Would you contribute to Global warming by turning veg?

Question

A study shows reducing and banishing meat products will control methane and greenhouse gases(GHGs) which affect the environment

Answer 1

If you're asking if going vegetarian would help reduce your global impact, it would. "The trash that we send to landfills produces a greenhouse gas called methane. Methane is also produced by the animals we raise for dairy and meat products and when we take coal out of the ground" (http://epa.gov/climatechange/kids/change.html)

Also, plant trees (they soak up the carbon in our atmosphere and store it!)

Answer 2

Although I'm oversimplifying, the books below make quite eloquently the case for vegetarianism helping the environment, or conversely for meat eating worsening the environment. Some of the points are:
1. A majority of the ongoing rainforest destruction on earth is for the purpose of raising cattle, and the majority of that cattle is raised for export beef. So, if everyone were vegetarians, there would be much less reason to clear the CO2-absorbing rainforest.
2. Eating beef is highly inefficient, because every pound of beef comes from the cow eating a very large number of pounds of vegetables, which if eaten directly would feed many more humans per acre than the current system. (Many people bring up the part about meat having more complete protein than vegetables, but if you eat a variety of veggies, that is not a problem at all.)
3. The methane gas emissions from cows were mentioned also, but because farting is kind of funny, I don't think many people buy into this argument, despite the fact that it really is true.
4. Most of the bacterial food contamination is due to animals. For example, the spinach/E.coli scare in northern California last year was tracked to cow manure near the spinach fields. Thus, veggies get the bad press unfairly.
5. There is very strong evidence in the literature that meat eating is associated with increased risk of cancer. This is significant, and scary if you think about it, but liking the foods you grew up eating is such a powerful force that even fear of cancer won't change the behavior of many people.

Answer 3

You should not become a vegetarian for the sole purpose of curbing global warming.

The earth has been warming since the early 1800's because we are coming out of the little ice age.

Co2 in the atmosphere lags behind the warming, meaning as the earth's temperature rises, co2 levels rise from the result of the temperature rise, not the other way around.

People turning to vegetarians will have little or no effect on the climate.

As far as cows or meat animals are concerned, burping or farting will not cause the doom and gloom you keep hearing about.

There are wacko hypocrites out there that want you to believe that you are destroying the earth for their own agenda.

Don't buy into this gloom & doom hypocricy.

Man made global warming is a hoax, and if you enjoy eating meat do so with confidence that you are not destroying the world.

Answer 4

Oh well. Aint no way Im giving up my meat when there are other more effective ways to save mother earth. For example if less people drove and more people walked or bicycled whenever possible then that would not only cut down on more methane but also reduce pollution all around and be way more healthier than becomming a vegetarian.

Answer 5

I would not become a vegetarian just for this purpose. It is a fact that people(especially Americans) eat more meat products than they should. This is why us Americans are getting fat and getting diet companies rich.

As with everything else, there is a balance that can be achieved without coming to an all or nothing solution. It takes effort that unfortunately many people are not yet willing to exert. Governments and businesses are also afraid that they could lose money if people start using less "stuff" and start conserving a little more. After all,businesses are all about making money and governments are about raising tax revenue. Neither increase their bottom line if people conserve. Think about it.

Answer 6

The greenhouse gas most resposible for global warming is carbon di-oxide(CO2). Any form of combustion produces CO2, and all forms of animal life expel CO2.
Plants absorb CO2 and emit oxygen.
You could argue that when we harvest plants for vegetarian food we are killing plants. This is true. But these plants would not be grown if there was not a market for the fruit. If the plants are organicly grown, there is little harm to the environment.
So, eat your veggies, but look for organicly grown produce.

Answer 7

Your Q should read "Woud you contribute to *reversing* global warming by turning veg." I was gonna' correct your understanding of the facts, but find I'm correcting your understanding of the English language.

I turned veg a long time ago, and I didn't do this for the environment - I did it because I'm a selfish prick that doesn't want to let dead animals turn my body into their graveyard.

The study you cite cannot possibly be based on science - it is speculative pseudo science that leads people to think the sky is falling. The sky *might* be falling, but nobody's proved we're pulling it down, or that we could stop it from happening.

Answer 8

Perhaps. I heard a report that methane from cows, pigs, etc. contributes about 30% of ozone depleting emissions. I will continue to eat meat myslef. However, if people began to not eat as much meat, there would be no reason for farmers to continue breading livestock to as great of an extent as they currently do. So, lowering the amount of livestock would make a lower amount of ozone depleting emissions by livestock.

Answer 9

It would help, but there are many steps you can take. Going veg for most people is a moral issue. But, yes, it takes energy to transport food to cattle, cattle to ranches, to slaughterhouses, to the grocery store and then to cook it. Do a google on 'slaugherhouses' and you'd be horrified at the conditions your meat and poultry are raised in. It's no wonder there isn't more contaminated meat!

Answer 10

Yes - the entire hundred percent I would contribute. Those who is not ready is merely ignorant about it and are equal to ordinary lives, who need not to be made aware.
Non-vegetarian is nothing better than canniballs as if there a chance for food deficiency, they would not think over, but to cut and eat their own children or dependents (including those who do not attack back). But cultivation of vegetation is not only for the one who does it, but for whole the environment, exist without TRANSFORMATION of environment, and as such the existence of this earth for long.