Fuel, and what fuel to use, has been the issue of the day for quite a few days now. With campaign ads about rising gas prices and offshore drilling plus new debates over whether biofuels are good because they help the environment or bad because they take food away from people, new solutions are no doubt in need.
Over at The Nation, Frances Cerra Whittelsey has an idea, one that I think is swell - people should eat less meat! It all comes down to one simple fact:
While there are daily references in the media to the diversion of corn to fuel-making, there’s hardly ever a mention of the fact that feeding our livestock uses 50 percent to 60 percent of the American corn crop. [The Nation]
More than that, the meat industry plays a pretty big role in global warming:
The shocking fact is that production of beef, pork and poultry is a bigger part of the climate problem than the cars and trucks we drive, indeed of the whole transportation sector. [The Nation]
Whittelsey ends her piece with some simple truths:
Biofuel production is not the silver bullet for global warming, but it can be part of the solution. Generating electric power entirely from solar, wind and geothermal by the end of 2018, as Al Gore has boldly proposed, would be another big piece. But there’s also a need to break the silence around the role of American eating habits in global warming and global hunger. Reducing our addiction to meat may not be popular, but we need to view our love affair with burgers and barbecue in the same frame as gas-guzzling SUVs. [The Nation]
And of course she is right, in the case of global warming there isn’t one answer. And of course everyone isn’t going to become a vegetarian overnight let alone ever.
What I suggest is everyone trying to eat a bit less meat. Have two days a week where you don’t eat it - experiment with new meat-free recipes. There’s a lot of good food to be eaten out there, and as it turns out, some of it is better for the environment.
takepart to read more about the Roundtable on Sustainable Biofuels and takepart again to read up on how the meat industry promtoes global warming.
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Filed under:
Environment • Global Health
Related Links:
Bioethicist Peter Singer Tackles the World Food Shortage
Sarah’s Social Action Snapshot: World Food Day
NY Times ‘Minimalist’ Bittman Tells America To Minimize Its Meat-Eating
Are Cars the Solution to Global Warming?
Sir Paul to Laurie David: Curb Your Carnivorism
Tagged as:Al Gore • alternative energy • biofuels • climate change • corn • Corn fed animals • Environment • global warming • Less meat • Meat Free • meat industry • The Nation • veganism • vegetarian
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17 posts in the last 24 hours
i find this site quite exciting ,but istill have a problem understanding the whole idea of global warming, this is the first time for me to read about it .ithink it is hard for me to take an action because iam not an american ,well egyptian, and i noticed that everything in the site is related to americans so i think u should go more worldwide because at the end this is aproblem that is facing our world too .it is a disappointing thing that we ,developing countries,dont read about enviromental problems ,espesially youth wewould really appreciate if you could educate us and teach us about these problems by making tours …
nagham ibrahimThis site is great. Useful, practical and easy to understand.
In reference to the article above, the suggestion is to have “two days a week where you don’t eat (meat)”. TWO DAYS A WEEK????!! How often to Americans eat meat??!!
I’m an Australian living in Japan. I cook my dinner about 5 nights a week. I cook with meat about once every two weeks. C’mon guys, you don’t need that much meat: 1. It’s not good for you 2. The way animals are treated to produce that meat is often hideously disturbing and 3. It’s bad for the environment.
Frank