Meat Consumption and Climate Change: Why Vegan Is the Solution
Part of PETA's motto reads: Animals are not ours to eat or exploit in any other form. The organisation campaigns against speciesism — a worldview that classifies humans as superior to all other living beings.
Environmental and animal protection starts on the plate: Today marks the second global climate strike. On this occasion, PETA is releasing the above video to draw the attention of engaged citizens to the fact that meat consumption plays a central role in the climate crisis.
The clip juxtaposes images of Fridays for Future activism with footage of animal cruelty, cleared land, and burning rainforest; integrated graphics illustrate the connections between meat consumption, species decline, water pollution, soil degradation, and climate change. With this video, the animal rights organisation reminds us that the production of meat, dairy, and eggs is one of the main causes of the environmental problems of our time. PETA calls on everyone to also reconsider their own consumer behaviour as part of their commitment to environmental protection.
«The rainforest is being cleared and set ablaze to grow animal feed that also reaches Germany, and to raise cattle. These animals are forcibly loaded and transported halfway around the world, or slaughtered in Brazil for meat that ends up on the shelves of German supermarkets. The business is unethical and catastrophic for our environment. Only a vegan diet makes a lasting contribution to environmental protection».
Agricultural scientist Lisa Kainz, PETA's specialist adviser on animals in the food industry.
Animal products are the number one climate killer
Contrary to the widespread assumption, rainforests are not being destroyed for soy products used in vegan products. The clearing of vast rainforest areas occurs primarily for livestock farming and feed crop cultivation; fires are sometimes set during the dry season, which can spread rapidly and reach dangerous proportions. Last year, twelve million hectares of rainforest disappeared due to deforestation — equivalent to approximately 30 football fields per minute. Around four million tonnes of the soy imported into Germany are used to feed chickens, pigs, and cattle.
PETA points out that the consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs contributes significantly to the overall environmental and climate crisis. Butter is even considered the most climate-damaging product. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) attributes 14.5 percent of globally emitted greenhouse gases to agriculture — the official figure since 2013. More recent studies suggest a share of around 30 percent. The largest portion of these greenhouse gases is caused by livestock farming. That is more than all global transport combined.
Cruel animal transports across the world
Some cattle are slaughtered directly in Brazil and their meat is imported, among other places, to the EU and Germany. Others are transported alive over long distances to remote slaughterhouses. In PETA's video, cattle in Brazil can be seen standing in their own excrement on overcrowded trucks. They are then loaded onto ships that travel for two to three weeks; they have been tracked as far as Lebanon. There, many animals are no longer able to walk on their own due to the exhausting journey, and are transferred from the ships to trucks by crane, hanging from their front limbs. Dislocated joints and broken bones are not uncommon. Dead animals during sea transport are frequently simply thrown overboard, as is the slurry, which — due to excess nutrients — can contribute to the destruction of the oceans. End meat consumption!
