• Privacy policy
  • T&C’s
  • FAQ
  • Meet the Team
  • About The London Economic
  • Advertise
TLE ONLINE SHOP!
NEWSLETTER
SUPPORT THE LONDON ECONOMIC
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
  • TLE
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Food
  • Lifestyle
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech/Auto
No Result
View All Result
The London Economic
No Result
View All Result
Home News Environment

There’s An Overpopulation Problem, But Not The One You Might Think

By Jimmy Pierson, spokesperson for The Vegan Society There’s an overpopulation problem all right, but not the one you might think. There are seven billion people on our planet, but times that number by 10 and you get the 70 billion farm animals driving the worst environmental crisis of modern times. The impact of our […]

Guest Contributor by Guest Contributor
July 11, 2016
in Environment

By Jimmy Pierson, spokesperson for The Vegan Society

There’s an overpopulation problem all right, but not the one you might think. There are seven billion people on our planet, but times that number by 10 and you get the 70 billion farm animals driving the worst environmental crisis of modern times.

The impact of our increasing human numbers will come under renewed scrutiny this World Population Day (11 July). Rightly so; the faster we grow, the faster we are knocking down forests, killing off species and using water. Climate change is no longer a distant concept, but a tangible force already affecting so many people all over the world.

Overpopulation is all too often seen as a standalone issue. This to me is overly simplistic. Should we not rather address the specific things humans are actually doing? There is little doubt in the scientific community which single activity is to blame: animal agriculture, responsible for at least 14.5 per cent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This is more than all of the world’s transport – cars, buses, trains, planes, boats, ships – combined.

While human numbers are rising at roughly 1.2 per cent a year, livestock numbers are rising at double that rate at around 2.4 per cent a year. Farming animals emits high levels of CO2 through activities like feed production and the management of manure, which contains nitrous oxide, a substance estimated to have 296 times the climate change potential of CO2.

Cattle also naturally produce large amounts of methane, a highly potent greenhouse gas: your average cow produces around 700 litres of methane per day, the equivalent of a large 4×4 vehicle travelling 35 miles in a day. They also require huge amounts of land and water. It takes 15,500 litres of water to produce 1kg of beef, the equivalent of more than eight months of daily showers. It is also estimated that a vegan diet only requires about a third of the land needed for conventional Western diets.

What would happen if everyone in the UK abstained from eating meat for just one day per week? The emissions savings would equate to taking 5 million cars off the road. And what if everyone abstained for six days a week? That would be the same as taking every single car off UK roads.

RelatedPosts

Wildlife expert who turned garden into haven for endangered species ordered to tear it down by council

Watch – Hens from free range Happy Egg suppliers ‘suffering in misery’ in filthy, crammed and overcrowded sheds

Almost 1,000 homeless deaths in 2020 now Councils fear spike in homelessness when protection ends

1,000 homeless deaths last year as millions to help rough sleepers has gone unspent

If we continue ignoring the role of diet in climate change then the UK will have no chance of meeting its new commitment of cutting carbon emissions by 57 per cent by 2032. Current policies which focus narrowly on the energy, transport and waste sectors fall a long way short of those required for the new target according to the government’s official climate change advisors.

What we really need is a public education campaign on the disastrous environmental impact of farming animals. Most people in this country, I suspect, still have little idea that the production of meat, fish and dairy products is destroying the planet.

If the UK wants a policy blueprint then it should look to China, who recently announced its plan to reduce meat consumption by 50 per cent to tackle climate change. Such foresight has to be applauded. Will a Western government ever table such a progressive climate initiative? It is hard to imagine one in the UK anytime soon.

A global shift to a vegan diet would see climate emissions decrease by 70 per cent by 2050, according to a recent study by Oxford University, and result in a monetary saving of over $1trillion in costs linked to climate change and healthcare. Can we afford not to stop eating meat?

Tags: featured
Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism Support fearless, free, investigative journalism
Please login to join discussion

Subscribe to our Newsletter

View our  Privacy Policy and Terms & Conditions

Trending fromTLE

  • All
  • trending

What If We Got Rid Of Prisons?

Stress, fear and homelessness: The threat looming over families confronted with eviction

File photo dated 07/11/03 of a prison cell.

The Other Prison Pandemic

Latest from TLE

Copyright: © Mikael Buck / Hyundai / Hope & Glory PR

More than half of Brits are feeling more optimistic than at any point over past year

File photo dated 11/02/10 of the then First Minister Alex Salmond and then Deputy First Minister Nicola Sturgeon during First Minister's Questions at the Scottish parliament in Edinburgh. Former first minister Alex Salmond, giving evidence before the Committee on the Scottish Government Handling of Harassment Complaints , has said there has been "calculated and deliberate suppression of key evidence". Issue date: Friday February 26, 2021.

Sturgeon suffering from handling of Salmond affair, polls suggest

Watch – Emotional video celebrating female frontline heroes during past year

Credit;SWNS

Wildlife expert who turned garden into haven for endangered species ordered to tear it down by council

About Us

TheLondonEconomic.com – Open, accessible and accountable news, sport, culture and lifestyle.

Read more

Address

The London Economic Newspaper Limited t/a TLE
Company number 09221879
International House,
24 Holborn Viaduct,
London EC1A 2BN,
United Kingdom

Contact

Editorial enquiries, please contact: jack@thelondoneconomic.com

Commercial enquiries, please contact: advertise@thelondoneconomic.com

SUPPORT

We do not charge or put articles behind a paywall. If you can, please show your appreciation for our free content by donating whatever you think is fair to help keep TLE growing and support real, independent, investigative journalism.

DONATE & SUPPORT

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.




No Result
View All Result
  • Home
  • News
  • Politics
  • Opinion
  • Business
  • Sport
  • Entertainment
  • Film
  • Lifestyle
  • Food
  • Property
  • Travel
  • Tech & Auto
  • About The London Economic
  • Meet the Team
  • Privacy policy

© 2019 thelondoneconomic.com - TLE, International House, 24 Holborn Viaduct, London EC1A 2BN. All Rights Reserved.