George Monbiot’s column today is a speech he’s written for Obama at Copenhagen. Sigh.
Someone named Sue said:
“There are too many political favours to return, too many powerful interests to appease.” George Monbiot
George answers his own question “can he do it?”
Is our demand and overconsumption responsible for climate change: polluted water, air and land?
“In terms of immediacy of action…reducing meat consumption clearly is the most attractive opportunity.”
Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, UN Chair on Climate Change
Defensiveness and clinging to old, bad habits is not going to help our environment.
Farmed livestock contributes 40% more to climate change than entire transport (cars, trains, ships, planes, trucks) according to a recent UN study.
Are we really doing everything we can or are we just content to complain and wait for others to rescue us?
98% of soy crops and 756 million tons of grain and corn per year are fed to farmed animals.
If you really want to do your part and not just complain, put down the cheeseburger.
I said:
Sue, you said it! I’ve been reading this month’s “Notebook” in Harpers, which talks about how to get manufacturing back in the U.S. Same issue. It’s people mindlessly stuffing their houses with the cheapest junk they can find and their faces with the easiest food. There could be a revolution of non-consumption and mindful eating. It has to be socially contagious. It won’t begin with a speech from a Wall Street supported politician. Westerners could begin by seeing Christmas shopping as obscene. I’m making noise with my site about scaling back one’s diet.
So, people, let’s do it!
Lynn
Lynn, I agree that we don’t have to wait for permission from “on high” to make changes. Love your encouragement! I also think that small scale animal husbandry has a place in a more sensible way of living. Your recommendation to eat a vegetarian diet is some of the best advice for all of us, and those who wish to keep some animal proteins in our diets need to proceed thoughtfully, mindfully, and with great caution. I think it can be done. I have also seen many examples of people mismanaging well-intentioned livestock projects, too.
Something I haven’t taken the time to ferret out yet is how much of that “farmed livestock” mentioned in your post is commodity-mindset confined animal feeding operations and how much is half a dozen chickens in the backyard. I have worked with farms and farmers for a number of years, and it seems to me that there is a reverse economy of scale when it comes to handling livestock wastes. Someone with a handful of chickens, who values their wastes as compost material, is going to produce less airborne pollutants than a factory farm where tons of litter are stored without sufficient plant material feedstocks, thereby releasing more fumes. In my mind, it is a matter of keeping activities at a humanly manageable scale. Certainly, I have some more study to do.
In the meantime, I am shifting more toward beans as a staple in my diet (thanks!) and giving more forethought to how I plan to eat from here on out. So this year, more beans in the garden! Something I really like about beans is the ease of storage – many varieties dry nicely on the vine and can be stored for months.
Comment by Raye — December 31, 2009 @ 2:59 pm |
Raye, yes I think ‘farmed livestock’ does mean agribusiness, where there’s so much liquid manure they don’t know what to do with it. I love Joel Salatin’s farm as described in The Omnivore’s Dilemma, where the chickens are herded around the pasture in a wheeled enclosure, so their droppings fertilize the field. And people with a coop and twenty chickens can use the mixture of wood chips and droppings as great compost. Since most of us are in no position to raise any meat ourselves, it would be great if we confined ourselves to using a minimum of meat and dairy. I’m really stuck now on only using eggs from backyard operations who are allowed to sell a few dozen eggs at the gate.
Thanks for the boost.
Lynn
Comment by Lynn Shwadchuck — December 31, 2009 @ 5:46 pm |
Thank you Lynn. This is indeed a worthwhile contribution. May your words fall gently on many millions more.
Comment by Shrapnel — March 2, 2010 @ 6:01 pm |