Transcript Assumes global warming potential = 68

Eliminating Meat & Dairy
The fastest, most cost effective way to reducing 1 billion
tons of emissions out of the atmosphere per year
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Table of Contents
 Methane: An under appreciated emissions time bomb
 Meat, Dairy and Global Warming
 Biofuels don’t cause starvation, meat does
 Vegetarian diets use less water
 Call to Action: Proposal for $25 million Virgin Earth
Challenge emissions reduction award
Methane
An Under Appreciated Time Bomb
 Reducing Methane: the fastest way to
take heat out of the atmosphere
 Reducing meat & dairy consumption:
the cheapest, fastest way to reduce
methane
Methane being collected from a cow
Methane Reduction:
Buys us time in fight
against global warming
“...many of us are saying if you want to make an impact
soon, slow down the melting of the glaciers, slow down the
rise of the sea level, and so on, give us more time to deal
with things, give us, society, more time, shouldn’t you
work more on methane?”
Kirk R. Smith, MPH, PhD
Professor of Global Environmental Health
University of California, Berkeley
Source: Interview with Supreme Master Television
Methane:
Key To Rapid Emissions Reductions
“The mitigation of non-carbon dioxide (Non-CO2)
greenhouse gas emissions can be a relatively inexpensive
supplement to CO2-only mitigation strategies.”
“Methane Mitigation has the largest potential across all
the Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases.”
US Environmental Protection Agency
Global Mitigation of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases
June 2006
“Control of methane emissions
turns out to be a more powerful
lever to control global warming
than would be anticipated.”
Drew Shindell, PhD
Atmospheric Physicist
NASA Goddard Institute for Space Studies
Source: NASA/Goddard Report:
Methane’s Impact on Climate Change May Be
Twice Previous Estimates
Methane: A more potent gas
over shorter periods
Methane 23 times hotter than CO2
(100 yr time period)
Methane GWP est. = 23
Methane 68 times hotter than CO2
(20 yr time period)
Methane GWP est. = 68
Methane’s global warming potential (GWP) is greater over shorter time periods due to
a shorter atmospheric lifetime (12 years vs 1000 years for CO2)
Source: US Environmental Protection Agency Report: Global Mitigation of Non-CO2 Greenhouse Gases, IPCC
Billions of tons (CO2 Equivalents)
1 billion tons of methane*
will dissipate faster than 1 billion
tons of CO2
Source: IPCC
Carbon Dioxide Remaining
Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of
Human – Cause Methane Emissions
Globally (37%)
Methane from Meat & Dairy = Manure + Enteric Fermentation
United Kingdom
#1 Livestock (43%)
#2 Landfill (18%)
#3 Oil & Gas (17%)
Germany
#1 Livestock (62%)
#2 Landfill (13%)
#3 Oil & Gas (17%)
Source: US Environmental Protection Agency, UN FAO
United States
#1 Livestock (30%)
#2 Landfill (25%)
#3 Oil & Gas (24%)
Being Vegan 1 day per week eliminates
1 billion tons of methane
Billions of tons of emissions saved per year
(in CO2 equivalents) *
Note: Does not include emissions reductions for CO2 or Nitrous Oxide
*In CO2 equivalents over 20 years with an estimated GWP of 68
Source: UN FAO, Livestock’s Long Shadow, IPCC
Meat, Dairy
& Global Warming
(other emissions)
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Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of all
Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas
Emissions (24%)
Assumes global warming potential = 68
Emissions from Livestock
67% from
Meat, Dairy
 Methane: 37%
 Carbon Dioxide: 9%
 Nitrous Oxide: 67%
36% from
Meat, Dairy
9% from Meat, Dairy
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization & UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change
Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of all
Human-Caused Greenhouse Gas
Emissions (24%)
Assumes global warming potential = 68
Global Warming Potential = 23
Global Warming Potential = 68
The UN FAO states the livestock industry causes 18% of global warming --- over a 100 year time frame.
Over a shorter time period, meat and dairy are responsible for 24% of global warming due to the higher
global warming potential of methane over shorter periods of time.
