Eat seaweed, not animals to reduce emissions
By Letter to the Editor on July 22, 2021.
Editor:
Re: “Sustainability, stock, and seaweed: changing cattle feed to combat climate change” (July 19).
The seaweed isn’t always greener. We don’t need to resort to desperate measures like feeding cows seaweed-an unnatural food for grazing land-dwellers-in order to reduce methane emissions. The answer is already in front of us: Just don’t eat animals.
According to the United Nations, a worldwide shift toward vegan eating is essential to combat the worst effects of climate change.
Even if we could reduce cows’ methane emissions, it wouldn’t be enough-not by a long shot.
Producing just one calorie from animal protein requires 11 times as much fossil fuel input as producing one calorie from grain protein does-releasing significantly more carbon dioxide into the atmosphere.
Raising and killing animals for food also pollutes and consumes vast quantities of water, creates massive amounts of waste, and drives Amazon deforestation and extinction.
Kicking our meat addiction is vital if we hope to feed the growing human population.
More than 30 scientists who study nutrition and food policy worldwide concluded that we’ll only be able to feed 10 billion people (the expected global population) by 2050 if everyone eats primarily vegan foods.
Thankfully, more and more people are doing just that. Vegan-related Google searches increased by 47 per cent last year, and analysts at Barclays predict that the global market for vegan foods could soar by more than 1,000 per cent by the end of the decade.
It’s never been easier to satisfy our cravings and nutritional needs without killing social, intelligent beings.
Stores and restaurants are brimming with delicious vegan meat options, and healthy, affordable staples such as pasta, rice, tofu, and beans are available everywhere.
Seaweed is vegan, too – just enjoy it yourself instead of feeding it to a cow.
Rebecca Libauskas
Virginia, B.C.
-1
Red meat consumption causes heart disease anyway.
In a free society the decision to avoid red meat consumption is a personal one, and likely will remain so. There is no right to require others to follow suit.