Vegans Save the Planet?
By Jim Baxter
“It would help tackle the problem of climate change if people adopted a vegan diet, dramatically reducing our impact on the environment” – email from a member of Environment Agency staff to vegan charity VIVA.There is no question that email has revolutionised the way we communicate, but in the wrong hands, it’s a double-edged sword that can cause mayhem in a matter of hours. Take the latest charade with the ‘go vegan to save the planet’ campaign for example.
The media would have us believe that the government is actively encouraging us all to abandon our burgers and steaks based on the testimony (read: leaked email) of a single employee from the Environment Agency. This whole ‘cows are the root of all evil’ jibe has just got out of hand and even the United Nations has now become embroiled.
The vegans claim that, with livestock production increasing, precious land space will not be used efficiently and the extra methane produced by bovine burping and farting will accelerate global warming at an alarming rate.It’s true that meat and milk production are set to double in the next 50 years and that, from an environmental perspective, raising cattle is far from the most efficient use of the land. However, can someone please explain when bovine farting suddenly became a bigger issue than the predicted doubling in air traffic by the year 2020; the increasing pollution on our roads and the carbon footprint from industry the world over?
Eating vegetables is supposed to be good for the planet, but how can I justify eating carrots that have been flown over all the way from Poland, when my sausages come from cattle reared just down the road? Don’t even get me started on kiwi fruit, which will amass five times their weight in CO2 before they eventually reach my fruit salad.
The U.N. report, which was so shamelessly hijacked by the brassica lobbyists, actually concluded that what we should be focusing on are the more pressing issues of deforestation for livestock ranching, wetland drainage and water conservation. It also highlighted the problems of manure management and the associated dangers of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.
I make no apologies for my derisory tone when individuals with a hidden agenda use the humble cow as a scapegoat for their own short fallings. The idea of us all switching to a vegan diet is synonymous with a vegetable casserole in lacking any real substance. In any case, some German scientists have recently invented a plant-based pill that now reduces flatulence in cows. So who’s causing all the hot air now?
More mutterings:
- Spoof - Star letter: global cooling
- News - Norweigans pray for the environment
- Straight - May contain nuts
- News - Shrooms for astronauts
Image: Lionel Titu
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