Give Up Meat (for a Day, at Least)
Vegetarianism isn’t for everyone. But small changes in diet can mean big gains for the climate.
This used to be rainforest.
Photographer: Mario Tama/Getty Images
Global meat consumption has more than doubled since the 1960s, and meat production is set to double again by 2050. In one way, that’s a good thing — proof that rising incomes are supporting higher living standards in developing countries. But Americans, famous for enjoying too much of a good thing, still eat three times as much meat as the global average. For solid self-interested reasons, they and other rich-world diners ought to curb their appetite.
Consider this: Livestock are responsible for 12% of man-made greenhouse-gas emissions, more than the entire aviation industry. Most of that comes from just one animal: the humble, gassy cow. On a per-calorie basis, cattle are responsible for vastly more emissions than chickens and pigs, in part because their digestive systems produce methane, a potent greenhouse gas. From a climate-change perspective, serving your family roast beef at dinner is as bad as driving about 100 miles in the average car.