Study Urges Meat Reduction

A study published October 4 in Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences of the United States of America, looks at livestock effect on environmental destruction by mid-century. The study, titled “Forecasting Potential Global Environmental Costs of Livestock Production 2000–2050” by Nathan Pelletier and Peter Tyedmers of Dalhousie University in Canada, displays the grave impact of eating meat. The authors projected that by 2050, livestock may occupy the majority of humanity’s “safe operating space,” and are currently accelerating climate change through the production of greenhouse gas methane, the use of harmful fertilizer, and destruction of natural habitats. The authors recommend that global meat consumption needs to be cut 19 to 42 percent in order to slow or halt these effects.