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Going meatless is about more than saving animals.
Going meatless is about more than saving animals.
It's about saving the planet. And your choices can make a difference. How so?
Around 850 million people across the world are hungry today, and things will get much worse. By 2050, the earth’s population will hit 9.6 billion people, putting additional strain on the world’s food resources. If we don’t change course soon, we’re heading towards a future of food, energy, and water shortages. The situation, though, is not hopeless.
According to a recent study, there are ways to double the availability of food, while simultaneously cutting the environmental harm caused by agriculture. Steps to do this include freezing our global agricultural footprint (i.e. stop destroying tropical forests to grow food), growing more food on the farms that already exist, using resources more efficiently, and reducing waste.
But the study's boldest recommendation has absolutely nothing to do with changes to our food system, and has everything to do with everyday food choices we make as individuals. In short, we need to eat fewer animal products.
The world today produces about enough calories for 10-11 billion people, except that a significant portion of our staple crops are used to feed animals. Sure, animal feed is ultimately converted into meat, eggs and dairy products, but producing animal products is resource intensive and inefficient.
By just shifting our diet away from animal-based foods and incorporating more foods derived from plant-based sources, we allow the world to grow more food for humans on existing cropland.
Think solving the global food crisis is not reason enough to act? Keep in mind that agriculture, particularly meat and dairy products, accounts for 70% of global freshwater consumption, 45% of the total land use, and at least 51% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions. We slaughter 150-200 billion animals worldwide. We could all really use a shift away from meat.
If you think about it, the choice becomes a rather simple one. How about a few eco-intelligent meals this week? Look for planet-saving promotions at http://KindMeal.my/
Source: http://bit.ly/1tyo24i
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