Society is increasingly talking about the harmful effects of meat consumption, and the shelves of shops and restaurants are filled with alternatives to meat, milk or cheese products. Abundant meat consumption hides not only health and animal rights problems, but also irreparable damage to the climate. How does the consumption of meat contribute to the negative impact on the world, and what will happen if we do not reduce the rate of consumption?
"Livestock farming is one of the biggest polluters in the world, it is estimated that this agricultural sector emits more CO2 every year than the transport sector. In addition to harming nature, excessive consumption of meat causes increasing health problems. The current nutritional system is harmful not only to the earth, nature, but also to human health," says Meda Šermukšnė, head of the organization "Gyvi gali" that strives for changes in global nutrition.
The situation is alarming
According to calculations made by Animal Charity Evaluators, in 2018, around 800 billion animals, including aquatic animals, were killed for food in the world.
"It is naive to expect less than 8 billion people to provide prosperity for 100 times the lives they choose to grow food for themselves." While some regions are seeing progress in animal welfare, globally meat consumption is on the rise. This raises the risk of increasing violations in those regions where the rate of consumption and growth does not keep up with ensuring the welfare of animals", says M. Šermukšnė.
The head of the organization emphasizes a clear trend - economically strong countries consume more meat. This trend can be seen even in those cultures where the traditional cuisine is vegetarian or plant-based: "There are different animal welfare standards in the regions of the world. For example, the standards of the European Union are quite high compared to less economically developed regions, but better does not mean good enough".
Lithuania is no exception
Every year more and more meat is consumed in Lithuania - Lithuanians eat three times more meat than recommended by the World Health Organization. This leads not only to wasted resources, but also to health problems.
"It is good that the laws are getting stricter and the conditions for animals are gradually improving. However, it is not only important to tighten the laws, but also to ensure their enforcement. Unfortunately, often offenders receive very minimal consequences and do not learn. Therefore, not only the changes to the laws, but also the strategy for ensuring their compliance is extremely important," says the head of the "Gyvi gali" organization.
According to her, changes in the country are undoubtedly caused by the change in society's attitude towards animals and the active activities of non-governmental organizations. "Drowning or suffocation of domestic animals was not unusual for a long time after the declaration of independence. Now society does not tolerate such behavior, so laws have been passed to ensure the welfare of these animals. Over the past few years, the number of chickens raised in cages has decreased, and there are no more aquariums with live fish in the market," says M. Šermukšnė.
The world must change
M. Šermukšnė states that the problem of animal exploitation in the world is increasing very rapidly and the only solution is to reduce the consumption of animal products: "It doesn't have to be an all-or-nothing model. If you think that giving up meat is too difficult, at first you should not eat meat one day a week, after a while try not to eat meat two or three days a week, and in the long run you may feel that you want meat less and less.
Animal husbandry is responsible for approximately 16 percent. of all emissions, which is more than the entire transport sector. Farms pollute the environment and groundwater. In order to grow food for animals or provide pastures, forests are being cut down rapidly. Raising animals requires a lot of resources: water, grain and land.
"For this reason, the intensifying effects of climate change are already visible: droughts, floods, heat or cold waves in different regions. It affects not only nature, but also the health of people around the world. There is an increasing incidence of diseases caused by excessive meat consumption, such as cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes, morbidity, as well as the spread of various pandemics," says the head of the Gyvi gali organization.
According to her, there is no doubt that the current food production system is not suitable and favorable. If the world wants to achieve the goals of stopping climate change, it is necessary to consume less meat: "I'm not saying that everyone should become vegan or vegetarian, but Western countries consume much more meat than is recommended. After reducing the amount of meat consumed, the body still needs to get certain proteins, and this is where vegetable proteins come to the rescue."
Plant proteins are a unique product made from plants such as rice, peas, hemp seeds, etc. Their molecular structure is simpler than that of animal proteins, so the body uses less energy to digest them.
"The world needs to reorient and direct more resources to the production of alternative proteins. Plant-based protein is the future of global nutrition because it can help solve hunger and health problems while helping to prevent the senseless killing of animals. The production of these proteins requires far fewer resources, so their wider use in the diet can contribute to the fight against climate change," says M. Šermukšnė.
