A widely cited 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, Livestock’s Long Shadow, estimates that 18 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions are attributable to livestock….however recent analysis by Goodland and Anhang co-authors of “Livestock and Climate Change” in the latest issue of World Watch magazine found that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide GHG emissions!

http://www.51percent.org

The main sources of GHGs from animal agriculture are: (1) Deforestation of the rainforests to grow feed for livestock. (2) Methane from manure waste. – Methane is 72 times more potent as a global warming gas than CO2 (3) Refrigeration and transport of meat around the world. (4) Raising, processing and slaughtering of the animal.

Meat production also uses a massive amount of water and other resources which would be better used to feed the world’s hungry and provide water to those in need.

Based on their research, Goodland and Anhang conclude that replacing livestock products with soy-based and other alternatives would be the best strategy for reversing climate change. They say “This approach would have far more rapid effects on GHG emissions and their atmospheric concentrations-and thus on the rate the climate is warming-than actions to replace fossil fuels with renewable energy.”

The fact is that we are being informed of the dangerous path we are on by depending greatly on animal flesh for human consumption. We still have the opportunity to make the most effective steps in saving ourselves and this planet. By simply choosing a plant based diet we can reduce our carbon foot print by a huge amount.

We are gambling with our lives and with those of our future generations to come. It’s madness to know we are fully aware of the possible consequences but yet are failing to act.

Promoting a plant based diet to the public is would be the most effective way to curb deforestation, we hope this will be adopted as a significant measure to save the rainforests and protect the delicate ecology.

Thank you for your consideration.

Since organic growth produces about 150 billion tons of biomass every year, this represents the removal of about 450 billion tons of CO2 from the atmosphere by photosynthesis. Of course, 90% the biomass breaks down again, causing CO2 to return to the atmosphere again but about 10% doesn’t return to the atmosphere and can be regarded as being permanently removed from the carbon cycle. (Waste put into landfill alone accounts for 9 billion tons of CO2 equivalent). That amounts to 45 billion tons of CO2 permanently removed from the atmosphere. For our part, we put back only 29 billion tons of CO2 through burning fossil fuels. (According to the US Energy Information Administration stats). That indicates a shortfall of 16 billion tons of CO2 in the atmosphere every year. That explains why there is so little CO2 left in the atmosphere.

thanx
Peter

My take: Earth as Sacred Trust

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