What did you learn about dietary choices from using the footprint calculator? Now imagine that you could translate what you learned into an effective societal policy on food- what would it be? And how would this policy effect the need to alleviate world hunger?
925 million people on earth do not have enough to eat according to the FAO [Food and Agricultural Organization]. That's almost 1 in 7 inhabitants of our planet!
Food & Hunger >
Eliminating Meats
While eliminating meats completely from a diet is a very difficult task, trying to eliminate as much meat as you can is helpful to the environment. The carbon footprint calculator helped me realize that I was causing a large portion of greenhouse gasses to be released just through my diet. The process of producing the meat we eat is harsh on the environment and uses many important resources. An article by Scientific American titled "How Does Meat in the Diet Take an Environmental Toll?" states that "red meat such as beef and lamb is responsible for 10 to 40 times as many greenhouse gas emissions as common vegetables and grains." The high environmental toll taken by the production of these meats is a large contributor to the greenhouse gasses in our atmosphere. The production not only affects the environment but it also uses a large amount of resources that could be used to help stop world hunger. An article by EarthSave titled "Food Choices and the Planet" states that "It takes 2,500 gallons of water, 12 pounds of grain, 35 pounds of topsoil and the energy equivalent of one gallon of gasoline to produce one pound of feedlot beef" and "70% of US grain production is fed to livestock." The extremely high recourse cost of producing beef especially the large amount of grain that goes to feeding the animals proves that beef also takes recourses that could be used to help solve world hunger. I myself eat a lot of meat and am trying to lower that amount to help the planet. However, the government could create societal policies lowering the production of beef. These ideas can help give an idea to the harsh costs of meats.
I agree with you that beef is a big contributor to global warming and also abuses many resources, but I wonder if that can be changed if more sustainable strategies were implemented. The World Wildlife Fund writes in their article, "Beef," "With the global population expected to exceed 9 billion by 2050 and income levels rising, demand for beef is increasing and will only grow. Yet beef production requires a lot of land, water and energy, and generates considerable waste. It is thus essential to improve its sustainability globally." This shows us that lower class families are dependent on beef, and they will continue to be, but something needs to be changed about its sustainability. The article goes on to discuss how when "sustainably managed" cattle grazing maintains the health of grasslands, improves the quality of soil with their manure, help to preserve an open space and wildlife habitat, and they "provide social benefits by sustaining livelihoods and community vibrancy in rural areas where grasslands dominate." Clearly, with proper treatment, cows can be beneficial to nature and humans.