Meat Is the New SUV

Leading up to this week’s Paris climate talks, U.K.-based think tank Chatham House reported that by cutting back on meat and switching to a plant-based diet we could keep the earth from warming above 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels.

A VICE article quotes Laura Wellesley, one of the report’s authors:

[R]aising awareness about the health and environmental impacts of meat is an important first step, but on its own it will not lead to significant behavior change. Governments must do more to influence diets.

This report is the latest of many to draw connections between the meat industry and climate change.

According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, carbon dioxide emissions from raising farmed animals makes up about 15 percent of global human-induced emissions, with beef and milk production as the leading culprit.

The Chatham House report concluded that “[t]he placement of vegetarian and vegan sandwiches or fresh fruit and vegetables at the front of a supermarket or at eye level on canteen shelves—may go a long way to alerting customers to options other than their usual meat- and dairy based choices.

The best way to combat climate change is to switch to a healthy and compassionate vegan lifestyle.

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