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Fight global-warming by eating chicken
For someone who is a sacrilegious beef-eating Hindu carnivore, I have many 'official' reasons to quit eating meat, but I love my steak and chicken-wings, so that's not going to happen. (In my caste, we cannot even eat egg).Which is why I was thrilled to read that eating chicken can help combat global warming drastically!
A recent story on Salon explains in a nutshell: the amount of energy and resources we invest in breeding animals for food, alongside naturally toxic excretions of those animals, is more responsible for global-warming than burning fossil fuels. However, poultry are the least polluting. (Gore, did you know this?).
The story throws in some shocking statistics:
- "livestock accounts for 18 percent of global warming emissions worldwide, more than the entire transportation sector" -- why is this not in Al Gore's film?!
- "cattle, bison, sheep and goats burp out a lot of methane that traps 23 times more heat per ton than carbon dioxide" -- and we've been fretting about spraying deodorant?!
- "the difference between a vegan diet and one that includes cheeseburgers is less than 2 tons of greenhouse gases a year -- that's about the equivalent of switching from a Camry to a Prius'' -- I wonder what Toyota would have to say about that.
Conclusion: if you want to change your diet to combat global-warming -- eating chicken is the best thing you can do. Chickens don't "burp" methane and they produce only one-tenth the methane of cattle waste.
Now who would have thought!
Filed under: Activism, Learning, Food and Drink, Ecotourism
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
iDevin Oct 24th 2007 5:52PM
Awesome! By buying a Prius I can eat as much meat as I want!
Oh well, I rarely eat meat other than chicken or fish anyways. Beef makes me sleepy.
Eva Oct 24th 2007 6:14PM
Slate just ran a similar story too, comparing veganism to lacto-ovo vegetarianism for environmental impact. It took into account more factors than strict emissions, though - use of soil, etc.
http://www.slate.com/id/2176420/nav/tap1/
John K. McGrail Oct 30th 2007 7:09AM
All I can say is that animals don't burp methane. They fart it!
dawn Oct 30th 2007 7:20AM
again,someone using mythical figures to back up their claim.of course you use more water to raise a beef than you do A chicken,but it still takes a lot more chickens to fill you up than a beef.Also,if animals were fed naturally,instead of filling them up with grain,it would take less water,our cows live naturally on a huge pasture with lots of grass and greens that are naturally filled with water,so they need less to drink. If we are causing global warming now,than who was causing it before we were here.WAKE UP FOLKS!This is just another political ploy.Remember back in the 70's when we were heading for an ice age?so,whats up with that?
John K. McGrail Oct 30th 2007 8:49AM
Animals don't burp methane... it comes out the other end.
ODHorror Oct 30th 2007 8:51AM
Stick with the beef, Abha. You don't get salmonella from beef. e. coli is a much more interesting illness anyway. ;)
Kaitlyn Oct 30th 2007 8:52AM
That is the GHEYIST Thing i've ever read..... wow...
tobaccoman Oct 30th 2007 9:09AM
How about all of the homes we are building now and the roads and concrete we are puting down now , there is alot more heat riseing off of that , so we have less ground exposer an more heat reflexing off concrete and aspht then we did in years past.
Sue Oct 30th 2007 9:22AM
You say beef is the worst, then comes cattle, sheep, etc. Aren't beef and cattle the same thing?
Mike Oct 30th 2007 10:21AM
Sound like something a cow would say to get the chicken off his back. If the earth is warming up, it isn't because of the animails, they was here first. Pretty soon someone we will be saying that the wind that the dinosurs passed cause their extinction too. The earth has been around a long time and i am sure this is just one on the many cycles it going to go through.
Jane Oct 30th 2007 10:24AM
ALL LIVING BEINGS SHOULD SHARE AND ENJOY
OUR EARTH IN PEACE AND HARMONY. THAT INCLUDES HUMAN ANIMALS, 4 LEGGED ANIMALS,
FISH, BIRDS,AND FOUL. CHICKENS ARE INTELLIGENT PERSONABLE BEINGS WHO FEEL
PAIN, SHOULD ENJOY LIFE, AND HAVE FEELINGS
OF PAIN, JOY AND THE WILLTO LIVE AS WE DO.
RESEARCH SHOWS THAT THEY HAVE INDIVIDUAL
PERSONALITIES AND ACTUALLY MAKE GREAT PETS.
ANIMALS ARE NOT OUR TO USE OR ABUSE.
INSTEAD, TO REALLY BE HEALTHIER AND CONSUME
LESS FAT..(YES CHICKENS ARE HIGH IN FAT),
LIVE A VEGETARIAN LIFE STYLE INSTEAD OF
CONSUMING DEAD FLESH. THINK ABOUT IT.
Aynne Oct 30th 2007 11:04AM
I'll bet this article written and approved by Fox News.
anon Oct 30th 2007 11:21AM
cows and other farm animals burp more methane than they fart. termites actually fart more methane than cows.. you can do your research
Pamala Oct 30th 2007 11:26AM
Who paid for the study? The indians called the Los Angeles basin the valley of smoke way before any cars or cattle arrived there. Hmmmm that makes me think.... Did you know pine trees give off more smog than vehicles. Yep, look it up. Study from sites that have no financial gain or agendas. I was vegan for yrs and never felt as healthy as I do now. I went back to eating animal products. I lost most of my wrinkles. My kids had color in their cheeks again. We eat all varieties of meat. We eat all varieties of veggies and few grain foods. We are healthier now than ever. The(any) amount veggies, small amount of fruits, and animal protien have kept us feeling great, with more energy, and looking good. I forgot we also eat nuts and seeds also. Be careful to not believe most of what we believe when we read. Make sure it can be backed up with real facts not made up ones. Many studies are not even scientific. The controls are a joke in many so called studies. We need to becare not to blindly believe.
Martin Bingham Oct 30th 2007 11:27AM
eating beef is the worst; then comes cattle, sheep,
To Abha Malpani and all readers. Beef is cattle. I guess Bison, Wildabeast, and etc are in with cattle too.
Leigh Oct 30th 2007 11:27AM
If this interests you you should read "Diet for a Small Planet" by Frances Lappe
Pamala Oct 30th 2007 11:29AM
Did you know that when you slaughter a chicken it has high measures of steroids, antibiotics unless you are buying organic. Most beef does not have measureable amounts of either. Hmmmmmm makes me think chicken and turkey are the reason girls are developing so young these days and why we have so much more pms and other female symptoms than ever in recorded history.
TJD246 Oct 30th 2007 11:30AM
GLOBAL WARMING IS A HOAX
granny Oct 30th 2007 11:52AM
"the difference b/w a vegan diet & one that includes cheeseburgers is less than 2 tons of greenhouse gases a year -- that's about the equivalent of switching from a Camry to a Prius"
That is PER PERSON,add to that switching to a prius,conserving h2o,recycling,bicycling,and making effort,equals a lot of savings of emissions and cleaner air &h2o which equals easier breathing,look up asthma these days!
John Howell Oct 30th 2007 11:58AM
Is it noteworthy that Al Gore's family made their money raising earth-drestroying, methane-farting cattle? I think it is. Now pass the steak sauce.