Save planet by giving up meat (From York Press)

Save planet by giving up meat

8:44am Friday 22nd September 2006 in Letters By Reader's letter

WHILE I am glad to see that the issue of global warming is again making headlines nationally and locally, it is lamentable that your feature (Global warming? Let's talk about it, September 20) overlooks the single most important step people could take to save the environment. That is simply to stop eating meat.

It is staggeringly inefficient to grow animals for food. While people should be applauded for taking energy-saving steps such as those mentioned in your article - only boiling as much water as you need etc - these measures pale in comparison to the energy savings that could be made from not raising animals for food.

The massive overuse of resources, the water and air pollution along with soil erosion, is rarely mentioned; yet factory farming is ruining our land and commercial fishing is doing likewise to oceanic ecosystems.

You cannot pretend to care about the environment if you eat meat, it is that simple.

The only mention in your article of livestock is that they may suffer more with global warming, but it is growing animals for food that is damaging the planet as much as any other activity we undertake. As a concept it's right up there in the irony league tables along with pro-life campaigners killing doctors.

Good luck to the Stockholm Environment Institute with its Climate Talk campaign; persuading the over-50s to change their ways will not be an easy task.

Robert Ackroyd, Huntington Road, York.