To cut down on their carbon footprint, a growing group of meat-eaters – known as casual vegetarians, or flexitarians – are making it a habit of occasionally seeking out vegetarian meals. This effort shows their devotion, but does it actually make a difference?
It may be hard to believe, but the livestock industry contributes more greenhouse gases into the environment than all forms of transportation combined. In fact, animal consumption is responsible for one-fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions!
The obvious solution to the livestock industry’s contribution to global warming is the adoption of a vegan diet in which you stop consuming all meat, dairy and other animal products. For various reasons though, a vegan lifestyle not a viable option for everyone. Old habits are hard to break and most people who grew up on a meat and potatoes diet that they loved are not willing to give it up.
So the question is this: to make a difference in global warming, must you eliminate from your diet all meat and dairy products?
The answer is no.
Flexitarians are a growing group of people who eat meat occasionally. There is no guideline as to how much meat they may or may not consume in order to fall into this category. Some only eat meat on the weekends or after 6 p.m., while others consume it every other day. For most flexitarians though, there is no set routine. They simply make it a habit of seeking out vegetarian meals on a regular basis, while occasionally incorporating meat into their diet as well.
It is estimated that 30 to 40 percent of the population falls into this category. But what difference does it really make?
Here are the numbers: if you only ate meat every other day for a year, you would eliminate from your carbon footprint 487 pounds of CO2 emissions.
Furthermore, no responsible discussion of meat and dairy consumption would be complete without addressing animal welfare. Unfortunately, most of the meat and dairy we consume is from animals that have endured the "factory" farming system. Unlike small family farms that historically respect the lives of the animals they raise, factory farms treat them like products, not living beings.
However, we could save six billion animals a year if everyone on the plant cut their meat consumption by just 10 percent!
It is on behalf of animals that I went vegan myself several years ago, so it is my hope – for the animals’ sake – that everyone will ultimately make the same choice. However, I am equally supportive of the flexitarian lifestyle as any elimination of meat and dairy from the diet helps save an animal’s life.
If alleviating the suffering of animals and greenhouse gas emissions is if interest to you, click here to learn more about the flexitarianism.
Source: BecauseAction.com
