BE VEGAN, MAKE PEACE

"The livestock sector generates more greenhouse gas emissions as measured in CO2 equivalent – 18 percent – than transport. It is also a major source of land and water degradation."
UN - Livestock's Long Shadow (2006)
Full PDF -408 page UN Report
This summary (1-page PDF)

Main Climate Change Solution - Veganism

Supreme Master Ching Hai - a world-renowned spiritual teacher, artist, and humanitarian
"The root of our problem is that we have been unkind to our co-inhabitants: the living, feeling, walking, acting, loving beings, like animals, of all size and shapes. And we have also been unkind to our environment. We have been massacring our co-inhabitant animals, and we have been destroying our environment, like deforesting and destroying the water and destroying the air. So, in order to solve the problem that we are facing right now, we have to reverse our actions. We have to be kind to our co-inhabitants. Instead of killing them, massacring them, sacrificing them, we have to take care of them. And instead of deforestation, we have to plant trees again. Take care of whatever environment that we have." more

Dr. James Hansen - NASA's top climatologist
"There are many things that people can do to reduce their carbon emissions, but changing your light bulb and many of the things are much less effective than changing your diet, because if you eat further down on the food chain rather than animals, which have produced many greenhouse gases, and used much energy in the process of growing that meat, you can actually make a bigger contribution in that way than just about anything.

So, that, in terms of individual action, is perhaps the best thing you can do."
"My message to you is: Be Veg, Go Green, Save the Planet." Show Video | Hide Video

Dr. Rajendra Pachauri - The chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC)
"the entire cycle of meat production and consumption, it’s hugely intensive in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. And therefore, I always say that if you eat less meat you would be healthier and so would the planet!

I think it would help the global community enormously, if we consume less meat. But I am only highlighting the fact that the entire meat cycle is very very intensive, in terms of carbon dioxide emissions. "
"I would say Go Veg, Be Green and save our planet! "Show Video | Hide Video

The impact of meat production & consumption on climate change

Meat and Climate Change

The report from Worldwatch Institute shows that livestock raising is responsible for at least 51 percent of global warming.* A Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency report showed that global shift to vegan diet could cut climate change mitigation costs by 80% * According to the UN report “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” livestock production is the greatest contributor to global warming.* Animal waste and feed cropland dump more pollutants into our waterways than all other human activities combined. Meat-based diets require 10-20 times as much land as plant-based diets – nearly half of the world's grains & soybeans are fed to animals. Proportion of GHG emissions from different parts of livestock production Livestock production emissions: 18% Global Transportation emissions: 13.5% 18% of all greenhouse-gas emissions from human activities, including: 9% of CO2 37% of CH4(methane) - 23 times the Global Warming Potential of CO2 over 100 years, 72 times over 20 years 65% of N2O (nitrous oxide) -296 times the Global Warming Potential of CO2 over 100 years, 275 over 20 years Source: FAO, 2006 (1) Producing 1kg beef: Leads to the emission of greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 36.4 kg of CO2 . Releases fertilising compounds equivalent to 340 g. of sulphur dioxide and 59 g. of phosphate. Consumes 169 megajoules of energy . 1 kg of beef is responsible for the equivalent of the amount of CO2 emitted by the average European car every 250 km, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days. Over two-thirds of the energy goes towards producing and transporting the animals' feed. Source: Animal Science Journal, 2007 " the permafrost layer is melting each day. And the methane gas,or other gas even, are releasing into the atmosphere. I really hope and pray that someone is listening.Methane and nitrous oxide is made by stock raising, stock keeping, animals keeping. So they are far more poisonous, far more dangerous than CO2. Because the atmosphere is getting warmer and so the methane is bubbling out. If we stop the worst cause of global warming,meaning stock raising, animal breeding,then we will be able to save the planet. We have to stop the killing of man or animals. We have to stop producing animals products. And we have to stop using it." - Supreme Master Ching Hai - 6 July 2008– London Conference (2)

Deforestation

Deforestation playing a major role in climate change. More than 300 experts stated, “If we lose the forests, we lose the fight against climate change.” But Amazon deforestation increases 69 percent due to demand for meat during Aug 2007 and Aug 2008 . The livestock sector is by far the single largest anthropogenic user of land Livestock production accounts for 70% of all agricultural land and 30% of the world’s surface land area 70% of previous forested land in the Amazon is occupied by cattle pastures, and crops for animal feed cover a large part of the remainder 20% of pasture land is degraded because of overgrazing, compaction and erosion Source: FAO, 2006; Goodland R. et al,1999 " Everything has something. Like trees， they are there to give oxygen to the planet. Without trees， we die. Really， we will. We die without trees. The water will be less because there are no trees to attract water and to keep water when it is there. So， everything on this planet， including us， is inter-related and helping each other to make our lives here comfortable and livable， comfortably. But if you we don't know that， we are killing ourselves. Every time we kill a tree， or kill an animal，we are killing a little part of ourselves. " - Supreme Master Ching Hai - 6 Jun 2001– Florida， USA

