Climate change is a large-scale and long-term shift in the Earth's weather patterns. There are multiple contributing factors to climate change, most of which are caused by human impact on the planet. The changes happening around the world aren't small, and they will have a lasting effect on every single one of us.
Some of the effects of climate change:
- The sea level will rise 1-4 feet by 2100, meaning vast areas of coastal land will be flooded.
- Hurricanes will become stronger and more intense
- The Arctic will become ice free during the summer, which can result in stronger winds that will whip up waves to pound the shore resulting in local villages slipping into the sea. A loss of sea ice will also have devastating impact on seals, walruses, and polar bears.
- The biggest risk faced in the UK is heavier rainfall during Winter, resulting in flash floods and river flooding. We are already seeing increased flooding in parts of the UK.
- Climate change will also affect water availability, which will have a knock-on effect on the global food supplies due to less water availability for agriculture.
What if I told you that eating less meat could drastically reduce climate change? Factory farming actually has a huge, and devastating, impact on the environment and it drastically intensifies climate change. It is estimated that the livestock sector produces a staggering 15% of global greenhouse gases, which is more than 'all the exhaust emissions of every car, train, ship and aircraft on the planet.' The agricultural sector in general contributes to around 30% of global emissions.
As well as intensifying climate change, factory farming is one of the biggest sources of water pollution because of the massive amounts of faeces spilling into waterways. Raising animals for food is also a huge contributor to deforestation, with huge amounts of forest being cleared to raise crops for animal feed.
At the end of 2015 during the Paris Climate Change talks there was a large amount of focus on decarbonisation and transport systems, however the agricultural industry was ignored. It seems governments fear backlash from the public over a perceived interference in a personal choice, such as diet, and therefore there is little public knowledge about the relation between meat consumption and climate change. In addition, there isn't as much profit in sustainable eating and if people stopped eating packaged food, sugar or meat, it would massively affect profits from the biggest global food corporations. These are corporations who care about sales over sustainability, and worryingly our dietary guidelines are hugely influenced by industry standards. That is pretty scary: How much control do we really have over what we eat?
Public awareness must be increased so that people can begin making informed choices about the food they consume and its effect on the planet. If we cut down how much meat we consume, or transition to becoming vegetarian/vegan, it will make a huge difference to reducing climate change. Research suggests that widespread adoption of a vegetarian diet would bring down emissions by a whopping 63%, however making meat more of a treat, and having it occasionally, will also make a difference.
Despite what many people may think it is possible to make delicious, healthy vegetarian meals, and eating more fruit and vegetables isn't just good for you, it could save the planet.
How you can help:
- Read articles such as this one about eating less meat to save the planet.
- Learn about how to cook with less meat.
- Be energy efficient - Turn off the lights, buy energy saving bulbs, wash clothes in cooler water, unplug electronics.
- Buy locally grown food as much as possible, to reduce your carbon footprint (and support local!) Alternatively, grow your own!
- Waste less food, compost any scraps, and recycle, recycle, recycle!
- Cut down your speed when driving to save petrol
- Walk more. It's healthier for you, and will help the planet!