by Carlos Rich
I have not always liked meat. Where I grew up in Guatemala meat was not always available to us and it was more costly back then. We used other foods as means of getting our protein, like wild mushrooms and other high protein vegetation. So when I moved to the US about 19 years ago, I did not eat beef or pork for the first five to ten years as much as do now. I never would have known how much impact I was causing the environment by eating meat. But in fact, when we consume meat we are contributing quite a bit of damage to our world.
I read some statistics the other day about the production of animals. According to the Livestock Long Shadow: Environmental issues and Option, “ Overall, livestock activities contribute an estimated 18 percent of the total anthropogenic green house emission from the five major sectors for greenhouse gas reports: energy, industry n waste land use change and forestry and agricultural. Livestock’s contribute 80 percent of all emissions.”
To put that 18 percent figure into context (14 percent of emissions come from transportation) many of us find it difficult to cut back on driving, but we do have significant control over our diets every day. Research published in the journal Earth Interactions in 2006 found that a meat-eater consuming the average American caloric diet produced 700 kg of CO2 more than a plant-eater in a year. In context, this is the difference between driving a Prius and a midsize sedan like a Toyota Camry.
So can I reduce my meat consumption? When I hang out with my friends and family I realize that meat is an integral part of our culture. When I get together with my friends in Columbus Junction, when I am traveling to the major Cities, or even here in my home town of Washington, we always think about our “Carne Asada”, or in English grilling steak or a nice pork chop. It seems to me our culture revolves around food, not just any food, but meat especially. I now wonder how it would be if I never ate meat. I’m surprised to realize that my attitude has become much like that of my friends who feel they need it in their daily diets. Even when I visit Guatemala, my family now eats more meat in any given week than my childhood alone. I wonder if it is because it is more readily available or that they can afford it. Whatever the reason, meat has taken over my family.
So I’m trying an experiment, going one week here and there without eating meat, it is difficult. I tell my friends that I am practicing self-discipline now that I know the impact I am making in the environment. I really do care about the planet we live in, and if I can’t stop eating meat altogether, at least I can cut down.
It’s the least I can do.