A plant-based diet can stop the 6th Mass extinction
The solution is in our hand
Figure 1 is the picture of Thanos in the film AVENGER 4: END GAME who wiped out half the life in the universe with the snap of his fingers. Thanos believed that the amount of life in the universe was unsustainable and would eventually destroy itself by consuming all resources. This idea is based on the theory in the 18th-century claiming that populations grow much faster than our food sources, and if growth remained unchecked it would eventually lead to societal collapse. Today, our generation worry about the effects of population growth on global warming and climate change, which lead to the Holocene extinction, otherwise referred to as the sixth mass extinction.
In the last half-billion years, life on Earth has been nearly wiped out five times due to climate change, intense ice age or volcanoes, obliterating the dinosaurs, and a bunch of other species. These events are known as the Big Five mass extinctions, and all signs suggest we are now on the precipice of a sixth. Human population growth and increasing per capita consumption are considered to be the primary drivers of this decline.
Human activities have taken our planet to the edge of massive wave of species extinction, further threatening our own well-being and the well-being of all future genneration — Millennium Ecosystem Assessment
1/ Species extinction by human exploitation mainly for food consumption
- The data from Ourworldindata showed that wild mammal biomass has declined by 85% since the rise of human civilizations. This was mainly driven by overhunting and habitat loss.
- Wild animals only make up 4% of the world’s mammals; humans account for 34%, and our livestock for 62%.
- More than 178 of the world’s largest species went extinct during the Quaternary Extinction. Overhunting was likely the main driver.
- One-quarter of the world’s mammal species are threatened with extinction. Most are in the tropics. Over the early 20th century, whaling led to a two-thirds decline in whale populations. But whaling rates have seen a dramatic decline in recent decades allowing some populations to begin recovery.
2/ Climate change and Global warming
Climate change is expected to be a major driver of extinctions from the 21st century. Climate change is occurring at an alarming rate. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) has projected significant increases in these impacts as warming continues to 1.5 °C (2.7 °F) and beyond. The main cause is the emission of greenhouse gases, mostly carbon dioxide (CO2) and methane emitted from human activities.
IPCC (2014) showed that heat-trapping greenhouse gases come from six sectors:
As you can see from this graph, Food, Agriculture & Land Use (AFOLU) sector is responsible for 24% of total Greenhouse Gas Emission, which is equivalent to Electricity Production (25%), higher than Industry (21%), nearly double Transporation (14%) and four-time more than Building (6%).
An article called “Livestock and Climate Change” published in the Nov/Dec 2009 on World Watch Magazine (a publication of the Worldwatch Institute) shows that livestock and their byproducts actually account for at least 32.6 billion tons of CO2e per year or 51% of annual worldwide GHG emissions.
When it comes to the climate crisis, animal agriculture is a leading culprit.
The Holocene extinction continues into the 21st century, with meat consumption being a primary driver of climate change.
“Animal products, both meat, and dairy, in general, require more resources and cause higher emissions than plant-based alternatives.” — A report from the United Nations Environment Programme
“Reducing livestock herds would also reduce emissions of methane, which is the second largest contributor to global warming after carbon dioxide.” — The World Health Organization says.
Animal agriculture is the top source of nutrient pollution:
Livestock production uses large quantities of fresh water and fertilizer for animals drinking and cleaning and also raising crops to feed them. Often applied to crops in excess, chemical fertilizers containing nitrogen and phosphorus seep into groundwater or are washed away as runoff. Manure from animal production, which is often used as fertilizer, contributes additional nitrogen and phosphorous. Stormwater runoff washes nutrients from residential lawns and impervious surfaces into nearby rivers and streams. Direct discharge of excrement, uneaten food, and other organic waste generates concentrated amounts of nitrogen and phosphorous in the waters surrounding fish farms. The annual Gulf of Mexico dead zone is primarily caused by excess nutrient pollution from human activities in urban and agricultural areas throughout the Mississippi River watershed (Figure 4)
Land clearance and the expansion of pastures and arable land for feed crops generate even bigger shares of emissions of methane (CH4) and nitrous oxide (N2O) with the greater potential to warm the atmosphere. As much as 35% of anthropogenic CH4, mostly from enteric fermentation by ruminants, and 65% of N2O, mostly from manure and nitrogen fertilizer management, are emitted to the atmosphere.
Deforested for animal agriculture:
According to statistical data from the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) until 2011, the world population uses approximately 50 percent of total habitable land for agriculture. The data show that if the global population adopt the average diet of countries like North America or Brazil, it would not be feasible on a global scale, even if we converted all habitable land to agriculture. We would have to deforest like Brazil which cut off 15% of Amazon forest and 80 % of deforested areas used for animal agriculture, almost all for beef production. Even we demolish all our cities, it would not be enough to feed the world as the world population keeps growing (11.2 billion by 2100) and the global rise of urbanization.
