Think of the planet welfare by ditching meat from your table

Very few people think about food-related emissions as they journal their dietary food choices at the beginning of the year. This is despite the contribution of dietary choices to greenhouse gases continuing to have a high impact on the environment.

While most conversations on climate change have centred on industrialisation, agriculture and how countries can reduce their carbon footprint, the role of food choices in the climate crisis are often downplayed.

Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO) statistics indicate that meat consumption in Kenya is set to spike by 70 per cent by 2050 due to increased population. But most people are ignorant about meat consumption and its carbon footprint.

GLOBAL WARMING

It is also argued that if our planet, Earth, gets two degrees Celsius warmer, we will all be in trouble — with dire consequences of more seasons of drought, floods and extreme heat.

Simply put, now more than ever, we need to start being responsible for our individual actions on global warming.

As we focus on the food we eat locally, think about this. A spicy plate of fried beef served with any accompaniment you might want — from ugali (maize meal eaten in East and Central Africa) to coconut rice. What comes to your mind first?

We live in a society that is concerned about what the food we eat does to our waistline and wallet. We are bombarded with diet fad after diet fad that promises slim waists and flawless skin. Rarely are environmental and sustainability concerns factored into food choices.

The truth is that food plays a significant role in the status of global warming. At 40 per cent of the total in 2015, agriculture contributes the most to Kenya’s greenhouse gas emissions. The livestock sector particularly contributes more than half of the agricultural emissions, mainly methane gas from cattle.

To put this in perspective, livestock production alone is equivalent to emissions from all transportation (trucks, planes, ships, tuk-tuks, cars, buses, et cetera) combined.

LEAST EMISSION

Let’s examine that piece of nyama choma (barbecued meat). Just how did it get to your plate and what are the associated emissions from the farm where the animal came from to your plate? This is the typical process: Selection of a bull, slaughter house, market and lastly, the consumer.

In the entire process, there are emissions of greenhouse gases from the cattle and the diesel-powered machinery to transportation to the slaughter house and, eventually, the steak that ends up on your plate at home. Not to mention the massive amount of energy needed to preserve the meat by freezing it.

In essence, different foods have different associated carbon emissions. It is largely believed that beef and lamb pack the biggest percentage of carbon as far as the associated emissions are concerned, with 330 grammes of carbon dioxide (CO2) per serving, more than six times as much as chicken, at 52g.

Fish, at 40g of CO2 per serving, has the least emission of any meat but vegetables average 2g.

Your plate of spicy fried beef doesn’t only come with increased carbon emission considerations; the methane from cattle is 25 times more potent to the atmosphere than CO2. This means that it is 25 times more destructive and harder to get rid of.

Now that we can see that meat consumption has high emissions and poses the greatest risk to the environment, what solutions are there for those who would want to make a difference in the fight against climate change? And do we, then, boycott beef?

MEAT PRODUCTS

As with everything else in life, the solution is all in moderation. We can reduce portions as well as the frequency of eating meat.

Without changes in our food consumption, environmental impacts of the food system is likely to keep rising, and much of this is attributable to diets rich in meat products. Reducing meat intake, even by just going down to one meal a week, is not only good for the environment but your health as well.

Further, there exists other options of diverse foods such as legumes, vegetables and fruits, which are healthy for your diet and also friendly to the planet. Studies have even shown that adjusting our diets can actually help to reduce global emissions by 2050. This is equivalent to taking about one billion cars off the road by the same time period.

We can’t all be part of the policymaking teams at the UN, afford electric cars or even install solar panels on our rooftops. But we can make better food choices.

That may seem like a small contribution to the fight for a cleaner planet but it actually makes a huge impact.

Ms Otolo is a programme officer, Carbon Credits, Hivos East Africa. [email protected]