This is a guest post by Katie Cantrell of Green Monday
“When we think about threats to the environment, we tend to picture cars and smokestacks, not dinner. But the truth is, our need for food poses one of the biggest dangers to the planet.” – National Geographic
It’s hard to believe that Old McDonald could pose as big a threat as Exxon-Mobile, but the food system is one of the leading drivers of climate change and other environmental devastation.
The statistics are staggering:
- Switching from a hamburger to a veggie burger just once saves as much water as not showering for an entire month.
- The top 5 meat and dairy producers combined emit more GHG than Exxon Mobile, Shell, or BP
- If cows had their own country, they would be the third largest emitter of GHG behind China and the US.
These facts are shocking, but they actually paint a positive picture. While we have little control over national energy infrastructure or cap and trade legislation, we do have direct control over what we put on our plates. Food is one of the most powerful and direct ways that we can help stop the environmental catastrophes currently unfolding. (more…)