SOCIAL VEGANS AVOID 'MEET'

American diets (and Western diets in general) tend to lean towards the 'meat lover' on the scale of things (although developing countries are catching up too). 

Where do you think you fit in with the five categories below?

For each of the diets, the results are based on food supply, so it does not take into account the way consumers store and transport the foods. (The methodology for this can be found here.) 

"Reducing the intake of meat and other animal based products can make a valuable contribution to climate change mitigation, other work has demonstrated other environmental and health benefits of a reduced meat diet. National governments that are considering an update of dietary recommendations in order to define a 'healthy, sustainable diet' must incorporate the recommendation to lower the consumption of animal-based products."

Currently, vegetarianism as depicted above, is very high in parts of India with 375 millions of vegetarians. This may be as a direct result of their culture and religion and traditional ideologies in India. On the other hand, those in Western countries like USA and the EU are lagging far behind India with only a few million vegetarians/vegans.

In the average diet animal products make up 60% of emissions despite accounting for just a quarter of food energy.

For the Meat Lover beef consumption causes almost half of emissions from just a tenth of food energy.

In the No Beef diet all the reductions from the Average foodprint come by switching  from beef to chicken.

The difference between the Vegetarian and Vegan diets arises from dairy consumption being switched to a mix of cereals and vegetables.

This data really shocked me, so I thought I had to share it with you! Science shows that becoming vegan is the best way to save our planet and fight global warming. According to the official handbook for Live Earth, reports show that not eating meat is the “single most effective thing you can do.” However, it is very beneficial to precisely lay out the foodprints to get a clearer picture of how one does not have to specifically make the full commitment like those individuals in the Vegucated documentary did. By just substituting a few of the foods you eat most, to foods that produce lower carbon emissions, one can still make a big difference to the environment. The website explains this perfectly;

A Vegetarian’s foodprint is about two thirds of the average American and almost half that of a meat lover. For a Vegan it is even lower. But perhaps most interestingly, eating chicken instead of beef cuts a quarter of emissions in one simple step.

On a happy note, it seems there is definitely a growing portion of the global population who are interested in vegetarian benefits. Below is a chart of page views on Wikipedia for the pages on "Vegetarianism" and "Veganism".

Another incentive to substitute beef with chicken; production of poultry is much cheaper since they take up less space and are more efficient to feed than other livestock. 

So, you will be saving money too!

Happy Meatless Monday! Tune in NEXT MONDAY for THE FINAL POST!

HOW TO TRAIN A RUMINANT

Methane (CH4)  is emitted naturally and through human sources. Natural sources make up 36% of all Methane emissions and this includes wetlands, turmite and the oceans. The remainder is emitted via human activities; this includes landfills, livestock farming and use of fossil fuels. Methane can be removed from the atmosphere through natural processes in soil. But for a long time now human activities have been creating methane emissions much more rapidly than the Earth can remove them, increasing global methane levels.

Methane's lifetime in the atmosphere is shorter than carbon dioxide, but "animals produce 37 percent of methane, which has more than 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide."  Additionally, as shown in the pie chart below, the human sources of methane are predominantly due to livestock farming and fossil fuel production. This is indicative of the importance and detrimental impact of methane emissions.

So how exactly do livestock emit methane?

If you want the short answer to how animals emit methane, look no further, we do it all the time: burps, farts and breathing.

No kidding.

And the long answer goes like this.

Cows come under a the mammal group called ruminants which acquire nutrients from plant based products. They have four stomachs; where the food is digested. The stomach is filled with bacteria, and when food is digested, methane is also manufactured in the process. 
(If only I had four stomachs...)

Furthermore, in the animal manure storage tanks, methane is produced. Imagine the extent of methane produced;

• Britain has millions of ruminants, including 10 million cows. Cows contribute 3 percent of Britain's overall greenhouse gas emissions and 25 to 30 percent of its methane.
• Methane is the second most prevalent greenhouse gas emitted in the United States from human activities. In 2012, CH4 accounted for about 9% of all U.S.greenhouse gas emissions from human activities. 

Globally, over 60% of total CH4 emissions come from human activities.

How to train a ruminant:

Give your cow some garlic to reduce methane emissions, apparently...

