Greenhouse Gas Emissions

According to Livestock’s Long Shadow, a groundbreaking 2006 United Nations report, raising animals for food causes more global warming than all the cars, trucks and other transportation in the world combined. This is due to a number of factors, including the greenhouse gases emitted from the manure, belching, and flatulence of billions of farmed animals.

"We must reconsider our agricultural practices and how we manage our water resources, with agriculture and livestock raising accounting for 70% of fresh water use and up to 80% of deforestation"

- Secretary-General of the United Nations, Ban Ki-moon

Deforestation caused by the expansion of grazing and the growing of animal feed also causes global warming, as a result of several reasons, one of which is the simple fact that the trees are no longer there to absorb the CO2 from the atmosphere.

The burning of fossil fuels used to produce the massive amount of feed crops, to heat and cool the buildings that house the animals, and to transport, process, and refrigerate the meat also contributes to the problem.

Livestock industry's contributing gases include:

• 9% of CO2 (carbon dioxide)


• 37% of CH4 (methane) - 23 times the Global Warming Potential of CO2 over 100 years, 72 times over 20 years


• 65% of N2O (nitrous oxide) - 296 times the Global Warming Potential of CO2 over 100 years, 275 times over 20 years

A report published by the Worldwatch Institute called Livestock and Climate Change, released in October of 2009, calculated that livestock emissions account for over 51% of the world's total greenhouse gases, emitting over 32.6 billion tons emission in carbon dioxide equivalent. This is more than total global transportation emissions (13.5%) and all the fossil fuel power stations combined.

Save Our Natural Resources

“If anyone wants to save the planet, all they have to do is just stop eating meat. It’s staggering when you think about it. Vegetarianism takes care of so many things in one shot: ecology, famine, cruelty.”

—Sir Paul McCartney

Feeding large amounts of grain to farmed animals in order to produce a small amount of meat is a waste of limited resources. Raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems at every scale from local to global” — United Nations

Consider this:

• Amount of U.S. grain fed to farm animals: 70%


• Pounds of corn and soy required to produce just one pound of pork: nearly 7


• Water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 14 gallons


• Water needed to produce a pound of beef: 441 gallons


• Of all water used for all purposes in the United States, more than half goes to: livestock production


• Threatened and endangered species imperiled directly by livestock grazing: 161


• Amount of farmed animal manure produced in the United States: 5 tons of waste for every person.

Save Disappearing Species

The United Nations reports that, “the livestock sector may well be the leading player in the reduction of biodiversity, since it is the major driver of deforestation, as well as one of the leading drivers of land degradation, pollution, climate change, overfishing, sedimentation of coastal areas and facilitation of invasions by alien species.”

Livestock grazing leads to the destruction of rainforest, and with it, the extinction of over half of the world’s animal and plant species.

Pollution from animal farms is destroying the world’s oceans. Nitrogen from animal faeces and fertilizer causes massive increases in algal growth, which in turn leaves little oxygen for other sea life. In many areas, virtually all the sea animals and plants have died.

Fish farms produce massive amounts of faeces, fish carcasses and antibiotics which cause the ocean floor to rot and toxify. Pollution and over-fishing cause diminished food supply for sea animals. The health of whales and other sea creatures is deteriorating.

The disappearance of 65 amphibian species in Central and South America has a direct correlation to global warming.

Animal species like antelopes; tortoises and birds found only on the southern tip of Africa will not be able to move farther south if the warming becomes unbearable. Over two-thirds of bird species in Australia and more than one-third of those in Europe could simply be wiped off the face of the Earth.

From Crisis to Peace

At conferences, in interviews with journalists and at gatherings with disciples in recent years, Supreme Master Ching Hai has spoken with increasing urgency about Earth's current climate crisis.

As she states, "Our planet is a house that is burning. If we don't work together with a united spirit to put out the fire, we will not have a home anymore."

But she also offers humankind an uplifting solution, one that every individual can easily achieve: "Be veg to save the planet."

As the crisis escalates, natural disasters are claiming tens of thousands of lives and displacing millions from their homes, with financial losses amounting to billions of dollars. Rising sea levels have already submerged many islands and are threatening the existence of several island nations. In addition, irregular rainfall patterns and intensifying droughts are affecting many regions, thus worsening food and water shortages. And climate experts warn of even more extreme weather conditions to come, with the possibility of "runaway global warming."

In this book Supreme Master Ching Hai presents the major factors associated with global warming, and more importantly, its root cause: the livestock industry.

This book contains unabridged excerpts from Supreme Master's talks at international conferences and gatherings with disciples, as well as from interviews with journalists.

Let us all seize the opportunity and make the change today. Let us all choose to evolve and elevate our civilization and the planet.

Find out more information on Supreme Master Ching Hai's latest book: "From Crisis for Peace, The Organic Way Vegan is the Answer"

http://www.crisis2peace.org/

Organic Vegan: The Complete Solution

Organic farming uses less energy and water than conventional methods of growing foods. It does not use pesticide or chemical fertilizer and is thus much more sustainable for the environment and protective of our health, both in its production stages as well as in the consumption of the final wholesome organic product. Organic agriculture also uses less fossil fuel with a consequent reduction in greenhouse gases.

According to the Foodwatch report on the greenhouse effect of conventional and organic farming in Germany, compared to the conventional omnivore diet:

• An organic [meat-based] diet produces 8% savings in greenhouse gases emissions


• An animal-free, vegan diet produces less than 1/7 the greenhouse gases emissions of a meat diet - 86% savings in GHG emissions.


• An organic vegan diet produces 94% savings in greenhouse gases emissions

A plant-strong vegan diet consisting of food grown organically is the most effective individual and collective contribution to ending climate change, desertification, ocean decline, hunger and biodiversity loss, while also bringing economic, health and other benefits to ourselves, the planet, and our co-inhabitants; and all served with the greatest and most precious ingredient available in our hearts’ harvest – Love!