The 2006 United Nations report, Livestock’s Long Shadow, documents the livestock industry’s 18% contribution to global warming, which is more than the warming effect of all transportation throughout the world.
A 2007 report from the Earth Institute affirms that a plant-based diet consumes only 25% of a meat-based diet.And changing from a meat-based to a vegetarian diet is at least 50% more effective in counteracting climate change as switching from a Suburban SUV to a Toyota hybrid car.
“Please eat less meat – meat is a very carbon intensive commodity. Don't eat meat, ride a bike, and be a frugal shopper – that's how you can help brake global warming.” -
Rajendra Pachauri, Chief of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change International environmental organization EarthSave features
VEGPLEDGE!TM at
www.vegpledge.com, a program dedicated to helping anyone who wants to benefit the planet with a Go Veg! pledge.
Research by University of Chicago geophysics professors Gordan Eishel Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin concludes that going vegan for one year saves 1.5 tons of emissions relative to the standard American diet, 50% more than switching from an SUV to a Toyota Prius.
New York Times article written by Mark Bittman, a non-vegetarian, explains the detrimental cost of meat consumption to our planet, our health, and to the poor.
If each person in the Netherlands goes meat-free one day per week, the lowered emissions would equal the Dutch government’s goals for emission reductions for all households for one year.
A vegetarian driving a Hummer SUV is more environmentally friendly than a meat-eater on a bicycle.
In South America, where 400 million hectares of soya crops are fed to animals for human consumption, only 25 million hectares would be needed be needed to directly feed all the humans in the world.