USA, May 7, 2008: Last month, the United Nations published a report on livestock and the environment with a stunning conclusion: “The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” It turns out that raising animals for food is a primary cause of land degradation, air pollution, water shortage, water pollution, loss of biodiversity, and not least of all, global warming. It seems that when you step outside and wonder what happened to winter, you might want to think about what you had for dinner last night. The U.N. report says almost a fifth of global warming emissions come from livestock.
It sounds like a lot of bad news, but in fact it’s quite the opposite. It means we have a powerful new weapon to use in addressing the most serious environmental crisis ever to face humanity. Now that we know a greener diet is even more effective than a greener car, we can make a difference at every single meal.