Has anyone out there heard of Abstaining from meat right now for Global Warming???

Question

My son in law says he's not eating meat right now for the cause of global warming. I've never heard of this.......any info out there?

Answer 1

Yes meat does affect global warming. Cattle produce methane which has the capacity to hold more heat than CO2. This is why methane is often burned in landfills so that it isn't as bad. Methane is produced from bacteria that break down waste in situations where oxygen isnt present. Of course humans have been eating meat forever but the big change is the amount we produce and how we do it. Also the population of humans has never been this high and with it and increase of livestock. THis means more methane. However some people have considered harvesting methan from livestock to produce energy. Methane is considered a renewable energy source so not all is bad but it still contributes heavily to global warming.

Answer 2

Well its true that bovine flatulence is a major source of carbon monoxide, and abstaining from meat consumption certainly makes a statement about animal treatment, food equity among rich and poor nations, and environmental policy.  You have to vote with your feet, so to speak.  Granted, the Sun ultimately has the greatest impact on global temperatures, but that's no reason  not to choose to eat less meat.

Answer 3

Regardless of global warming existing or not existing (because you're going to get ALOT of answers that just say global warming doesn't exist) eating meat that is produced in our modern industrial agricultural model of animal husbandry is incredibly damaging to the environment and human health as a whole.

If you like meat, get it from a local farm that raises it in a sustainable fashion. Or skip it altogether and go veg. It is not nearly as bad as you would imagine.

But yes, if you believe global warming is an issue that you want to take action on, than the industrial production of meat is the leading contributor of green house gas emissions.

Answer 4

That was one of those idiotic studies done. Really a insufficient one considering the entire life cycle process. This shows the world how little the alarmist understand basic science. Consider most organic life forms are composed of at least 50% carbon you can understand it's a moot point. This isn't just about cows, but plants, animals and microbes-fungi. We have a need for them all, and cows contribute all most nothing to this process.

Answer 5

Well sure,,,,all you environmentalist liberals need to go live in a cave like obama, I mean osama.

The GW believers feel that cow farts are destroying the environment.

Answer 6

That's a load of bull (no pun intended).  Even global warming proponents will tell you that compared to industrial pollution, pollution released from livestock is minimal at best.

Answer 7

It's true.  Youngsters are being told that eating meat is causing global warming.  They are being told all sorts of silliness... except the simple science that we know drives the warming and cooling cycles.

Answer 8

Then those cows live longer and f**t causing methane and breath out CO2 which also contributes to global warming....  You are kidding right?

Answer 9

Sounds like there may be a Darwin Award in your son-in-law's future depending on how far he's taking it.  If he's going vegan he's condemning himself to a lifetime of illnesses due to protein deficiency.  OTOH I like the idea of more people buying into this nonsense because a lower demand for meat would reduce the cost of the steaks I like to BBQ...

Answer 10

Yes.  There are several ways that meat impacts global warming.

1) Ruminant livestock emit methane in their burps and dung.

2) It takes a lot more energy and resources to grow crops to feed to livestock and then slaughter the livestock and eat the meat than it does to just grow the crops and eat them directly.

3) Livestock (particularly cattle) need large amounts of pastureland, which is often diverted from CO2-absorbing plant life like forests.  Land use change like this is the #1 contributor to human greenhouse gas emissions.

See the link below for further details.

For the people arguing that if we don't eat beef the cattle will live longer - these aren't wild animals.  They're bred to meet human meat consumption.  If we eat less meat, fewer livestock will be bred.

Answer 11

I heard that, too.  It makes as much sense as more pollution blocking out the sun's rays is causing warming rather than cooling.

Answer 12

i have no doubt children are being told this, but not by enviromentalist probably by the vegans...LOL...

but i have a better solution for this, we all agree the gas from bovin is emense, and yes by not raising as would also be an effective measure.

so allow me to offer this solution, we should be EAT MORE COWS, . if we eat more cows then there will be less gas, but you say, WHAT about the gas produced while growing them, well the solution is to eat VEAL,, thus cutting the current amount of gas in half, and we still get our meat.

Answer 13

That's stupid.

People have been eating meat for as long as the earth was round. In fact, many native americains ate more meat than we do today, and stay healthy!

Answer 14

OMG! I mentioned that sarcastically earlier today, and already they've grabbed onto it???

Cattle and termites emit a lot of CO2. So what? Plants LIKE the stuff! Did you know that the first 'pollutant' on the earth was oxygen? Mankind is not nearly as powerful as we seem to believe.