UNITED KINGDOM, November 24, 2015 (BBC): As the Paris Conference of the Parties (COP21) draws near, the international spotlight is more focused on climate change than at any time since the Copenhagen talks of 2009. But amid all the talk of decarbonizing energy and transport systems, one crucial area remains in the shadows. The livestock sector produces about 15% of global greenhouse gases, roughly equivalent to all the exhaust emissions of every car, train, ship and aircraft on the planet.
A new report from the think tank Chatham House, Changing Climate, Changing Diets: Pathways to Lower Meat Consumption, argues that without concerted action to address over-consumption of meat, it will be near impossible to prevent global warming from passing the danger level of 2C. Governments fear a backlash from voters over interference in such a personal choice as diet. And because public awareness of the link between diet and climate change is so low, there is very little pressure on governments to do anything about it.
The US has one of the highest levels of meat consumption in the world at about 250g per person per day, almost four times the amount deemed healthy by experts. Europe and the major livestock-producing nations of South America are not far behind, while, at the other end of the scale, Indians average less than 10g of meat per day.
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