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I'm not prone to threads like this but it needs to be called out.
Posting 2 pics with an inflammatory tagline does nothing to advance any scientific or dietary health debate. It instead flames an artificial debate that is harmful.
I will try to remain objective. https://twitter.com/zoeharcombe/status/1274639867327262720
Posting 2 pics with an inflammatory tagline does nothing to advance any scientific or dietary health debate. It instead flames an artificial debate that is harmful.
I will try to remain objective. https://twitter.com/zoeharcombe/status/1274639867327262720
Agriculture is responsible for up to 30% of all greenhouse gas emissions, 70% of fresh water use, uses 30%-40% of all cultivatable land, and is a leading cause of biodiversity loss.
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(18)30206-7/fulltext
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6cd5/meta https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22900
https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanplh/article/PIIS2542-5196(18)30206-7/fulltext
https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6cd5/meta https://www.nature.com/articles/nature22900
Around half of all GHGs are from beef and dairy - a kilo of ruminant meat production (such as beef) uses around 5x the land and 10x the GHGs of any other meat or veg, plus around 15,000 litres of water.
(previous refs)
(previous refs)
We need around 50g of protein per day (10% of calories) and currently we get that from red and processed meat alone. Instead in the UK we eat on average double what we need. https://www.gov.uk/government/statistics/ndns-time-trend-and-income-analyses-for-years-1-to-9
Red and processed meat are both linked to poor health. In particular cancer with red meat being a likely carcinogen and processed meat being a type 1 carcinogen.
https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2110 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(15)00444-1/fulltext
https://www.bmj.com/content/365/bmj.l2110 https://www.thelancet.com/journals/lanonc/article/PIIS1470-2045(15)00444-1/fulltext
Replacing animal protein with plant based protein is associated with lower rates of stroke, heart disease, diabetes, & overall death.
Just meeting global dietary guidelines would lead to 5 million fewer deaths/yr. 30% fewer GHGs. And still 43g red meat. https://www.pnas.org/content/113/15/4146
Just meeting global dietary guidelines would lead to 5 million fewer deaths/yr. 30% fewer GHGs. And still 43g red meat. https://www.pnas.org/content/113/15/4146
Without changing population diets, we have no hope of keeping near 2 degrees warming whilst feeding 10bn people.
https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/
https://www.ipcc.ch/srccl/
And this THE public health issue of our generation. More so than COVID-19. The devastating impact that COVID-19 is having on inequalities will be dwarfed by the impact of climate change on the global poor.
https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2017/wp152_2017.pdf
https://www.un.org/esa/desa/papers/2017/wp152_2017.pdf
This is so NOT about meat eaters vs vegetarians vs vegans.
I'm not even touching on animal welfare.
This is about inequalities.
This is about population health.
This is about environmental health.
This is about having a viable planet to live on.
I'm not even touching on animal welfare.
This is about inequalities.
This is about population health.
This is about environmental health.
This is about having a viable planet to live on.
People can still eat meat. But we simply have to eat less as a species, with less impact on the planet. And the quicker we find a way to do that rather than snarking about individuals' dietary choices, the better.
