Dear Editor,
Last week, in a major address in the nationıs capital,
former Vice President
Al Gore called for a ten-year plan to move the nation's
entire energy supply
to solar, wind, and other renewable sources. What he
failed to address is
the massive role of meat production in the global
climate crisis.
An authoritative 2006 report by the U.N. Food and
Agriculture Organization
found that animal agriculture accounts for fully 18
percent of greenhouse
gas emissions that cause global warming. Thatıs more
than automobiles!
(www.CoolYourDiet.org) It is also a major cause of land
and water
degradation.
Carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is
emitted by burning forests to
create animal pastures and by combustion of
fossil fuels to operate feed
growing tractors, factory farm and
slaughterhouse machinery, trucks, and
refrigeration equipment. The much more
damaging methane and nitrous oxide
are discharged from digestive tracts of
cattle and from animal waste
cesspools, respectively.
The good news is
that each of us can do our part to reduce global warming
without waiting ten
years. Our local supermarket stocks a rich variety of
soy-based lunch
"meats," hotdogs, veggie burgers, dairy products, and
ready-to-eat frozen
dinners. Did I mention the cornucopia of fruits and
vegetables that have
always been readily available to us? More details are
at
www.tryveg.com.
Sincerely,
Marcus Armand