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What you eat may effect global warming as much as what you drive
DawnWatch: ABC News site article, "Meat-Eaters Aiding Global Warming?" 4/19/06
The ABC News website has an interesting piece, posted April 19, headed, "Meat-Eaters Aiding Global Warming?" and sub-headed, "New Research Suggests What You Eat as Important as What You Drive. Your personal impact on global warming may be influenced as much by what you eat as by what you drive.
It continues:
"That surprising conclusion comes from a couple of scientists who have taken an unusual look at the production of greenhouse gases from an angle that not many folks have even thought about. Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, assistant professors of geophysics at the University of Chicago, have found that our consumption of red meat may be as bad for the planet as it is for our bodies.
"If you want to help lower greenhouse gas emissions, they conclude in a report to be published in the journal Earth Interactions, become a vegetarian.
"In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that both researchers are vegetarians, although they admit to cheating a little with an occasional sardine. They say their conclusions are backed up by hard data.
"Eshel and Martin collected that data from a wide range of sources, and they examined the amount of fossil-fuel energy -- and thus the level of production of greenhouse gases -- required for five different diets. The vegetarian diet turned out to be the most energy efficient, followed by poultry, and what they call the 'mean American diet,' which consists of a little bit of everything.
"There was a surprising tie for last place. In terms of energy required for harvesting and processing, fish and red meat ended up in a 'virtual tie,' but that's just in terms of energy consumed. When you toss in all those other factors, such as bovine flatulence and gas released by manure, red meat comes in dead last. Fish remains in fourth place, some distance behind poultry and the mean American diet, chiefly because the type of fish preferred by Americans requires a lot of energy to catch."
On the impact of changing your diet, Eshel says, "It is comparable to the difference between driving an SUV and driving a reasonable sedan."
You can read the full article on line at:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1856817&page=1
On that page, at the end of the article, you'll find, "What Do You Think? Chat About the Issue." That gives vegetarians a great opportunity to chat about the many reasons for choosing a plant based diet besides the environmental issues. For example the consumption chicken, which rates higher than beef for environmental protection, involves some of the most gratuitous cruelty as birds are exempt from humane slaughter laws.
You can learn more about the impact of meat-based diets on animals, and see photos of their living conditions at http://www.FactoryFarming.com
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)
It continues:
"That surprising conclusion comes from a couple of scientists who have taken an unusual look at the production of greenhouse gases from an angle that not many folks have even thought about. Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, assistant professors of geophysics at the University of Chicago, have found that our consumption of red meat may be as bad for the planet as it is for our bodies.
"If you want to help lower greenhouse gas emissions, they conclude in a report to be published in the journal Earth Interactions, become a vegetarian.
"In the interest of full disclosure, it should be noted that both researchers are vegetarians, although they admit to cheating a little with an occasional sardine. They say their conclusions are backed up by hard data.
"Eshel and Martin collected that data from a wide range of sources, and they examined the amount of fossil-fuel energy -- and thus the level of production of greenhouse gases -- required for five different diets. The vegetarian diet turned out to be the most energy efficient, followed by poultry, and what they call the 'mean American diet,' which consists of a little bit of everything.
"There was a surprising tie for last place. In terms of energy required for harvesting and processing, fish and red meat ended up in a 'virtual tie,' but that's just in terms of energy consumed. When you toss in all those other factors, such as bovine flatulence and gas released by manure, red meat comes in dead last. Fish remains in fourth place, some distance behind poultry and the mean American diet, chiefly because the type of fish preferred by Americans requires a lot of energy to catch."
On the impact of changing your diet, Eshel says, "It is comparable to the difference between driving an SUV and driving a reasonable sedan."
You can read the full article on line at:
http://abcnews.go.com/Technology/story?id=1856817&page=1
On that page, at the end of the article, you'll find, "What Do You Think? Chat About the Issue." That gives vegetarians a great opportunity to chat about the many reasons for choosing a plant based diet besides the environmental issues. For example the consumption chicken, which rates higher than beef for environmental protection, involves some of the most gratuitous cruelty as birds are exempt from humane slaughter laws.
You can learn more about the impact of meat-based diets on animals, and see photos of their living conditions at http://www.FactoryFarming.com
(DawnWatch is an animal advocacy media watch that looks at animal issues in the media and facilitates one-click responses to the relevant media outlets. You can learn more about it, and sign up for alerts at http://www.DawnWatch.com. If you forward or reprint DawnWatch alerts, please do so unedited -- leave DawnWatch in the title and include this tag line.)
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Diet For A New America: How Your Food Choices Affect Your Health, Happiness And The Future
Thu, Apr 20, 2006 4:57PM
In 1999, Union of Concerned Scientists said meat is the #2 most harmful product
Thu, Apr 20, 2006 4:42PM
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