Why we should eat less meat
If it is need to find arguments why we should eat less meat, here there are two good ones:
Firstly, current rates of meat consumption in wealthy countries – particularly red meat – are unsustainable under any circumstances, and must be reduced due to the burgeoning health and environmental impacts.
Secondly, industrial feedlot production yields too many negative outcomes on too many fronts to be justifiable. These systems require large quantities of imported feed crops, thereby displacing potential food production: an area the size of France is required for the EU to import its feed requirements. Meanwhile, they depend on extensive use of antibiotics, entail major GHG emissions (both in the production area and in the shipping of inputs and outputs to far-off locations), cause localized environmental degradation due to the huge waste they produce, and often subject animals to stressful and inhumane conditions. Industrial feedlots cannot conceivably be part of the sustainable food systems of the future. Their costs are particularly hard to justify when, as is so often the case, industrial feedlots serve up meat as an export commodity rather than as a source of protein for local populations.
Beyond this, there are indeed many complexities. Well-managed animal grazing can be compatible with carbon sequestration in soils. But grain-fed vs grass-fed is not what matters most. Whether or not livestock production is environmentally viable depends on the extent to which it is integrated into ecosystems, landscapes, farming systems and livelihood activities.
Regarding to the future of protein food sources, the Forum for the Future group launched the report The Protein Challenge 2040 with future scenarios that allowed them to test different possible solutions and 6 areas were identified of highest potential for change, if collective action is taken together to innovate in those areas.
The six areas for innovation are:
- Increasing the proportion of plant-based protein consumption with consumers
- Scaling up a sustainable feed innovation to meet the demand for animal protein
- Closing the protein nutrient loop (for example, reducing waste rich in protein by finding new ways to feed it back into the production cycle)
- Developing indigenous plants as protein sources for local communities
- Scaling up sustainable aquaculture for food and animal feed
- Restoring soil health Behind
The report says that the USA and the UK recommended daily protein intake is 55-56g for men and 45-46g for woman and this roughly equates only to:
- 2 chicken legs
- 3 cups of cooked lentils or
- 1.5 cups of whole almonds.
Firstly, current rates of meat consumption in wealthy countries – particularly red meat – are unsustainable under any circumstances, and must be reduced due to the burgeoning health and environmental impacts.
Secondly, industrial feedlot production yields too many negative outcomes on too many fronts to be justifiable. These systems require large quantities of imported feed crops, thereby displacing potential food production: an area the size of France is required for the EU to import its feed requirements. Meanwhile, they depend on extensive use of antibiotics, entail major GHG emissions (both in the production area and in the shipping of inputs and outputs to far-off locations), cause localized environmental degradation due to the huge waste they produce, and often subject animals to stressful and inhumane conditions. Industrial feedlots cannot conceivably be part of the sustainable food systems of the future. Their costs are particularly hard to justify when, as is so often the case, industrial feedlots serve up meat as an export commodity rather than as a source of protein for local populations.
Beyond this, there are indeed many complexities. Well-managed animal grazing can be compatible with carbon sequestration in soils. But grain-fed vs grass-fed is not what matters most. Whether or not livestock production is environmentally viable depends on the extent to which it is integrated into ecosystems, landscapes, farming systems and livelihood activities.
Regarding to the future of protein food sources, the Forum for the Future group launched the report The Protein Challenge 2040 with future scenarios that allowed them to test different possible solutions and 6 areas were identified of highest potential for change, if collective action is taken together to innovate in those areas.
The six areas for innovation are:
- Increasing the proportion of plant-based protein consumption with consumers
- Scaling up a sustainable feed innovation to meet the demand for animal protein
- Closing the protein nutrient loop (for example, reducing waste rich in protein by finding new ways to feed it back into the production cycle)
- Developing indigenous plants as protein sources for local communities
- Scaling up sustainable aquaculture for food and animal feed
- Restoring soil health Behind
The report says that the USA and the UK recommended daily protein intake is 55-56g for men and 45-46g for woman and this roughly equates only to:
- 2 chicken legs
- 3 cups of cooked lentils or
- 1.5 cups of whole almonds.