It only takes a trip to the supermarket or a browse through social media to see that plant-based diets, including vegetarianism and veganism, are becoming increasingly popular. People are readily choosing to reduce their meat intake and these decisions are even reflected in market trends - sales of meat alternatives rose by 8% between 2010 and 2012. But why is this relevant to the rest of us?
Well, for some of us, it may be obvious - climate change! Animal agriculture is directly responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, which is actually more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. Unbelievably the impact of agriculture on the environment has only recently begun to be more widely discussed in popular culture. The 2014 documentary film 'Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret', although controversial amongst environmental groups, has brought the issue into the public domain. The film is now accessible in over 190 countries through Netflix's streaming services, exposing agriculture's environmental impacts to a much broader audience.
Traditionally eating large quantities of meat, particularly beef, has been associated with western cultures, but due to increase in personal wealth meat is now more accessible and affordable than ever. Because of this, meat consumption per person more than doubled between 1950 and 2005, whereas global meat consumption increased from 47 million tons to 260 million tons. This has huge implications for climate change and as a result many environmentalists are trying to turn back the tables.
The effects are considerably amplified by regional variations in meat production. A recent study published in 'Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences' provides an insight into these disparities. Developing countries are responsible for 75% of the global greenhouse-gas emissions from cattle and other ruminants. Additionally the study found that poor feed quality in impoverished countries means that cattle are likely to consume as much as ten times more feed (mostly grasses) than a cow raised in more fertile regions. The inefficiencies of livestock farming in developing countries lead to a production of up to 1000kg of carbon for every kilogram of protein produced.
That's ten times higher than the amount of carbon released per kilogram in rich, fertile land in America and Europe!
Beside the obvious impact on climate change, there are also huge sociopolitical implications arising from variations in food production and distribution! Roughly 1.3 billion tonnes of food is either lost or wasted globally due to inefficiencies. This, combined with the grain unavailable for human consumption due it being used for feeding livestock, leads to an enormous amount of food that the world's hungriest 795 million people are going without. As we can grow enough food to feed ten billion people, there are huge ethical concerns as to this unjust distribution, how can we warrant feeding purpose-bred livestock when there are millions of people without regular access to food?
For those that are concerned about these issues, one thing everyone can do, even today, is raise awareness about the issue! Creating a dialogue around the inefficiencies and impacts of agriculture is key to future change. This will educate the next generation and allow them to make an informed decision about the future of the planet, and inevitably the rest of the population.
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