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Loading...EWG Tackles Meat, Cheese and the Environment
Wherever we fall personally on the vegan-to-carnivore spectrum, North Americans are directly responsible for huge amounts of methane, pesticides, chemical fertilizers, fuel consumption, feed, water, and manure. All are linked to our love affair with meat and dairy. The Environmental Working Group (EWG) wants us to be more conscious of the impact on our environment and our health.
EWG’s new report, Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health, follows on the heels of earlier reports that pegged meat eating to its environmental and health costs (Livestock’s Long Shadow, Have Your Meat and Eat It Too!, Livestock in the Balance). The guide’s key advice: Eat less meat and cheese. Make greener choices.
The reports uses lots of clever and startling graphics to bring its message home. The Eat Smart chart shows the carbon footprint of different foods, comparing them to the number of car miles driven per 4 oz. Tomatoes ranked low, at less than a quarter of a mile per 4 oz. Lamb was off the chart, ranking a carbon footprint that was 50% higher than beef (which came in at just over 6.5 miles).
Meat Lifecycle: From Cradle to Grave is an interactive chart that shows climate and environmental impacts at every step of the meat and dairy supply chain. Anyone confused by some of the terminology will find help Decoding Meat + Dairy Product Labels, such as “cage-free,” “certified humane” and “rBGH-free”.
Although the message is not new, Meat Eater’s Guide brings it together in a convenient and user-friendly form. Reaction has been swift and largely favorable, though the editor of Drovers CattleNetwork labeled the report and the positive responses, “anti-meat chatter” in an editorial with the headline, “Meat grower’s guide to hogwash and B.S.”
With a burgeoning world population increasingly hungry for the meat-and-cheese diet beloved in North America, status quo is not a sustainable option. EWG’s new Meat Eater’s Guide comes at a critical time in the discussion.
Related Care2 Stories:
- Earth Day 2010: Eating As If Earth Matters
- 3 Reasons Why Mother Earth Wants You to Eat Less Meat
- Reduce Meat Consumption to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Read more: animals, cattle, cheese, climate change, environment & wildlife, fossil fuels, health, meat, population, real food, vegan, vegetarian
Photo from Cathryn Wellner
Disclaimer: The views expressed above are solely those of the author and may
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+ add your ownI will definitely eat less dairy, already cut out meat
Thank you Cathryn :)
Thanks.
I don't want to be responsible for contributing to animal crueltry so I decided not to eat meat or dairy products and I'm doing great.
Heavily tax all meat and dairy purchases to offset the cost. Those that don't eat meat or dairy shouldn't have to pay for the problem.
Oh, golly! I guess I have to cut way down on eating goat cheese which I love.
Thanks for the article.
Brilliant minds and talented artists have touted the vegetarian and vegan diets for centuries, as have mystics who KNOW what the spiritual ramifications are. Einstein, Pythagoras, Plutarch and other Greek mystics, Tesla, Da Vinci, Buddha, John the Baptist, Yeshua, Tao, et al....Mystery schools have the same meditation initiations an dietary laws going back to time immorial
thanks
So many important reasons not to eat animal products. Meat is never 'What's For Dinner," for me.Thanks for this one!!~
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