Give up meat - save the planet.
Source: Stijn te Strake en Unsplash
Greenhouse gas fear over increased levels of meat eating
Global consumption of meat needs to
fall - to ensure future demand for food can be met and to help protect the
environment - a study says.
Research from Cambridge and Aberdeen universities estimates greenhouse gases from food production will go up 80% if meat and dairy consumption continues to rise at its current rate.
That will make it harder to meet global targets on limiting emissions.
The study urges eating two portions of red meat and seven of poultry per week.
However that call comes as the world's cities are seeing a boom in burger restaurants.
The research highlights that more and more people from around the world are adopting American-style diets, leading to a sizeable increase in meat and dairy consumption.
It says if this continues, more and more forest land or fields currently used for arable crops will be converted for use by livestock as the world's farmers battle to keep up with demand.
Deforestation will increase carbon emissions, and increased livestock production will raise methane levels and wider fertiliser use will further accelerate climate change.
The lead researcher, Bojana Bajzelj from the University of Cambridge, said: "There are basic laws of biophysics that we cannot evade."
"The average efficiency of livestock converting plant feed to meat is less than 3%, and as we eat more meat, more arable cultivation is turned over to producing feedstock for animals that provide meat for humans.
"The losses at each stage are large, and as humans globally eat more and more meat, conversion from plants to food becomes less and less efficient, driving agricultural expansion and releasing more greenhouse gases. Agricultural practices are not necessarily at fault here - but our choice of food is."
Yield gaps
The report says the situation can be radically improved if farmers in developing countries are helped to achieve the best possible yields from their land.
Another big improvement will come if the world's population learns to stop wasting food.
The researchers say if people could also be persuaded to eat healthier diets, those three measures alone could halve agricultural greenhouse gas levels from their 2009 level.
The study is the latest to warn of the planetary risks of eating intensively-produced meat and dairy produce. Scientists worried about climate change are increasingly making common cause with health experts concerned about the obesity pandemic.
But many people are voting with their wallets and their bellies - as burger bars expand, mushroom burgers are not yet top-selling items.
Vocabulary:
dairy
current rate
to meet a target
to urge
poultry
a boom
to highlight
to lead to stg
sizeable (adj)
arable crops
livestock
to keep up with demand
to turn over to stg
feedstock
to release (gases)
yield
to halve
belly
Would you ever consider giving up meat for any reason?
Read the article again. It will help you when you listen to the following report about the same story.
Now look at the next text. Imagine what the missing words are and then listen to the report again. Try to fill in the gaps.
As people get richer (a), they’re eating more meat and (b) produce.
It’s an inefficient way to make food. As cows grow, they transform just three percent of the energy from the plants they eat into the meat we eat.
It’s an inefficient way to make food. As cows grow, they transform just three percent of the energy from the plants they eat into the meat we eat.
Cutting forests (d)
greenhouse gases from the wood and the soil, and fertilisers create greenhouse gases
too.
The report says under current (e) agriculture alone will cause the world to bust its (f) for reducing the (g)
of dangerous climate change.
Reducing food (h)
could help a lot the authors say and so could improving farm methods.
But the real (i)
is the public’s appetite.
There is a burger restaurant (j) in major cities. People are voting with their (k) and it’s not normally mushroom
burgers they’re after (= want).
Comments
I think it´s better to fall the consumption of meat for health. After, we can talk about greenhouse gases and climate change. If governments and researches want to persuade people to eat less meat, they should say that meat is not the best to live healthy. In addition, they should say that other food like vegetables, fruits, nuts and so on are healthier than meat.
It´s possible that people don´t understand that they must reduce consumption of meat for protecting the environment or for stopping climate change. They say that cows grow, they transform three percent of the energy from the plants they eat into the meat we eat, but this message is a bit confusing to general public.
I don´t consider giving up meat, on the contrary, I´m going to learn what researchers say about good feeding and then I will change my customs. I´m not going to eliminate meat radically, but I will continue eating less meat. I think we have to eat everything.
I´m going to try to fill gaps: a) Everyday. b) Until. c) Which. d) Increases. e) Rate. f) Skills. g) Damage. h) Production. i) Problem. j) At least. k) Food.
See you.
Global warming and healthy lifestyles may be the "in" reasons for quitting meat but my motivation was a lifetime's unease at eating animals.
I never ate meat that reminded me that I was eating an animal. So no bones, eyes, tails, or blood on my plate. I just wish I had taken the step to vegetarianism much sooner.
I think it´s better to cut our consumption of meat for health reasons. Then we can talk about greenhouse gases and climate change. If governments and researchers want to persuade people to eat less meat, they should say that meat is not good for our health. In addition, they should say that other food like vegetables, fruits, nuts and so on are healthier than meat. (I think everyone is fully aware of this now)
It´s possible that people don´t understand that they must reduce consumption of meat to protect the environment or to stop climate change. They say that cows grow, they transform three percent of the energy from the plants they eat into the meat we eat, but this message is a bit confusing to the general public.
I am not considering giving up meat, on the contrary, I´m going to learn what researchers say about eating healthily and then I will change my eating habits. I´m not going to eliminate meat radically, but I will continue eating less meat. I think we have to eat everything.
After imagining what the missing words are, you should listen to see if they are correct. If you are unsure of any of the answers, let me know.