Essay by Eric Worrall

“… Unless humans rapidly change mass food production systems, including eating less beef and dairy, emissions from the sector could add nearly 1 degree to global temperatures by 2100 …”

The food we eat is ramping up global warming, study warns

By Mark Saunokonoko • Senior Journalist
8:51am Mar 7, 2023

Unless humans rapidly change mass food production systems, including eating less beef and dairy, emissions from the sector could add nearly 1 degree to global temperatures by 2100, a study has warned.

If that modelling is accurate, the 1.5 degrees target in the Paris Agreement which called for countries to take concerted action to reduce greenhouse gas emissions is in peril.

Global food consumption alone could boost warming by almost 1 degree by the end of this century, researchers from Columbia University in the US said.

…

Read more: https://www.9news.com.au/national/the-food-we-eat-could-add-nearly-1-c-to-global-warming-by-2100/acc958cd-a45c-4918-b0be-82465be2bb88

The abstract of the study;

Published: 06 March 2023

Future warming from global food consumption

Catherine C. Ivanovich, Tianyi Sun, Doria R. Gordon & Ilissa B. Ocko 

Nature Climate Change (2023)Cite this article

Abstract

Food consumption is a major source of greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, and evaluating its future warming impact is crucial for guiding climate mitigation action. However, the lack of granularity in reporting food item emissions and the widespread use of oversimplified metrics such as CO₂ equivalents have complicated interpretation. We resolve these challenges by developing a global food consumption GHG emissions inventory separated by individual gas species and employing a reduced-complexity climate model, evaluating the associated future warming contribution and potential benefits from certain mitigation measures. We find that global food consumption alone could add nearly 1 °C to warming by 2100. Seventy five percent of this warming is driven by foods that are high sources of methane (ruminant meat, dairy and rice). However, over 55% of anticipated warming can be avoided from simultaneous improvements to production practices, the universal adoption of a healthy diet and consumer- and retail-level food waste reductions.

Read more: https://www.nature.com/articles/s41558-023-01605-8

In my opinion, based on my personal experience, a mandatory switch to a vegetarian diet would kill a lot of people.

A while ago, I had a personal health crisis – I was putting on too much weight, and my blood pressure was climbing into the danger zone.

I had to lose weight or suffer the consequences. But how does a long term fat guy lose weight and keep the weight off?

My doctor said “meat is your friend”. Some of my friends said “I’m thin because I eat meat, and very little veg”.

I gave it a try – and it worked. I’ve lost heaps of weight, all my health metrics are back in the green again, or out of the red zone at least.

Meat works for me because I don’t feel hungry, which was the downfall of all the other diets I’ve tried over the years. I eat as much meat as I want, and still lose weight. The only rule I have to stick to is to avoid carb rich food, avoid potatoes, bread, corn and pasta (OK, maybe I break the rule once or twice per week – but not every day, like I used to).

So my response to anyone who demands that I surrender my lifeline to health and wellbeing, the one diet out of all the diets I tried which finally delivered results, a diet which is also helping some of my friends, to prevent one miserable degree of global warming by the end of the century, is you can take your climate concern and shove it… I think you know the rest of that phrase. And I suspect a lot of people in my situation would feel the same.