Meat consumption pollutes the climate and health

Meat Atlas 2014: Climate protection through meat abstinence

11/01/2014

The demand for meat and poultry is rising worldwide. In the Meat Atlas of 2014, authors describe concomitants of this growth, such as their impact on the global climate or health.

Meat consumption is increasing, especially in emerging markets
Demand for meat and poultry worldwide is rising steeply. As the numbers from the now published „Meat Atlas 2014“ Although meat consumption in industrialized countries such as Germany or the United States is slightly lower, it does rise sharply in emerging markets such as China or India. This leads to a dramatic impact on the global food supply, as 70 percent of arable land is already needed for animal feed. By 2050, a further 57% increase in meat consumption is expected, to 470 million tonnes annually.

Germany is exporting more and more meat
In Germany alone, 3.2 million cattle, 58 million pigs, 627 million chickens, 25 million ducks and 37 million turkeys are slaughtered each year. In addition, billions of fish and other animals are added. Even though there is a slight trend towards vegetarianism in this country, this is of little use to the environment, since more and more meat is being exported from Germany. The biggest meat-eaters are the Luxembourgers, the Americans and the Australians.

Vegetarian diet reduces disease risks
According to the Meat Atlas and the information provided by the German Nutrition Society (DGE), it was also shown that men eat twice as much meat as women. This is about twice as much as good for your health. But women are also at the upper limit. Studies in recent years have shown that people who eat vegetarian foods have a lower risk of developing many diseases. This is especially true for cardiovascular disease. An advantage is that vegetarians eat more vegetables, fruits, legumes and nuts than „meat eater“. For example, an English meta-analysis found that vegetarian diets can reduce the risk of cardiovascular disease by 15 to 35 percent. In addition, other studies have shown that the consumption of red meat in particular increases the risk of cancer.

Important contribution to global climate protection
In addition, by abstaining from meat, one can make an important contribution to global climate protection, because who feeds on the detour of animals consumes about seven times more floor space than if he or she would eat vegetarian food. If you decide to eat no or less meat, you will find numerous vegetarian dishes on the internet.

meat Atlas
The Meat Atlas is a joint production of Le Monde diplomatique, the Heinrich Böll Foundation and the BUND, in which various authors explain on 48 pages, why animal medicines make sick, how the world's growing meat consumption pollutes the global climate, destroys the rain forest and through his far too high water consumption threatens a vital resource. (Ad)