Want to Protect the Planet? Eat Less Meat

Could protecting it be as simple as eating ethically?

Most people care a great deal about our planet. I know I do, and you would likely say the same. I used to feel like there wasn’t much we could do as individuals to make any significant impact on the planet, but then I learned how much our diets impact resource consumption.  

Living in California, water is something that is often on our minds, so let’s start there. Although most of us don’t think about it, our water consumption goes well beyond the water we use in our homes. In fact, our largest daily use of water doesn’t come from showers, dishwashers or doing laundry, but from the water footprint of the animals we consume.

Have you ever been told to combat climate change by turning the faucet off when you’re brushing your teeth or taking shorter showers? 

A study by The Center for Science in the Public Interest found that only 5 percent of water consumed annually in the U.S. is by private homes, while a staggering 55 percent of our nation’s freshwater is used for animal agriculture. 

It’s shocking, but “growing” animals for food uses more water than fracking for oil and gas. This is an aspect of water consumption that is alarmingly under-addressed.

While using less water in your home may make only a small difference, and while you might not be able to influence hydraulic fracking, you do have control over your meat consumption. If you Google: “how much water does it take to produce beef” you will learn that it takes an average of 1,799 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, or around 450 gallons of water for a quarter lb hamburger. That’s a lot of water you could save in just one meal. 

I don’t argue in favor of not eating meat, I just encourage people to be conscious about this aspect of their environmental impact. When we put things in perspective, eating less meat will have a bigger outcome than most anything the average individual can do for this beautiful planet of ours. 

Going beyond the environmental aspect of water, I’m sure you are familiar with greenhouse gases. We have all been told to scale back on driving our cars for the sake of exhaust emissions, but again, I want to put things in perspective. An article published by the United Nations several years ago has concluded that the greenhouse gas emissions from raising livestock exceed that of the entire transportation sector. In other words, ruminant animals such as cows emit more greenhouse gases than all cars, trucks, planes, buses and ships produce exhaust combined. 

That’s not even the worst of it. Half of the emissions from cows come in the form of methane. A study published by “A Greener World” found that methane has a much stronger short-term warming impact than the same amount of CO2. Even over a 100-year period, methane is still predicted to be 28 to 34 times more harmful than CO2. In other words, diving less to contain exhaust emissions pales in comparison to the impact we could make by eating less meat. 

Another important aspect to addressing this problem needs to come from our government. An article in The New York Times published in March 2018 made the case for a carbon tax on beef. This would be a place to start. But, if you’re familiar with the status quo of the U.S. government (polarized and congested—not to mention Trump) we don’t have time to wait for the government to solve our problems. 

The truth is, we have the power to vote with our dollars and to support the industries that we believe deserve to be supported. Government regulation could hinder the overproduction of meat in factory farms, but over time, so could our individual lack of financial support for these industries. We are currently mass-producing meat in factory farms on a scale that is in no way sustainable for our planet. If we don’t want the overproduction of meat to use vast amounts of precious water or add to the rise of greenhouse gasses, let’s reflect on where we are spending our money and what industries we are choosing to support.

Maybe you knew that raising livestock is harmful to our environment, but you may have been surprised at how it compared to other contributors. Like me, you might be wondering why people aren’t talking about this more. Why is this significant aspect of combating our global climate crisis largely ignored and avoided? The answers to this question can only be theories, unlike the scientific facts I’ve mentioned. Let’s focus on the facts and unite behind the science. If you’re doing your part in fighting climate change, then do the things that will make the biggest impact. 

Baylee McKittrick is a senior political science major.