Shun beef to stop climate change, says India

[Lady Macbeth]

India, a stronghold of vegetarianism where the cow is a sacred animal for the majority Hindu population, has urged the rest of the world to give up eating beef to help reduce global warming.



"The single most important cause of (carbon) emissions is eating beef," Environment Minister Jairam Ramesh said during a speech on Thursday, his office told AFP.

"My formula is stop eating beef. This would stop the emission of methane," said the vegetarian minister.

Ramesh, who recently made headlines for disputing international research suggesting glaciers in the Himalayas are melting, made the remarks on Thursday at the launch of a UN report on world population in New Delhi.

Meat eating is common in India, albeit in smaller quantities than in Western countries. However, the vast majority of India's Hindus shun beef and the sizeable Muslim minority do not eat pork.

Non-meat eaters help in "climate mitigation", Ramesh said.

In 2008, Rajendra Pachauri, who chairs the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, also suggested that people should cut their meat consumption to help combat climate change.

His study found meat production accounts for a fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions.

Experts on climate change warn that without action the planet's rising temperatures could unleash potentially catastrophic change to earth's climate system, leading to hunger, drought, storms and massive species loss.

Shun beef to stop climate change, says India - Health News, Health & Families - The Independent

[Jako]

Why not lamb ,goat,chicken???.....i find this statement quite amusing!

[Lady Macbeth]

Just what I have been wondering as well....

What next? No milkshakes? (well you need to use a smoothie maker or a food processor for that, hence electricity wastage and so on and so forth = increase in CO2 emissions).

[vinod2070]

^^ Well you lambasted the Americans once for the "excessive" resource consumption!

I hope you will not flinch from doing your bit for the environment. ;)

[Adux]

Well the Enviornment Minister can eat soy all he wants and go suck an egg, me on other hand like my meat red and rare. Thank You very much

[Lady Macbeth]

Originally Posted by vinod2070

^^ Well you lambasted the Americans once for the "excessive" resource consumption!

I hope you will not flinch from doing your bit for the environment. ;)

There is a differnce between ''excessive'' and ''moderate''.....

Plus I dont see any point in not eating a few ounces of meat a day yet using an average of 1.5 gallons of petrol for a trip down the road....
("The average American uses 500 gallons of gasoline every year.'' EIA Energy Kids - Using & Saving Energy)

[vinod2070]

Originally Posted by Lady Macbeth

There is a differnce between ''excessive'' and ''moderate''.....

Plus I dont see any point in not eating a few ounces of meat a day yet using an average of 1.5 gallons of petrol for a trip down the road....
("The average American uses 500 gallons of gasoline every year.'' EIA Energy Kids - Using & Saving Energy)

Well, what is excessive for one may be moderate for other.

This is a fact that one pound of meat uses up 10 pounds of grain or more. Not the most efficient use of resources.

Anyway, I am sure the world will find a way to reduce dependence on oil. So many technologies are making headway and sooner or later, oil will not be the predominant source of transportation energy requirement.

The world also has to look at the other major sources of conservation. Meat can surely be one in these times of food shortages.

Even leaving aside all that, the cruelty of the meat industry towards the animals itself shuld cause conscientious human beings to leave the consumption of meat!

I think the issue is that human mind is very good at making up self serving arguments. It doesn't see the point it doesn't want to see!

[Al-Zakir]

Well he can urged all he want but who can resist a juicy steak with onion.

[DarkStar]

Bharat is one of the biggest exporter of leather products on Earth, slaughtering thousands of cows every year to use the hide for making shoes, jackets and other items, the major traders and exporters of which are Hindus and Jains. They didn't think of saving the earth by stopping wearing leather shoes, but instead come out with this suggestion.

As if switching from beef to mutton or lamb will make an iota of difference? Probably be even worse for climate change, as size efficiency of cows is not utilised.

[DarkStar]

Another point that has come to mind, with regards to production of green house gasses due to cattle rearing.

If we all go vegetarian, what would be the effect on green house gasses if our stomachs are full of gas due to the eating of so many lentils and veg? Surely constant excretion of such gasses (as vegetarians are wont to) will pose hazards in this regard too.