The Environmental Working Group released its Meat Eater’s Guide to Climate Change and Health, a compelling study that will allow your “average Joe” to understand how the food we choose to buy has an impact that goes beyond oneself.
Have you ever given thought to your food choices besides taste and calories? Well, it will shock you to know that what you decide to eat has a domino effect that goes far beyond what you could have ever imagined. The news is groundbreaking, clear as water and calls us to action.
When consuming animal products we pay a price, and so does our health, the environment, the climate and animal welfare. Massive amounts of water, pesticides, chemical fertilizers and fuel are needed to produce meat and diary, generating greenhouse gasses, toxic manure and other contaminating pollutants.
The key discovery that they found is that not all meat is created equal. What does that mean? Each type of meat has a different impact on the environment and your health. By eating lots of red and processed meat you will be exposed to toxins, which is linked to heart disease, obesity and cancer. And as far as for the environment, beef for example generates more than twice the greenhouse emissions of pork, nearly four times that of chicken, and more than 13 times that of vegetable proteins such as beans, lentils, and tofu.
The top 5 animal products with an environmental impact are:
1- Lamb
2- Beef
3- Cheese
4- Pork
5- Salmon
Nobody is asking you to become vegetarian. Just to reduce your meat and cheese consumption. The estimations are that if everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, over a year, the effect on emissions would be the equivalent of taking 7.6 million cars off the road.
If you can go meatless once a week it will be a win-win situation. Good for you, good for the planet.
Go Meatless on Mondays. Join us in this effort. Sign the pledge.
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