Turning off the lights for Earth Hour will make for a nice romantic meal, but if you truly want to help combat climate change, don’t eat meat, eggs or dairy products. Animal products—whether eaten by candlelight or not—require more resources and cause more greenhouse gas emissions than plant-based foods do. According to Worldwatch Institute president Robert Engelman, the “world’s supersized appetite for meat” is one of the main reasons why greenhouse gas emissions are still increasing rapidly.
Each year, mankind kills 50 billion land animals for food—that’s about 6 million animals an hour. All these animals produce massive amounts of waste, which releases powerful greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere. The livestock sector is one of the largest sources of carbon dioxide and the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide, greenhouse gasses that are 25 and 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, respectively.
A study from Germany’s Institute for Ecological Economy Research shows a meat-eater’s diet is responsible for seven times more greenhouse gasses than a vegan’s diet. So blow out the candle, turn on the lights and get into the kitchen and cook a veggie burger this Earth Hour. Doing so will benefit not only the environment but also animals and human health.
—JASON BAKER,
vice president of international campaigns,
People for the Ethical Treatment
of Animals-Asia,
GPO Box 1700, Central, Hong Kong