Recently I began to receive news articles published by Apple, about popular subjects. Many are worth the price of admission — which is free.
See Apple News <[email protected]>I particularly liked the one on China titled —
A “Meaty Issue”
China is enlisting celebrities like Arnold Schwarzenegger and David Cameron to push people to eat less meat. If the campaign works, it could have a surprisingly large effect on global warming. Updated by Brad Plumer on June 21, 2016, 9:20 a.m. ET
Plummer tells us that the 2015 US Dietary Guidelines remained fairly muted on the topic after fierce lobbying by the meat industry. But in China where livestock emissions are soaring –one of the largest sources of global warming– the climate benefits of lower meat consumption are profound.
Arnold Schwarzenegger has long been encouraging people to go part-time vegetarian for eco reasons . He and Director James Cameron, an outspoken vegan have become engaged by the Chinese Ministry of Health to promote the “less meat” campaign. Billboards have been posted throughout China with their pictures on them.
The average Chinese person eats about 170 grams of beef, pork, poutry and lamb a day. China’s Health Dept advises cutting back to 75 grams a day.
The statistics are staggering. If all 1.3 billion people in China were to follow this advice, global agricultural emisions would drop 12 percent. This in turn would cause total greenhouse gas emissions to fall about 1.5 percent, more than the entire annual output of France and Belgium combined.
Cutting back our meat intake is healthy for everyone. The key is to remember that diets do impact climate emissions.