Excessive meat consumption threatens the planet by contributing to global warming

1. Excessive meat consumption threatens the planet by contributing to global warming. We do not think that we have the burden to prove that greenhouse gasses effect the global climate situation. We believe that because of the research amassed by the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, particularly in its last report [[http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Intergovernmental_Panel_on_Climate_Change#IPCC_Fourth_Assessment_Report:_Climate_Change_2007]] we can all agree (as the great majority of the world’s governments have) that global warming is a real threat to the planet and the causes for global warming are man-made. We’ll be happy to elaborate on this point, but hope that the opposition will concede. Greenhouse gases. The UN's Food and Agriculture Organization says livestock production is one of the major causes of environmental problems, including global warming, land degradation, air and water pollution, and loss of biodiversity. Using a methodology that considers the entire commodity chain, the FAO estimates that livestock are responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, a bigger share than that of transport. There are three mechanisms through which meat production contributes to global warming: deforestation, manure and flatulence. Deforestation. Deforestation happens because of a increasing demand for meat. As people become richer, they tend to (be able to) buy more meat products. For an example, pork imports to China has skyrocketed, rising more then 900% within the first four months of 2008.[[http://www.time.com/time/health/article/0,8599,1839995,00.html]] This means that more livestock has to be raised in order to keep up with demand, which in turn means that the cattle will require more land to grow up in. Already today grazing occupies 26 percent of the Earth's terrestrial surface and this number is about to grow even bigger. To get more farmland, forests are being cut down. As trees are being cut down, the CO2 that they have absorbed is being released back to the atmosphere. Experts believe that the way to tackle these issues is to cut down on meat consumption. Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, which in 2007 year earned a joint share of the Nobel Peace Prize has suggested that people should reduce their meat consumption to help combat global warming. [[http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.foodanddrink]] Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist at the Bard Center, and Pamela A. Martin, an assistant professor of geophysics at the University of Chicago, calculated that if Americans were to reduce meat consumption by just 20 percent it would be as if we all switched from a standard sedan — a Camry, say — to the ultra-efficient Prius. Similarly, a study last year by the National Institute of Livestock and Grassland Science in Japan estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef is responsible for the equivalent amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the average European car every 155 miles, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for nearly 20 days. [[http://www.nytimes.com/2008/01/27/weekinreview/27bittman.html?_r=2&ex=1202187600&en=a1087de0ce76df87&ei=5070]] The second place, where greenhouse gasses occur, is manure. Animal manure generates nitrous oxide, which firstly is a very strong greenhouse gas: some 300 times stronger then CO2 and secondly is one of the biggest ozone-depleting substances. The third place, where greenhouse gasses occur, is flatulence: as livestock digests grass, it produces flatulence, which consists of methane, carbon dioxide, nitrogen and other gasses. This flatulence can reach up to 200 liters a day. As there are already about 1.3 billion cows in the world and 1 billion sheep, the overall amount of gas produced is quite big, especially when one takes into account that methane has 23 times the warming impact of CO2. Under this argument we have shown you that livestock produces significant amounts of greenhouse gasses, which we believe are directly affecting global climate change.