Meanwhile, there are countries where the diet is rich in plants that achieve equitable diets using less land than we currently do such as countries across South Asia, Sub-Saharan Africa, and some Latin American countries.
World hunger:
Moreover, as data from FAO, livestock takes up nearly 80% of global agricultural land, yet produces less than 20% of the world’s supply of calories (from meat & dairy, not including seafood). The remaining supply of calories comes from plant-based foods. Corn is the most widely produced feed grain in the United States (U.S.), accounting for more than 95 percent of total production and use. However, most of the corn crop provides the main energy ingredient in livestock feed. The paradox here is that 149 million children around the world under the age of 5 years were suffering from stunting (as statistical data from WHO in 2020). Around 45% of deaths among children under 5 years of age are linked to undernutrition. These mostly occur in low- and middle-income countries. What a waste of water, land use, and energy for a hungry planet!
United Nations Climate Change Conference is annually organized to establish legally binding obligations for developed countries to reduce their greenhouse gas emissions. It seems a big problem only solved by governments or big institutions. But it is not true.
Every individual has roles to play in this great transformation, and the solution depends on what we consume in three meals per day.
SOLUTION is in our hands:
Founded in 2014, Project Drawdown is a nonprofit organization that seeks to help the world reach “Drawdown” — the future point in time when levels of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere stop climbing and start to steadily decline. It is a critical turning point for life on Earth — one we must reach as quickly, safely, and equitably as possible.
Climate solutions are interconnected as a system. “Drawdown Project” provides many climate solutions that combine and co-operate, leveraging or enabling others for the greatest impact. Many climate solutions focus on reducing and eliminating fossil fuel emissions, but others are needed too. By shifting diets and addressing food waste, the global demand for food can significantly drop. Eating lower on the food chain (eating mostly plants) and ensuring what’s grown gets eaten is a powerful combination that lowers farming inputs, land clearing, and all associated emissions.
- Reduce food waste: Roughly a third of the world’s food is never eaten, which means land and resources used and greenhouse gases emitted in producing it were unnecessary. Interventions can reduce loss and waste, as food moves from farm to fork, thereby reducing overall demand.
=> CO2-eq (Gt) reduced/sequestered (2020–2050) will range from 86.7 to 93.8 billion tons (2020–2050).
2. Plant-rich diet: Consumption of meat and dairy, as well as overall calories, often exceeds nutritional recommendations. A plant-rich diet is associated with less deforestation, burping cattle, and greenhouse gas emissions.
=> Minimum and maximum CO2-eq (GT) reduced/sequestered (2020–2050) will be 64.8 and 91.5 billion tons (2020–2050).
Change our diet from animal-based to plant-based:
The reality is that what we eat in daily meals and how we eat affect directly to the environment, global warming, and climate change. In fact, a study published in New Scientist magazine shows that each person can reduce the amount of greenhouse gases that his/her diet contributes to climate change by up to 30% if this person consumes a 50% plant-based diet and cuts down 60% GHG just by going vegan.
In more detail, if someone eating more than 100 grams of meat a day simply cut down to less than 50 grams a day, their food-related emissions would fall by a third. That would save almost a tonne of CO2 each year, about as much as an economy return flight between London and New York. We do not fly every day but we eat several times a day. Eating less meat is more efficient than any energy-saving activity and much easier and cheaper!
In conclusion, decreasing meat and dairy intake is the main solution to reduce environmental pollution, prevent climate change and take time for the ecosystem to be regenerated from damages. Changing from a meat-based diet to a fully plant-based diet is the best ideal. However, a plant-rich diet with 5% to 10% bacon or baked chicken will also be nice to the environment!
For Thanos, he doesn't have to sacrifice his lovers, fight with the Avenger teams and become the enemy of the whole world to save humanity from extinction. What really saves the world is going vegan!!!
It’s so easy.
Everyone can do it.
Let’s Start TODAY!
Sources:
(1) Millennium Ecosystem Assessment https://www.millenniumassessment.org/documents/document.429.aspx.pdf
(2) Biomass of mammals https://ourworldindata.org/mammals
(3) IPCC (2014). Climate change 2014: Mitigation of climate change. Contribution of Working Group III to the fifth assessment report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Cambridge University Press. https://www.ipcc.ch/report/ar5/wg3/
(4) https://ourworldindata.org/agricultural-land-by-global-diets
(5) Cattle ranching in the Amazon rainforest https://www.researchgate.net/publication/228451423_Cattle_ranching_in_the_Amazon_rainforest
(6) World Population Prospect https://population.un.org/wpp/Publications/Files/WPP2017_KeyFindings.pdf
(7) Nutrient pollution https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0065211316301080
(8) http://www.fao. org/agriculture/lead/themes0/climate/en/
