Livestock contributes 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions, according to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization. It also causes land degradation, and is a remarkably ineffective way of producing calories in a world plagued by increasingly severe droughts: it takes about 2,5000 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef; by contrast, one pound of wheat requires 25 gallons of water from seed to harvested grain. Not only does meat production require a lot of water, but it also pollutes the little bit we have left. In the U.S., for instance, it is responsible for the nitrate pollution of groundwater, causing significant public health damage. In this context, it is not small news that the Dietary Guidelines Advisory Committee, a federally appointed panel of nutritionists, decided to factor in environmental sustainability in its recommendations. Its new federal dietary guidelines? Eat less meat because it’s better for you… and for the environment. We have come a long way since Frances Moore Lappé’s seminal book Diet for a Small Planet. The meat industry may be kicking and screaming in outrage, but kudos to the members of the committee for officially connecting the dots between public and environmental health.
New federal dietary guidelines take aim at meat for environmental reasons
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