Vegetarianism can check Global Warming
Mooting an unconventional therapy to check global warming, leading environmentalist Rajendra Pachauri has suggested shunning of meat and non-vegetarian diet at least for a day in the week. One meat-free day a week will be an effective sacrifice that would help tackle climate change, said Dr Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UNs Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC).
“In terms of immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity,” he was quoted as saying by the Observer. “Give up meat for one day [a week] initially, and decrease it from there,” he advised. Diet change was important because of the huge greenhouse gas emissions and other environmental problems - including habitat destruction - associated with rearing cattle and other animals, the 68-year-old Indian economist, who is a vegetarian said.
The UN’s Food and Agriculture Organisation has estimated that meat production accounts for nearly a fifth of global greenhouse gas emissions. These are generated during the production of animal feeds, for example, while ruminants, particularly cows, emit methane, which is 23 times more effective as a global warming agent than carbon dioxide.
Pachauri was re-elected as the IPCC Chairman for the second time last week for six-year term. He has headed the organisation since 2002. The agency has also warned that meat consumption is set to double by the middle of the century. His comments are the most controversial advice yet provided by the panel on how individuals can help tackle global warning. The IPCC had last year earned a joint share of the Nobel Peace Prize with former US Vice-President Al Gore.