Creation Care: Changing your diet to help the planet
by the Rev. Kevin McGrane,
Creation Care Ministry Chair
How many animals do you eat per year?
According to the recent research, individual Americans eat the following amount of animals each year:
- 23 chickens
- 1/3 of a pig
- 1/10 of a steer
- 3/4 of a turkey
- 12 fish
- 137 shellfish (mostly shrimp)
- a small amount of duck *
Increasingly, people are aware that industrial meat production, from farm to table, contributes to climate change. One study found that the meat diet listed above produces 59% more carbon emissions than a vegetarian diet. A whopping 92% of us eat a carnivore diet - that is 299-million of us.
No one expects us all to turn vegetarian tomorrow, or ever. But it is possible for people to “go veg” one day a week, reducing the emissions from a meat diet by 14%. Reducing the emissions from the diet of 325 million people by 14% is a significant impact on climate change while we work towards the goal of elimination of fossil fuel. Once we eliminate fossil fuel from our society, maybe we can go back to eating bacon for breakfast seven days a week.
Consider how you might “go veg” one day a week, or one meal per day. You can find thousands of delicious recipes on the internet to try out. You can help make an impact on climate change with an intentional act right there at your kitchen table.
* “Meat/Less from VOX; 1-6-2022
<https://www.vox.com/22842911/
Tags: News / Creation Care
Priest-in-Charge, Trinity Episcopal Church, St. James and Diocesan Creation Care Missioner
