NY Times on meat & greenhouse gases

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On the front page of the New York Times, a feature article describes

the world-wide connection between animal consumption and greenhouse

gas emissions. Animal consumption, it tells us, is one of the

biggest contributors to global CO2 emissions and environmentalists are

taking serious note.

 

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reports that

" livestock generates 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions " and

emphasizes that the problem is expected to grow. These emissions are

" clearly over 50 percent in big agricultural and meat-producing

countries. " The United States the article continues, " produces

extraordinarily high levels of emissions in other areas, like

transportation and landfills. " It tell us that " producing a pound of

beef creates 11 times as much greenhouse gas emission as a pound of

chicken and 100 times more than a pound of carrots. " Dr. Rajendra

Pachauri, head of the Nobel Prize-winning U.N. Intergovernmental Panel

on Climate Change says " I'm not sure that the system we have for

livestock can be sustainable. " The best approach to solving this

problem, he states, is for people to " reduce meat consumption. "

 

Read the article, entitled " As More Eat Meat, a Bid to Cut Emissions: "

http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/04/science/earth/04meat.html?_r=1 & scp=2 & sq=meat%2\

0consumption & st=cse

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