Dr. Helen Harwatt, farmed animal law and policy fellow at Harvard Law School, advises that getting protein from plant sources instead of animal sources would drastically help in meeting climate targets and reduce the risk of overshooting temperature goals.
For the first time, Dr. Harwatt proposes a three-step strategy to gradually replace animal proteins with plant-sourced proteins, as part of the commitment to mitigate climate change. These are:
1) Acknowledging that current numbers of livestock are at their peak and will need to decline ('peak livestock').
2) Set targets to transition away from livestock products starting with foods linked with the highest greenhouse gas emissions such as beef, then cow's milk and pig meat ('worst-first' approach).
3) Assessing suitable replacement products against a range of criteria including greenhouse gas emission targets, land usage, and public health benefits ('best available food' approach).
Harwatt further elaborates that recent evidence shows, in comparison with the current food system, switching from animals to plants proteins, could potentially feed an additional 350 million people in the US alone.
You can eat plants or insects, but not meat.
(Score: 4, Interesting) by corey on Wednesday November 28 2018, @01:35AM (6 children)
This has touched a nerve for a lot of users here.
So much vitriol and picking apart the professor.
I feel like it's worth pointing out, whatever it is, the point is valid. Reducing meat intake will contribute to reducing carbon emissions substantially. You can try deal with the cognitive dissonance in your own time.
(Score: 1, Interesting) by khallow on Wednesday November 28 2018, @01:45AM (4 children)
The point was made in a vacuum and hence, isn't valid. We could also just become extinct. That would contribute to reducing carbon emissions substantially. You might even feel like it's worth pointing out that that point is "valid" too.
When you optimize without considering its costs (or simpler measures that accomplish much of the same), you get stuff like this.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 28 2018, @07:52PM (3 children)
I see the cognitive dissonance is winning. Too bad, we had a good run, way to keep humanity on track for extinction khallow!! Sharp as always
(Score: 1) by khallow on Wednesday November 28 2018, @08:03PM (2 children)
I fight it wherever I can. But you know the saying about leading a horse to water.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Wednesday November 28 2018, @11:33PM (1 child)
If you're about to die of thirst I'll overnight you some dehydrated H2O.
(Score: 1) by khallow on Thursday November 29 2018, @01:31AM
(Score: 2) by J_Darnley on Wednesday November 28 2018, @02:01PM
> Reducing meat intake will contribute to reducing carbon emissions substantially.
I don't care.