Toni BirdAccording to new research, consumption of meat is to be cut drastically to reduce the upmost negative effects on climate change.
The apparent main cause of climate change is fertilisers used readily for farming: agriculture proving a huge problem for the environment. The diminishment of meat consumption with high carbon footprints is said to help the environment dramatically.
Likely to prove a challenge in today’s 9 billion international population, the emissions created from the production of food are on the up; the reason for this proposed consumption cut back.
The proposal is focused on developed countries so the aim of reduction is set to prove difficult. Eric Davidson, Director of the Woods Hole Research Centre in Massachusetts, has explained that the developed parts of the world consume a large amount of meat on a regular basis.
Statistics from the National Journal of Nutrition show that the meat consumption in developed countries is extremely high but people of developing countries are catching up to these levels with regards to their consumption: “People in developing countries currently consume on average one-third the meat… per capita compared to the richer North, but this is changing rapidly.”
“The amount of meat consumed in developing countries over the past has grown three times as much as it did in the developed countries.” Even in developing countries, those experiencing poverty are said to be turning to meat as part of their diets, proving a potential similar problem in developing countries also, such as China and Tunisia.
Maximum attention has been paid to the consequences of agriculture on the environment as meat consumption has been on the up: Nitrous oxide is the element causing problems as it is released from fertilisers. It is therefore suggested that the reduction in meat consumption of the current colossal world population will reduce the necessity of the utilisation of fertilisers and hence help climate change for the good.
Whilst this is proving a developing problem and all necessary is being done to aid, it is widely suggested that portion sizes of red meat are reduced: in addition, changes over to the consumption of poultry or fish for example, is deemed a good idea; likely to bring about positive significances. Without this change, it is seen that by approximately year 2020, “the share of developing countries in total world meat consumption will expand from 52% currently to 63%” irrespective of the effect on already developed countries.
