Comments on: Eating less meat and dairy has minimal impact on global warming, expert argues

By: Daniel Hudon

Daniel Hudon — Tue, 24 Jul 2012 03:44:00 +0000

I’m a meat eater but I’ve been cutting down after seeing the film Food, Inc., which makes it clear that factory farming is inhumane. There’s something quite suspicious about the article, beginning with the fact that it’s from the Chemical Society (hello fertilizers!) But also the number 1 cause of deforestation is conversion of land for agriculture, either for cattle or for feed for cattle. So, yes, eating lower on the food chain will indeed have an effect on climate change and it will preserve forests at the same time.

By: Sven

Sven — Fri, 10 Feb 2012 10:13:00 +0000

The “American Chemical Society” ??? … that says it all !

I wonder who their biggest client is? … the meat industry? … whether they supply chemical products to the feed-growers or the feed-lots, if the demand for meat dropped, so would their profits.

Less meat-consumption would actually mean less crops, as production of meat is a highly wasteful process (see p27 of http://www.unep.org/pdf/FoodCrisis_lores.pdf) … therefore a corresponding decrease in the demand for chemicals = a healthier planet

Furthermore, the FAO grossly underestimated the impact of the livestock industry in the above-mentioned 2006 report, “Livestock’s Long Shadow” (ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/010/a0701e/a0701e00.pdf) …

“livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32,564million tons of CO2e per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions” !!!

… download the full 2009 report from World Watch Institute’s website …
http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf

By: Sonja-Sophie

Sonja-Sophie — Thu, 14 Apr 2011 12:29:01 +0000

I believe Al Gore, in his book "Our Choice" checked his numbers, and they clearly show an impact. Also, how does less meat/milk consumption increase hunger in poor countries again? That fact has to be proven first! It is, however proven, that all Western Countries numbers of heart -and similar disease has increased, with the increase of meat consumption. I will not even touch on the moral responsibility of humankind when it comes to meat/dairy production. Clearly, eating less meat will have a positive impact on the earth on many different levels.

By: Greg Seaman

Greg Seaman — Thu, 10 Feb 2011 00:16:49 +0000

Interesting. Any use of methane for power would serve as a carbon offset. If you have any additional information please let me know and I'll post it to this blog. Thanks.

By: Jenne

Jenne — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 23:45:17 +0000

I've read (most recent in "The Big Necessity") about projects to produce power using livestock manure, even on relatively small scales. Could the use of such methane power offset the carbon load of livestock?

By: JaneOBrien

JaneOBrien — Wed, 09 Feb 2011 15:59:00 +0000

Sadly, Ireland’s livestock looks set to feed off GM crops after the government u-turns on their policy.

By: wabstemer

wabstemer — Sun, 30 Jan 2011 15:16:00 +0000

I think this certainly calls into question more than just his figures but the method used to measure emissions outside of the agriculture world.