Animals are causing climate change

28 September 2007

ALTHOUGH we were delighted to see that the Christian Aid ‘Cut the Carbon’ march will reaching it’s finale in London on the October 2, we were shocked to see no mention of the impact of livestock on climate change.The main gas that farmed animals produce, methane, is actually 21 times more damaging that carbon dioxide, and livestock farming accounts for 18 per cent of greenhouse emissions.This is more than the entire world’s transport systems combined and comes second only to the burning of fossil fuels as a contributor to global warming.In fact, farmed animals produce 100 million tons of methane every single year as well as 13 billion tonnes of waste every year. This waste causes acid rain, pollutes waterways and devastates wildlife.Across the world, poor countries are being encouraged to grow cash crops such as animal fodder to earn foreign currency to meet their debt repayments - at the expense of food for home consumption. It has resulted in the obscenity of children starving to death alongside lush crops destined for the West’s animals. Most of this food is wasted as for every 10kg of vegetable protein fed to cattle, only 1kg is converted to meat.It is clear to us at Viva! that the only way to prevent climate change and to feed the world is to adopt a vegetarian, or even better, vegan diet.If you would like any more information or a free ‘Go Veggie’ pack, please contact us on 0117 944 1000 (Mon-Fri, 9am-6pm) or log on to www.viva.org.uk. Or read about the UN Report, ‘Livestock’s Long Shadow’, at www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html.