Eat less meat

Our microsite www.eatlessmeat.org is packed with further information

http://tinyurl.com/ys5gv6
Overview
Global meat production and consumption are soaring. Until the 1990s,
the vast majority of animal products were consumed in rich countries,
yet the last decade has seen many in developing nations also adopt the
“Western diet”. Together with the growth in meat consumption,
intensive factory farms are not just the norm in “the west”, but are
proliferating rapidly in countries like Brazil and China to meet the
demand for meat.

All indications are that this trend will continue apace for the
foreseeable future, encouraged by governments and international
agri-business.


The scale of expansion in meat production and consumption is
unsustainable. Rather than helping to tackle global hunger, the
increase in meat consumption threatens global food security, our
shared environment and our own health.

The main problems can be summarised as follows;

Human health: Alongside the increased consumption of animal fats are
disturbing rates of obesity, heart disease and adult-onset diabetes.
In order to reduce the risk from these diseases, all informed opinion
now stresses the desirability of reduced consumption of animal
products and increased intake of fresh fruit, vegetables and
fibre-rich carbohydrates

The welfare of farmed animals: The explosion in meat consumption is
paralleled by the global expansion of industrial “factory farming” of
animals, a system which by its very nature compromises basic welfare
standards. In factory farms, the animals suffer from confinement,
isolation or overcrowding and the frustration of their natural
behaviour.

Water scarcity: Lack of water is set to be the biggest threat to
global stability in coming decades. Producing meat uses up vast
amounts of water; each calorie of meat takes far more water to produce
than a calorie of grain or carbohydrate; for example, it takes only
500 litres of water to produce a kilo of potatoes, but 100,000 litres
to produce a kilo of beef.

Environmental impact: The unsustainably large livestock population is
having a devastating effect on our environment. A major contributor to
global warming, livestock herds account for 10% of all greenhouse
gases, including 25% of all methane emissions. In addition, the sheer
volume of waste generated by the farm animal population, together with
the excessive use of fertilisers to grow their feed, causes high
levels of ammonia and nitrate pollution of land, water and air.

Global food security: Much of the earth’s arable land is now being
used to grow feed crops for intensively farmed animals rather than for
people.
Placing animal products at the centre of food policy greatly
diminishes the possibility of feeding the world’s human population.
Rather than using vast areas of land to grow crops for animal feed,
more food can be obtained by using land to grow crops for direct human
consumption.

Brief history and future objectives
CIWF launched its Eat Less Meat campaign in March 2004 at an event in
London. Speakers included leading environmentalist Jonathon Porritt,
author Colin Tudge and food policy expert Professor Tim Lang.
CIWF has published a range of materials to support the campaign: a
report “The Global Benefits of Eating Less Meat” by Mark Gold, with
foreword by Jonathon Porritt and a video “Eat Less Meat – it’s costing
the Earth” narrated by Joanna Lumley.

Several organisations are supporting our campaign:
The Soil Association
http://www.soilassociation.org/
The Food Commission
http://www.foodcomm.org.uk/
The Gaia Foundation
http://freespace.virgin.net/s.rabin/html/mainmenu.html
The Biodynamic Agriculture Association
http://www.anth.org.uk/biodynamic/
The Research Foundation for Science, Technology and Ecology (India)
http://www.vshiva.net/
The Women's Environmental Network (WEN)
http://www.wen.org.uk/

The campaign aims a
To persuade consumers to eat less meat and eat only organic or free
range meat
To persuade western governments to set targets for a reduction in meat
consumption. We are aiming for a 15% reduction by 2020

Campaign actions
Set personal targets for eating less meat. How about meatless Mondays?
When you buy meat, always buy organic or free range.
When in restaurants, ask if the meat they serve is organic or free
range. If not, try the vegetarian option!
Visit the eatlessmeat.org microsite or order our report, video or
leaflets.
http://www.eatlessmeat.org/

Talk about the idea of eating less meat to family, friends and
colleagues or write to your local newspaper about the issue.
Get involved with CIWF

CIWF is the organisation that gets things done. To find out more on
how you can actively help CIWF with petitions, demonstrations and
community fundraising, visit the Get involved section of the website.