Should I change my diet for the sake of the world?

My first impression about meatless Mondays 

It is hard to give up meat! Source: GIPHY

They were just normal Mondays at the Open Kitchen, the cafeteria of Orchard Commons Residence at UBC, but for me, they were the most unsatisfactory days during my first year at university. Mondays were the busiest days in my schedule and I used to get so hungry that all I wanted was a big hamburger. However, I got annoyed after reading a poster about the “meatless” Monday at Orchard Commons and found no hamburger or any meat-containing dish at all! Apparently, it was an alternative implemented to reduce meat consumption.

Is it challenging to give up meat? Answer the questions in this flowchart to know if you can become a vegetarian! Source: Dining Out

Why should I care about meat?

Food security is a matter that concerns everybody. We are almost 7.4 billion people on Earth right now, but we will be 9 billion in 2050. According to a well-known paper in Science, the food supply will need to increase by 70% to 100% to feed this population.  The solution is not as simple as increasing the land for agriculture. The truth is that humans do not use the 100% of agricultural land exclusively to feed people, but roughly 36% of the total production is destined to feed livestock. Otherwise, this land would serve to feed 3.5 billion people more. Also, we gain fewer calories from the meat and milk we consumed than the number of calories we waste on feeding animals. We only get 3 calories from beef for every 100 calories of grain we feed on cattle.

“A bumper crop of corn piles up outside full silos in Brazil’s Mato Grosso state, which sends much of its grain to China and South Korea to feed their pigs and chickens. The demand for more crops to feed livestock is one reason experts say we’ll need to double crop production by 2050.” Source: National Geographic, May 2014 Issue

Is meat consumption increasing?

Meat consumption is increasing at an accelerated rate. The preference for pork and chicken has increased 4.5 times since the last 50 years, and an overall of 1.5-fold increase for all kind of meat. It is because of the change in the number of people who will eat meat. Economic prosperity has been observed to contribute the shifting from vegetables to meat. People with better income in countries such as China and India, that have a high rate of vegetarian population, will choose a richer diet, boosting the demand for cattle, pigs, and chicken.

The relative area of land occupied by agriculture and other human activities compared with the total Earth surface. Source: National Geographic, May 2014 Issue

Should I give up meat then?

If only Americans shift to a plant-based diet, 91 million cropland acres can be saved and 278 million metric ton of CO₂ would not end up in the atmosphere. Should I change my diet then? It is hard to give up beef. However, little steps can make the way we eat more sustainable. It is as simple as reducing the number of days you eat meat or buying chicken instead of beef. Why? Check this video or go to this link!

(Video: Why meat is the best worst thing in the world? We love meat, but we should make agriculture more sustainable.)

Mirkka Puente