campaigns > vegan pledge 10 > environment talk

Veganism and the Environment -
presentation given at 2nd Vegan Pledge meeting

“As environmental science has advanced, it has become apparent that the human appetite for animal flesh is a driving force behind virtually every category of environmental damage now threatening the human future”
The World Watch Institute 2009

It has long been understood that a diet high in meat and dairy was detrimental to the environment but in recent years this aspect of veganism has come to the fore as of issues such as climate change have risen to the top of the political agenda.
Each year about 60 billion animals are reared, transported and slaughtered for food and this is predicted to rise by 50% in the next 30-40 years. Just imagine the amount of energy and fossil fuel inputs required, the land used and the pollution produced during this colossal process.

The average global temperature has risen by about .75 degrees C in the last 100 years and estimates are it will rise by a further 1.6 –6 degrees C in the 21st Century. This will lead to flooding from rising sea levels, shortages of fresh water, drought, species extinctions, extreme weather events and disease epidemics. The scientific consensus is that global warming is largely due to increased emission of carbon dioxide (CO2) and other greenhouse gases due to human activities.

On average in the UK each of us produces about 2.6 tonnes of carbon emissions a year. This needs to be reduced to about one third of a ton within the next 20 years to keep the temperature rise below about 2 deg. Most of us are aware of the need to fly less (if at all) and substitute public transport for private car use. But not so many people know that eating a plant based diet can substantially reduce carbon emissions.

In 2006, the United Nations Food & Agriculture Organisation (UN FAO) spelt out animal agriculture’s contribution to these emissions in a breath-taking report called Livestock’s Long Shadow. They didn’t pull their punches: “Livestock’s contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale… The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency.

As far as global warming is concerned, livestock are the second biggest cause, producing 18 per cent of all greenhouse gases. Compare this with the 13 per cent from the world’s different forms of transport – trains, boats, planes and cars. According to the UN, aircraft on their own contribute just three per cent.
A more recent report by the respected US thinktank, The Worldwatch Institute went even further and said the true figure for emissions from domesticated animals was closer to 50 per cent. However its findings have not been confirmed and are not yet widely accepted.

With livestock, CO2 is only part of the problem and comes from farm equipment, heating, ventilation, processing equipment, transportation and burning felled forests. Vast amounts of methane (23 times more warming than CO2) are emitted by the digestive processes of ruminants such as cows, sheep and goats. This accounts for 37 percent of the methane produced globally. Animal manure, along with nitrogen-based fertilisers used to grow fodder, produce nitrous oxide, which is a massive 296 times worse than CO2.

Seventy per cent of cleared Amazon rainforest land is now used for grazing cattle; most of the remaining 30 per cent is used to grow soya as fodder. It is the high-protein animal feed of choice and Europe imports a staggering 18 million tonnes.

Animal farming is an inefficient use of resources. You have to feed more crops to animals than if you fed the humans directly with plants. One third of the grain grown world wide is fed to farm animals but they convert only 5-15 per cent of that into meat or eggs or milk.

One days food for a meat eater needs 34000 calories of fossil energy, almost 20000 for a vegetarian, 10000 for a vegan. A vegan diet requires 1/8 of the land needed to feed a meat eater. A typical omniverous diet requires 15000 litres of water per day, 5000 litres for a vegetarian, 1150 for a vegan. Being vegan needs less land, water and fuel.

Veganism is the most sustainable diet because it reduces our evitonmental footprint. This can be measured in terms of the number of hectares we require. A hectare is 10,000 sq metres or approx 2.5 acres. If we divided the planet equally among the world's population we would all get only 1.8 hectares. In the UK the average environmental footprint is 5.8 hectares. If you are vegan you will require just 0.5 hectares of land to support your diet whereas someone who eats meat and dairy every day needs nearly 2 hectares. The rest of the environmental footprint is produced by other activities such as travel and energy use.

The planet is facing an environmental crisis and many of the solutions will have to be collective ones – ie. social and political change. Nevertheless each of us can make a difference by exercising choices in the kitchen or cafe. Going vegan will help decrease your impact on the planet. It is also going to taste great and lessen the suffering of your fellow humans and other animals and probably make you healthier into the bargain.

That’s good news for the planet, animals and you!

Paul Gravett 20 February 2010