Assume Methane Global Warming Potential = 23 @100 years, 68 @ 20 years
Source: UN Food and Agriculture Organization & IPCC estimates
Meat & Dairy: Cause 9 % of Global
Carbon Dioxide Emissions
CO2 release from cultivated soil
Fertilizer manufacture
On farm fuel use
Desertification
Deforestation and other land use change
Annual tons of CO2 Emissions from Livestock (millions of tons)
Source: Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food & Agriculture Organization, Nov. 2006
Stop eating Meat & Dairy to halt 30% of
Tropical Rainforest Deforestation
CO2 release from cultivated soil
Fertilizer manufacture
On farm fuel use
If we want to halt
tropical rainforest
deforestation in
Latin America, stop
eating animal
products.
Desertification
Deforestation and other land use change
Annual tons of CO2 Emissions from Livestock (millions of tons)
Source: Livestock’s Long Shadow, UN Food & Agriculture Organization, Nov. 2006
Meat & Dairy: #1
Source of all
Human-Caused
Nitrous Oxide
(67%)
 Nitrous oxide is released from
manure and from nitrogen fertilizers
used in growing feed crops for
animals
 The manure and nitrous oxide flow
out the rivers and into the ocean,
where they are a significant
contributor to the oceans dead
zones
 Nitrous Oxide is 296 times more
potent than CO2 & dissipates in 114
years
Meat & Dairy: #1 Source of all
Human-Caused Nitrous Oxide (67%)
Biofuels Don’t Cause
Starvation
meat does
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Biofuels don’t cause starvation
Meat does
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Every 2.3 seconds, a child dies from
malnutrition
The 760 million tonnes of grain fed to
animals could feed 2 billion people, so
could cover the global food shortage
14 times over
1 ha produces potatoes to support 22
people
1 ha produces rice to support 19
people
1 ha produces lamb to support 2
people
1 ha produces beef to support 1 person
800 million hungry – 1 billion obese
Source: UNICEF, World Health Organization, UN Food and Agriculture Organization, Earth Policy Institute
Biofuels don’t cause starvation
Meat does
Number of People on the Planet (2007):
6.7 billion
2007/08 Global Grain Crop Production:
2109 million metric tons
Global hunger happens when the impoverished compete for grain with animals fed to the wealthy.
Biofuels play only a small role.
Source: UN Food & Agriculture Organization, World Food Organization
Vegetarian Diets
Use Less Water
than meat diets
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Vegetarian Diets use less water
than Meat Diets
S Global Warming Threatens our
already-dwindling water supply
S Africa water availability in 2025
forecast to be < 50% of 1990
levels
S US Southwest – Lake Mead
(serving 23 million people with
water) forecast to be dry by
2021.
S Spain fining people €9,000 for
watering flowers
Vegetarian
Diets use less
Water than
Meat Diets
S 70% water usage by
agriculture;10% is used at
home, and 20% by industry.
S 19,737 litres of water are
needed to produce one pound
of beef in California. This is
enough to take a 7 minute
shower everyday for an entire
year.
Source: Stockholm International Water Institute,
University of California-Davis, UN Food & Agriculture
Organization
Vegetarian Diets use
less water than
Meat Diets
WATER
S An entire vegan meal uses 371
litres of water
S One average serving of chicken
uses 1,249 litres
S One serving of beef 4,664 litres
Source: Water Inputs in California Food Production, University of California - Davis
Call to Action
 Together we can work together to make the world a better place
 Invest money in eliminating meat & dairy
 to save the environment
 to feed the hungry
 to ensure adequate water resources
 Via...
 Ending all subsidies on meat, dairy and feedstocks
 Providing only vegan meals on Virgin Airlines
 Tax on meat and dairy
 Ban the sale of meat and dairy in all government institutions
 Include agriculture emissions in emissions reduction plans
 Label all meat & dairy in supermarkets & restaurants with emissions
levels
 Encourage all citizens to eat vegan
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For more information, please see:
www.SupremeMasterTV.com
www.MeatTheFacts.org
www.EcoFoodPrint.org