Our meat consumption – a major climate villain

"Our meat consumption – a major climate villain"

"the Debaters: Stop staring yourself blind on the kilopriset in the grocer"

"This is an opinion piece. It is the writer who stands for the views that are put forward in the text, not Against."

"the DEBATE. No, all meat is not bad for the environment. No, all vegan is not good for the environment. The issue of our food choices is more complex than the black and white debate that characterizes the question. But what we do know is that the livestock industry's collective emissions represent 14.5% of global carbon emissions. In addition, the threatened valuable ecosystems when they are forced to give way to the intense industry. In order to tackle environmental problems need to the consumption of animal foods to reduce."

"We eat more meat than ever. Globally, we are eating four times more meat today than 50 years ago. In Sweden, meat consumption has doubled over the same period – in 2018 consumed the swedes 83,5 kilos per person. "

"We have because of the meat industry furnished about nature dramatically over the past few decades, leading to collapsing ecosystems and extinction of species. The researchers have calculated that livestock accounts for 60% of the mammal total weight. Man stands for 36%. The wild mammal proportion of the country's modest four per cent."

"About two-thirds of the earth's land surface is today modified by man, and much of this ”modification” is about to give place to livestock farming. The majority of the harvested rainforest in the Amazon has been cut down to create betesyta for cattle, or for the production of soy that goes to feed the animals."

"Many respond to the argument that we must reduce our meat consumption by claiming that Sweden does not have this problem. To a certain degree we can agree with. It is true that pastures benefit of biodiversity and we want to say a big thank you to all the smallholder farmers who keep the meadows beaten and the pastures grazed. But unfortunately it is only a small part of all the livestock which are actually beneficial to the biological diversity. Also in Sweden.n"

"The biggest part of our modern agriculture is eroding the biological diversity through the expanse of the poor monocultures, pesticides and konstgödsling. The industrialization of agriculture has led to farmers not longer to let the animals graze on the nutrient-poor chips. Competition from the animals that eat the feed are too large. The consequence? The animals are installade or graze on the dike, and thus have their utility in the ecosystem utraderats."

"The pastures that are used today are about 230 000 hectares. If we could restore the acreage of pastures to 500 000 hectares, and only consume meat from pasture-raised, it would at best be able to produce 10 to 20 kilos of meat per person per year, according to WWF. Should everything we eat come from semi-natural grasslands, it does a reduction of meat consumption. For the second year in a row reduces the fortunately, the consumption of meat, and around ten per cent of the population are vegetarians or vegans. Instead of seeing it as a threat, we should adapt to the environmentally conscious consumer."

"today is imported, approximately half of all meat we eat in Sweden. A first step in the right direction is to reduce the proportion of meat imported by setting higher requirements on animal rights and the environment. If we really want to benefit Swedish agriculture, which has among the world's best soils and conditions, we must make active choices in the store. To only stare themselves blind on the kilopriset in the grocer makes us dependent on an industry that is pushing the animals to the border, clear-cutting rainforest and the reckless use of antibiotics as a preventative measure."

"We have to let quality and an increased awareness of the livestock industry's impact, to guide our consumption choices, but we can't put it all on the conscious consumer's shoulders. "

"It takes a tough political decision, who dare to take a stand for animals and nature, rather than for large multinational companies. We want to see a future in which, rather than benefiting farmers engaged in small-scale and sustainable agriculture. "

"To bet on the Swedish countryside, strengthen self-sufficiency and support small-scale farming, we believe, is the way forward, and then the excessive meat consumption is on the decline."

"nRebecka Le Moine, the member of parliament (MP)nMagnus Manhammar, member of parliament (S)"

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