Being green can start at the dinner table

on May 19, 2009 at 6:23 AM, updated May 19, 2009 at 6:37 AM
Brianna Suslovic, J-D freshman, writes about the advantages of not eating meat.

Want to do something about global warming? Start with what's on your plate.

Think about eating that steak dinner. Getting that slab of meat to your dinner table required more energy and other resources than you might think.

Just think about the methane byproducts from animal waste and the trees cut down so the animal can graze. It took energy to slaughter the animal, to get rid of its waste parts and to package it. Then comes transporting it, refrigerating it and cooking it. It certainly adds up.

Now, remember that you eat meat -- steak, hamburgers, hot dogs, chicken wings, sausage -- almost every day. Multiply the amount of energy needed. Energy use results in greenhouse gas emissions, and that, slowly but surely, is warming our planet.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has stated that livestock production accounts for 18 percent of the world's greenhouse gas emissions. That's more than from cars, buses and airplanes.

Beef production is a particular culprit in this case, contributing 78 percent of emissions related to the meat industry. The truly dangerous aspect of the meat industry's emissions is that they include methane, which is 23 times more environmentally harmful than emissions of carbon dioxide.

Unlike other industries that have been scrutinized and criticized for their inability to become "green," the meat industry has faced almost no consequences for contributing so greatly to this problem.

I've taken my own steps toward preventing global warming. I'm a vegetarian of five years. By not eating meat, I'm drastically reducing my carbon footprint.

If a large number of people did this, or if they just cut back on eating meat, we'd reduce emissions by large amounts. One scientist estimates that the carbon footprint associated with humans eating protein would drop by 70 percent if people replaced half of their meat protein intake with soy protein.

Take advantage of vegetarianism's tri-fold benefits: better personal health, better treatment of animals and a much better world.

Brianna Suslovic is a freshman at Jamesville-DeWitt High School.