Wednesday, January 30, 2008
Time to celebrate meat consumption
The New York Times has pubished a feature by Mark Bittman arguing that excessive consumption of meat is damaging the planet (27 January). A few years ago such an uncritical piece would more likely be in the Ecologist than a mainstream newspaper.
Near the start of the article he argues that: “Global demand for meat has multiplied in recent years, encouraged by growing affluence and nourished by the proliferation of huge, confined animal feeding operations. These assembly-line meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, generate significant greenhouse gases and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains, a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rain forests.”
Towards the end the article quotes a 2006 study from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on “Livestock’s long shadow”: “There are reasons for optimism that the conflicting demands for animal products and environmental services can be reconciled. Both demands are exerted by the same group of people ... the relatively affluent, middle- to high-income class, which is no longer confined to industrialized countries. ... This group of consumers is probably ready to use its growing voice to exert pressure for change and may be willing to absorb the inevitable price increases.” So for the FAO the solution is self-restraint.
The possibility that rising meat consumption should be celebrated as an expression of increasing affluence does not seem to occur to anyone quoted. And the associated environmental problems are generally viewed as insurmountable rather than difficulties to be overcome.
Near the start of the article he argues that: “Global demand for meat has multiplied in recent years, encouraged by growing affluence and nourished by the proliferation of huge, confined animal feeding operations. These assembly-line meat factories consume enormous amounts of energy, pollute water supplies, generate significant greenhouse gases and require ever-increasing amounts of corn, soy and other grains, a dependency that has led to the destruction of vast swaths of the world’s tropical rain forests.”
Towards the end the article quotes a 2006 study from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) on “Livestock’s long shadow”: “There are reasons for optimism that the conflicting demands for animal products and environmental services can be reconciled. Both demands are exerted by the same group of people ... the relatively affluent, middle- to high-income class, which is no longer confined to industrialized countries. ... This group of consumers is probably ready to use its growing voice to exert pressure for change and may be willing to absorb the inevitable price increases.” So for the FAO the solution is self-restraint.
The possibility that rising meat consumption should be celebrated as an expression of increasing affluence does not seem to occur to anyone quoted. And the associated environmental problems are generally viewed as insurmountable rather than difficulties to be overcome.
Labels: consumption, environment, food
