We have to eat less meat

Have just read the book "We are the weather" by Jonathan Safran Foer, a fantastic and well-written book on what one best can do to save our planet.

This book is a book I hoped would have written, if I could write, Jonathan Safran Foer can, so he wrote it instead. That is enough. Somebody has to write it.

Many environmental protests and environment savers build their fight for the saving of the earth on guilt and stupid actions like blocking the traffic and fighting against cars and aircraft.

I have always thought that was the wrong way to go.

Cars and aircraft are here to stay, we can use them less than we do now, but we can't remove them. Not all cars, they are needed now and in the future for transport.

What we can do is find better and cleaner ways to power them, and that is going on. If we can reduce the carbon dioxide the cars produce by building and driving them they aren't the biggest issue for our planet.

Electric cars are one way, perhaps you say.

I say no. Not yet.

Producing batteries for electric cars are not environmentally healthy, producing an electric car makes a higher fingerprint on the environment than producing a car on gasoline or diesel.

Driving an electric car is better for our Earth.

But!

That depends on how the energy is produced for the batteries, still, there is a lot of energy produced from coal in the world and coal is not producing any healthy energy. Coal has a high environmental impact.

We have to lower the emission of carbon dioxide, that is a fact.

The greenhouse effect depends on that.

But not only the carbon dioxide from transport. And we have to transport ourselves and other things.

30 years ago I decided to not eat meat, it was a health decision only, I tried to reduce my meat consumption for a while and realized that I was feeling better. I wasn't so tired after a meal and had more energy.

So I chose to quit eating meat. I have never missed meat since then. Not at all.

Though I have never called myself a vegetarian, I have called myself a non-meat eater.

To call oneself a vegetarian is a statement, I think, for me, it wasn't a statement. It was strictly a selfish choice.

I wanted to feel good.

And I still use milk in my coffee, and I love cheese.

Now I know better.

Meat production is a big issue for the greenhouse effect.

In the whole world, we eat about 50 kg of meat per person and year. The biggest consumption is in the USA with about 120 kg of meat per person per year, the lowest in India with less than 10 kg per person.

Meat production is as large as the transport section when it comes to the greenhouse effect, and some say it is even larger.

And not only meat, but all animal products are also an issue to the environment and the greenhouse effect.

Milk, cheese, butter, cream, and so on are topics for environmental health.

Cows and sheep produce methane gases, methane gas is a part of the greenhouse effect.

Feces and manure produced by the animals are also a part.

Large pieces of Amazonas are reduced for meat production.

Amazonas is a large carbon dioxide consumer for oxygen production.

So the meat production has to be lowered.

You don't have to be a vegetarian or vegan.

Not at all.

You don't have to make a statement.

But if we all reduce our meat intake, milk, and other products from animals, we would do very much for the greenhouse effect.

You don't have to stop eating or drinking products from animals, but not do it on every meal.

We eat more protein, mostly from meat, than we need for our body and our health. As much as 120 kg a year per person is far too much. There is also a lot of protein in several plants if you think you need much protein.

And read the book "We are the weather" by Jonathan Safran Foer, and you will learn a lot about meat production and the issues we have as humans to rescue our world.

And we have to.

We all have to make an effort for planet Earth to survive.