know how delicious they are...  ;)
    Relax and have a Porter House.

    "Mostly I think that people react sensitively because they know you’ve got a point"