Earthday, April 22nd 2010 Reduce your Carbon FOODPRINT

[Guest guest]

What’s the most effective way to combat global warming that everyone can do?

 

Save electricity? Save Water? Grow more trees? Reduce the need for fuel?

 

Changing your diet can do all this and more.

 

Why a Vegan Earthday?

In November 2006, the UN and FAO declared in a 400-page report titled ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’ that livestock produces 18% of all the greenhouse gases on the planet. More than all the vehicles combined!

In October 2009, the World Watch Institute declared that Livestock are responsible for 51% of total greenhouse gases.

 

To combat this many cities around the world are declaring one day a week meat free.

 

India is a huge contributor to the world greenhouse gases and most of it is from animals raised from food

India has the world’s largest dairy herd, and is the second largest (after the US) global producer of milk. India is the world’s third largest producer of eggs and fifth largest producer of poultry meat in the world (China, Brazil, EU, Mexico, India). India produced 2.2 million metric tons of poultry meet in 2009. India has more than 200 million egg-laying hens that produced 47.4 billion eggs in 2009. Production is growing every year. Poultry Industry Growth: is 13% Compare this with the growth rate of Indian population : 1.548%

 

Environmental Aspects

 

Greenhouse Gases - India’s cattle is the largest global livestock source of methane, a greenhouse gas with 23 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. A 2009 survey found that India’s livestock together produced 11.75 million metric tons of methane each year, an almost 30% increase over that produced by livestock in 1994.

 

In India The GHGs emitted due to livestock enteric fermentation and manure management ALONE account for ATLEAST 12.88% of GHGs - That is, 22% more than the entire transportation sector. Please note that this does not include the GHG emissions due to the fertilizers used for livestock feed, livestock transportation for slaughter, etc.

 

Water Shortages - India’s two most popular livestock animals, cattle and poultry, also require the most water. Cattle need nearly 4.5 times the amount of water to produce an equivalent tonnage of wheat, and poultry comes in a close second, requiring over 3.5 times the amount of water needed for wheat.

 

Raising animals for food requires so much water that a vegan could leave his shower on 24 hours a day, 365 days a year and not consume more water than a non vegetarian.

 

Food and Starvation - 60 million people die of starvation each year. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people – more than the entire human population on earth.

 

With the soya beans India produces this year, the protein requirement of about 20% of the entire Indian population can be met for one year. That’s almost everyone below the poverty line!! Sadly most of the soya is fed to animals or exported to feed animals. Soya is a water intensive. More ecological crops could be grown instead of soya.

 

Wasted Resources - Producing all of this feed for farm animals uses more land, water, fertilizer, pesticides, and energy than would be used if we simply ate plant foods directly.

 

Pollution - Raising animals for food is one of the number one causes of water pollution. Much of the waste from factory farms and abattoirs flows into streams and rivers, contaminating water sources. Poultry farms leave toxic arsenic residues. Hydrogen sulfide and ammonia emissions released from large-scale animal confinement facilities can pose a health risk to humans. Air quality near these facilities is so poor that nearby residents and workers experience respiratory problems, nausea, and severe headaches.

 

What you can do to reduce your “Carbon Foodprint”

Buy Organic, local foods, use more millets Avoid or reduce animal products Reduce packaged and processed foods.

 

For the Animals

Death is never pleasant, least of all for the animals. 65 billion land animals are killed each year to appease our appetites! (This does not include aquatic animals) They suffer claustrophobic confinement, terrible transport without food and water and rest, to meet their final bloody end in the slaughterhouse. Each fights till the end for its life.

 

Vegan : A powerful way to end suffering on the planet.

Whether it is to improve your health, end global starvation, save wildlife, conserve water and energy or reduce pollution perhaps the greatest impact each individual can have is to reduce or stop animal products in their diet. For an informative 10 minute video see www.veganvideo.org

 

Vegan means not consuming ANY animal products. This is different from vegetarian where dairy and maybe eggs are consumed. Don’t miss the chance to be a part of the change you wish to see in the world.

 

Nandita Shah, SHARAN

For queries, a whole fact sheet with references to the information here and more, email nandita