A three-year study, begun in April 2007 by Welsh scientists, is examining if adding garlic to cow feed can reduce their methane production. The study is ongoing, but early results indicate that garlic cuts cow flatulence in half by attacking methane-producing microbes living in cows' stomachs [Source: BBC News]. The researchers are also looking to see if the addition of garlic affects the quality of the meat or milk produced and even if the animals get BAD BREATH.

Happy Meatless Monday! Tune in next Monday for a new post on Nitrous Oxide emissions.

AN OPEN LETTER TO THE "FOODIES"

Dear "Foodies",

We met at a fast food restaurant, a friend's house, in a convenience store, wherever, you chose me, out of an array of colourful options.

You took pride in the 100+ likes you gained on Instagram from photos with me. 

You devoured every moment with me, because I was there when you were lonely, and I was there when you had a great night with your best friends. I've seen you in all your glory, celebrations for passing your exams, crying over the friend who betrayed you, and being sick on your bathroom floor after a night out. 

So it began like that. I set out to lure you in, and now you're determined for more.

Ultimately, I'm so glad I'm the latest trend. Because quite frankly, people used to neglect us quite a bit.

A sincere thank you, for choosing me.

I look foward to seeing you very soon,
Your favourite,

MOUTHWATERING JUICY BURGER (with extra mature cheddar cheese, gherkins, extra layer of meat, jalapeno, mushrooms, pickles, tomato sauce, mayonnaise, mustard, lettuce, tomatoes, caramelised onions, chilli, spinach, bacon, fried egg, and more cheese, with my dear friend, fries and the handful of salad that no one seems to touch.)

---------------------

Having been taken by storm with the burger boom, with over 3million posts with the hashtag #burger on Instagram up to date, humans are craving every type of burger out there in every corner of the globe.  This is evident by just searching the term 'burger' in Google Trends, which portrays the ever increasing interest in burgers and its popularity in a variety of countries.

Global production of meat is forecasted to more than double from 229 million tonnes in 1999/01 to 465 million tonnes in 2050. The environmental impact per unit of livestock production must be cut by half, just to avoid increasing the level of damage beyond its present level.


With entrepreneurs taking this opportunity to exploit this trend, crazy burger ideas have been brought to the market, such as the 'Glamburger' costing an arm and a leg (in other words, £1,100) in Chelsea, in exchange for the most extravagant ingredients which include black truffle, Himalayan salt and a gold leaf.

Ultimately, "burgers are culinary survivors: They can adapt no matter where mainstream tastes flow." The burger trend can evolve in ways to ensure its survival with new trendy ingredients.

After this introduction, you may be seduced by the idea of reaching for a big juicy burger whilst you finish reading this post, perhaps its worth stopping for a minute to realise the real value of what you're eating.

Yes, we've been there, taught that. Burgers (and pizza, chips, soda bla bla bla) are bad for your health, don't eat them. Well, we all thought we're old enough to deal with what we put into our bodies, and lets face it, all this controversy is only applicable to small kids who can't control themselves.

Wrong.

In the traditional sense, yes, burgers are bad for you. Too much fat, sodium and whatnot.

But on a macro level, eating burgers (and meat in general for that matter) is harming the earth. How so, you ask.

A report from the Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations (FAO) cited livestock production as "one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global." 

"The environmental damage by the livestock sector goes far beyond the sector; it also goes beyond agriculture."

DID YOU KNOW? 

Livestock production accounts for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions; more than the world's cars and SUV's combined.

When put into perspective, those juicy addictive burgers are no longer just a health risk but a risk to the world. 

The consumption of meat is a huge interest to me personally, as I have always lived under the impression that a bit of meat is good for the body and have never thought twice about how it could be harmful to the environment. Being a 'good human' (if I should say so myself), recycling where possible, walking instead of driving a car and even keeping food waste as compost made me think I was putting in more than my two cents, surely! After reading more on meat consumption, I have become intrigued in the scientific journals that point to the harmful effects on the planet.

Throughout this blog, I will be providing more information regarding meat consumption, its impacts and potential effects on global warming and other environmental impacts as a consequence of meat production. 

Make sure to come back to check for the latest posts!

Happy Meatless Monday!

Tune in next Monday for a new post on the origins of the meat trend!