Food Shortage

Rising food prices have plunged an additional 75 million people below the hunger threshold, bringing the estimated number of undernourished people worldwide to 923 million in 2007.(1) But are we really short of food? 1/3 of the world’s cereal harvest and over 90% of soya is used for animal feed, despite inherent inefficiencies. Grain currently fed to livestock is enough to feed ２ billion people. It takes 10 kg of animal feed to produce 1 kg of beef 4 to 5.5 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of pork 2.1 to 3 kg of grain to produce 1 kg of poultry meat Source: FAO, 2006; CAST 1999; B. Parmentier, 2007 "Everything else takes too long and we don’t have time. So we have to choose the vegetarian diet; no more animals breeding. Choose organic farming, helping each other, sharing the food that we have. Because if we are vegetarian, all of us, we will have so much food to share with everybody; no one will ever go to sleep hungry at night anymore. And then we will have saved a lot of time, energy, money to help them also combat disease and rebuild their lives. Everything’s possible, because there will be no more war, even with animals. Peace begins at home." - 2008 Critical Moments to Save the Planet: What Can I Do? Seminar -June 29, 2008(2)

Water Shortage & Pollution

We are seeing severe drought with cracking lands, followed by massive flooding and destruction of agricultural products and other properties in an unprecedented scale.and every day, 30,000 children in the world die from diseases linked to water. (1) 70% of all water goes to producing food(3) and livestock is among the largest sectoral source of water pollution and responsible for 64% of ammonia emissions, which contribute to acid rain. One factory farm creates more water pollution than the city of Houston, Texas.(4) 4664 liters of water to produce 1serving of beef but entire vegan meal need only 371 liters water.(5) Scientists have calculated that we would actually save more water by forgoing one pound of beef, or four hamburgers, than by not showering for at least six months (6) "Yes. And a vegetarian diet will stop 80% of global warming, stop all the cruelty, beginning on our plate. Generating loving, kind energy around the world, stop water shortage and water pollution, stop food shortages, stop world hunger and war, prevent deadly diseases, save enormous tax and medical bills to build a better world, and support new useful inventions and good people’s organizations." - An Interview with Supreme Master Ching Hai by James Bean of Spiritual Awakening Radio -July 29, 2008 - USA (7)

Overfishing and Dead zones

Diseases Related to Meat

Resources

Assessing The Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production (2010) - UNEP    The health benefi ts of tackling climate change - An Executive Summary for The Lancet Series - The Lancet    Livestock and Climate Change - Worldwatch Institute    Organic: A Climate Saviour? - the Institute for Ecological Economy Research (IÖW)    Livestock Consumption and Climate Change: A Framework for Dialogue - Food Ethics Council (FEC) as part of WWF’s One Planet Food programme    Slaughtering the Amazon - Greenpeace    Cool Farming:Climate impacts of agriculture and mitigation potential (2008) - Greenpeace    Climate benefits of changing diet (Free Preview - 2009) - Elke Stehfest , Lex Bouwman, Detlef P. van Vuuren, Michel G. J. den Elzen, Bas Eickhout and Pavel Kabat    Food-Miles and the Relative Climate Impacts of Food Choices in the United States (2008) - Carnegie Mellon University    Putting Meat on The Table: Industrial Farm Animal Production in America (2008) - Executive Summary , Pew Commission on Industrial Farm Animal Production    American Meat: A Threat to Your Health and to the Environment (2004) - Polly Walker,M.D.,M.P.H.&Robert S. Lawrence,M.D.    Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global Meat Industry. (2005) - Worldwatch Paper 171    Meat's Carbon Hoofprint (2007) - Prof Barry Brook and Geoff Russell    The Economic Impact of Global Warming on Livestock Husbandry in Kenya (2008) - Jane Kabubo-Marian,PhD School of Economics,University of Nairobi    Livestock's Long Shadow (2006) - United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization    The livestock industry and climate (2007) - Jens Holm & Toivo Jokkala    Cooking up a storm: Food, greenhouse gas emissions and our changing climate (2008) - Food Climate Research Network    Saving Water: From Field to Fork - Curbing losses and wastage in the food chain (2008) - Stockholm International Water Institute, International Water Management Institute, Chalmers, and Stockholm Environment Institute.    Can Britain Feed Itself? -Simon Fairlie( 2007) - The Land    The Cattle Realm: A new phase in the livestock colonization of Brazilian Amazonia (2008) - Amlgos da Terra more

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