Why Munch Less Meat?
The meat industry produces more greenhouse gases than all the SUVs, cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined, according to a report published in 2006 by the United Nations.
Unless we radically reduce the amount of greenhouse gasses we emit into the atmosphere we can increasingly expect more catastrophic disasters as a result such as droughts, floods, hurricanes, rising sea levels and disease outbreak.
The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organisation identifies the livestock sector as “one of the top two most significant contributors to our most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global’
Reducing your meat consumption can make a larger contribution to solving climate change than you probably ever imagined.
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Personal Benefits
Health
Climate change is a threat to our future health. As the world warms up it is likely there will be an increase in infectious diseases, air pollution, allergies and respiratory diseases.
Many studies have shown that people, who eat a healthy vegetarian diet, even only one day a week, are less likely to develop:
On average, vegetarians are thinner and have a lower BMI than non-vegetarians.
££££
You’ll save money. Replacing meat with vegetables and pulses will benefit your wallet as well as your health and the planet. Pulses in particular are a wonderful meat replacement – they are full of protein, they are filling, they are healthy and they are much, much cheaper than meat. What more incentive could you need to munch less meat?!
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Planetary Benefits
Water use
Agricultural production exhausts more fresh water than any other human activity. Water used by the livestock sector accounts for more than 8% of global human water use, 7% of which is used for irrigation for crops to feed livestock. With the expected proliferation of world food demand increasing demands on the world water resources are unavoidable. A meat free diet helps to reduce water consumption and pollution, as significantly less water is needed for a plant based diet than a meat one.
Emissions
Biodiversity Loss
In terms of biodiversity loss, the livestock sector contributes through major mechanisms:
As a result of over fishing:
World Hunger
40 million tonnes of food would eliminate the most extreme cases of world hunger, yet 540 million tonnes are fed to animals in Western countries every year. The world's cattle alone consume the same amount of calories as it takes to nourish 8.7 billion people - more than the entire human population on Earth.
If present trends of meat-eating continue, then by 2050 the world’s livestock will be consuming as much as 4 billion people do; an increase equivalent to the total world population of around 1970, when many were doubting whether such human numbers could be fed at all.
Feeding the global population of livestock requires at least 80% of the world’s soybean crop and more than one-half of all corn. Currently some 800 million people on the planet now suffer from hunger or malnutrition whilst the majority of corn and soya grown that could be used to feed them goes to feeding livestock instead.
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Protecting Animal Rights
Save some of the 60 billion animals raised and slaughtered each year for food.
The majority of these animals have no laws protecting them from the abuse and cruelty they all too often endure. Many spend their entire, although mercifully short, lives being mistreated, abused, living in appalling conditions without the opportunity to behave and live as nature intended. They have no companionship, no rights, no freedom, no love – just a miserable existence with no regard to their needs.
The prevalent factory farming system of modern agriculture attempts to produce the most meat, milk and eggs as quickly and cheaply as possible and in the least amount of space. These bleak and overcrowded conditions create a prime breeding ground for disease. Thus the animals are fed a cocktail of drugs which remain in their bodies and are passed on to the people who eat them creating a serious hazard to human health.
Animals are also bred and (in all cases except organic) fed antibiotics or hormones to fatten them faster and make them grow larger and produce more eggs or milk.
Conditions experienced in factory farming
Reducing the amount of meat, dairy and eggs you eat can reduce the environmental impact of farming and improve human health. Products with higher animal welfare cause less animal suffering. Buying these products will encourage investment in higher welfare farming which is smaller scale and less intensive, with fewer risks to animals, people and the planet.
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The Quick Stats
The Natural Resources Argument
If you are going to eat meat then choose sustainably raised and organic meat where possible. Favour farmers’ markets and local, organic, fresh seasonal products and short supply chains.
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Which challenges suit you best (see below the sign up form).
Choose your MUNCH LESS MEAT Challenge(s) ...
Choose just one or combine a few to make an even bigger difference.
1) Meat as a treat – By having meat less often you can really treat yourself with a good quality, tender, delicious, (slightly more expensive), piece of meat when you do have it. For example ditch cheap mince for a tender piece of British reared Organic Steak or swap a water filled battery chicken for a corn fed, free range organic chicken with lots of flavour.
2) Learn to cook two meat free recipes – Try something new; learn to cook two tasty new vegetarian recipes to add to your repertoire. We have plenty of recipes for you to try, click here.
3) Pass on a meat free recipe – Once you’ve learnt to cook a new meat free recipe how about passing it on to a friend. Or perhaps you already have a meat free recipe of your own you could pass on and encourage them to try.
4) Have one meat free meal per day – You could go for the easy option here and have a meat free breakfast. Or perhaps you’re a little more adventurous and instead of that meat sandwich you pick up at lunchtime go for a meat free option. Or why not try one of the new recipes you’ve learnt in the evening.
5) Have a meat free day – Commit to having a whole ‘meat free’ day each week for a year.
6) Do you need something even easier? How about a Baby Bite? This is an easy one to start you off. Do you know what’s in your food? There can be hidden meat content in all sorts of things, even cheese and onion crisps! Many “vegetarian” crisps contain meat and lots of chewy sweets also contain animal products like gelatine. So for this challenge we’re asking you to pledge to check what’s in the food you’re eating and try and to opt for meat free sweets and snacks as often as possible.
7) Host a meat free dinner party – Make it a social occasion and share some of the meat free dishes you like with others.
8) Ask your local restaurant for two meat free options – All too often there is only one meat free option on the menu. So ask your favourite local restaurant to include two meat free choices and let them know, that if they do, we’ll help them promote their restaurant (for free) on this website. Click here to view restaurants that are participating.
9) Have a meat free Christmas – Why not try something different this year. How about a delicious nut roast with all the trimmings? Click here for some recipe ideas.
10) Discover how quickly can you save £50 munching less meat – See how easy it is to save money by eating pulses and vegetables instead of meat. See how long it takes you to save £50 and let us know.
11) Go vegetarian – you could just go all the way!
