Climate March, 5th December 2009

Today, as many thousands of people marched through London and other cities today to demand actions on climate change, hundreds of people joining the Veg*n Climate March are specifically calling for action on the polluting livestock industry.

Animals Count recently kindly requested a meeting with the Hon. Mr Hillary Benn, to discuss the issue of the impact of livestock on climate change, however, he was unfortunately too busy.

We are concerned that leaders and negotiators in Copenhagen will not take the right decisions regarding the necessary curbing of the global livestock industry, but we hope that the marches today will provide yet another reason for leaders to listen to the concerns of citizens around the world.

Livestock farming and climate change – original blog

During the past few days, the impact of the livestock industry on climate change has been debated extensively in the media, particularly in The Times. On 27 Oct Lord Stern recommended a vegetarian diet to halt the growth of greenhouse gas (GHG)  emissions such as CO2 and methane, given that the livestock sector is responsible for 18% of all GHG emissions, more than all transport combined (FAO, 2006). Animals Count fully supports the call for less meat and dairy production and consumption.

Another recent report published by Goodland and Anhang in the WorldWatch magazine claimed that certain factors had not been included in the FAO, such as breathing of the animals, which increased the contribution of the livestock industry to GHG emissions to as much as 51%. However, several scientists (e.g. Stephen Walsh) analysed the report and found the claims to be exaggerated or not valid.

Scientists in The Times today warned NGOs and others not to exaggerate the climate change claims, as this would play into the hands of sceptics, of which there also seem to be a growing number.  However, there is certainly consensus among the majority of scientists, environmentalists and politicians that the climate is changing; it is just not known exactly how fast or what the precise impacts it will have on the world.

Yesterday, Lester Brown, one of the most respected international experts on food, farming and environmental policy and who founded both the prestigious Earth Policy Institute and the ground-breaking WorldWatch Institute, gave the CIWF Peter Roberts memorial lecture. He provided an overview of factors influencing world food security and the impact on the environment. Growing world population, increase in higher protein diets (moving ‘up’ the foodchain and consuming more animal products), falling water tables, melting arctic and antarctic ice sheets and glaciers around the world will cause grain prices to rise, rice fields to flood and clean drinking water to become a scarcity. Lester argued that we must drastically reduce our energy consumption, replace coal fired stations with renewable energy (most notably wind farms and solar energy), and move ‘down’ the food chain (i.e. consume less animal products).

If the leaders at the Copenhagen Climate Change Top are serious about reducing CO2 emissions, they will have to alter global agricultural policy 180 degrees. Consumers, for their part, can take important steps to reduce animal cruelty, their ecological carbon footprint and world hunger by reducing meat and dairy consumption (better still to go vegan).

Other recent reports have confirmed that particularly Africa, but also other developing countries will be worst hit. 25 million more children are expected to go hungry by 2050 due to climate change. The FAO estimates that 1.02 billion people are undernourished worldwide in 2009. This represents more hungry people than at any time since 1970 and a worsening of the unsatisfactory trends that were present even before the economic crisis. Is this fair?

Even if we take a sceptics point of view about the extent to which climate change can be attributed to anthropogenic (human) causes, we should still apply the precautionary principle and cut down our meat and dairy consumption. For the planet, world food security, human health, and most of all, for the 60 billion animals, who suffer horribly (in mostly intensive farms) across the world.

Animals Count has a vision that lasts longer than the next 4 or 5 year in office. Our vision will help create a better world for people and animals for generations to come. Isn’t that what everybody wants? Please support Animals Count now: www.animalscount.org

Thank you!

Jasmijn de Boo

Leader, Animals Count

At least 18% of global warming gases are caused by the livestock industry, and in particular by cattle (beef and dairy). Animals in intensive farms in Europe require feed high in protein, particularly soya, to fuel rapid growth and production of meat, milk and eggs. Most of this feed comes from huge soya plantations in Latin America. Destroying the forests removes the trees that were a carbon sink, in order to fuel the livestock industry, that is itself a huge source of the global warming gases methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide. The adverse environmental impacts are compounded.

How can we say that it is enough just to change from intensive animal farming to organic animal farming, which uses no less land, rather than simply eating plant foods directly?

The government’s environmental policy must reach new heights as well, in order to reach the 60% reduction in carbon emissions, set to reduce or actually reverse the adverse effects of global warming. Only major societal change, which includes a massive reduction in meat consumption, will contribute to meeting the target. All other measures, including recycling, insulation, hybrid cars, etc. fall far short of what is needed.