Greenpeace Calls for 50% Cut in Animal Consumption

Environmental organization Greenpeace International released a report this week urging that global animal-agriculture production and consumption is reduced by 50 percent by 2050 in order to avoid imminent climate change caused by the industry. “Something is rotten in our food system,” Greenpeace International executive director Bunny McDiarmid said. “Governments continue to support massive meat and dairy operations, leading to more and more meat consumption while putting our health, our children’s health, and the health of our planet at risk. Instead, they should be supporting the increasing numbers of farmers shifting toward ecological production of healthy foods and helping people access healthy plant-based foods.” The report warns that if the agriculture industry continues to operate in its current capacity, it will produce 52 percent of global greenhouse gases in coming decades—70 percent of which will be attributed to the meat and dairy industries. “A new, diverse global movement is growing: one hungry for a better way of eating and producing food that is in tune with ourselves and the environment,” McDiarmid said. “Together, we can loosen the grip of industrial animal-agriculture on our food system and build a healthier world for our generation and the next.” The organization called on government to cease supporting the destructive meat and dairy industries, instead urging them to promote plant-based foods. “What we decide to eat, as individuals and as a global society, is one of the most powerful tools we have in the fight against climate change and environmental destruction,” McDiarmid said.