An “obvious” solution to avoid “catastrophic” climate
change (keeping temperature rise below the threshold safe
level of two degrees celsius) is to cut meat consumption, says
the report. Worldwide adoption of healthy meat consumption
levels would generate over a quarter of the emission
reductions needed by 2050.
China tak es the lead
As much as the problem is growing in Asia, a solution is
also emerging here. By sheer population size and rising
demand, China will determine whether the world succeeds
in mitigating climate change. And right now, it is taking the
lead. It is advocating cutting meat consumption by 50 percent,
which would result in 70 percent less emissions than the
forecast for 2030.
MANGAI BALASEGARAM is a journalist and health
specialist based in Kuala Lumpur who has worked for
The Star, the BBC, and the World Health Organization.Agriculture will take up 87 percent
of the world’s carbon budget for 2050,
leaving little for the energy,
industry and transport sectorsThe Chinese Communist Party has found unusual allies
to support its nationwide campaign: Hollywood celebrities
Arnold Schwarzenegger and James Cameron. They have
worked with WildAid to produce campaign videos and
billboards to run nationwide with the tagline: Less Meat,
Less Heat, More Life.
China’s move was a “massive leadership step” forwards,
Cameron says.
In China, “the reaction we’ve got is overwhelmingly
positive” to the campaign, says WildAid’s Matt Grager.
He adds that surveys showed Chinese citizens were aware
of the negative health effects of high meat consumption and
were willing to cut consumption.
Chatham House also reported that surveys found people
in China and Brazil more open to information and willing
to change behaviour. By contrast, in the US and Japan,
awareness, and willingness to change, was low.
In the absence of government initiatives, individuals
have sometimes taken the lead. Paul McCartney’s “Meat
Free Monday” campaign drew a host of celebrities, including
Gwyneth Paltrow, Jamie Oliver and Sir Richard Branson.
In Hong Kong, David Yeung took up what he describes
as a “David versus Goliath fight” when he first pushed the
idea of a meatless meal on Monday. Today, his Green Monday
organisation is familiar to about 30 percent of locals, surveys
show. It has 1,000 restaurants and 800 schools offering
vegetarian options on Monday. And it has other ventures,
such as reducing waste from banquets.
The organisation’s Vivien Tse says about 22 percent of
people in Hong Kong now eat a vegetarian meal once a week.
But, she adds, the government needs to play “a more active
role on policy”, by, for example, having a meat tax.
Singapore has also started “Green and Healthy Monday”,
but many people are still unaware of the links with climate
change, says the Vegetarian Society president George Jacobs.
The movement, regionally and globally is slow, but sure.
Today, there is a byword for adopting a partial vegetarian diet:
flexitarianism. In 2017, this may be one of the biggest food
trends, according to the US chain Whole Foods. agbottom left Industrial
livestock production
in Brazil. Concentrated
animal feeding operations
are not the only way to
raise livestockIMAGE © DANIEL BELTRA COURTESY OF OVER/SPEAK OUTENVIRONMENT