At this point in the series, we turn to action - what we can do to mitigate and/or adapt to the changing climate. And last time, I said we would start with what we eat.
As a person who has been on semi-permanent diet for what seems like forever, I am intensely conscious of what I eat. In a land of diabetics, I suspect many of us are.
But are we really conscious?
Are we thoughtful of what we eat or is it merely the portion size and calorie content that catches our attention? If we are thoughtful, perhaps we should ask ourselves some questions.
What am I eating? Where is it from? How is it produced? How is it prepared? How does it impact the planet? When are we eating it - that is, is it “in season”? What about the waste?
These are important questions: both for our health and the health of the planet.
So let us start with what we eat.
What do we eat? Why is this important?
Would it surprise you to know that greenhouse gas emissions from the livestock sector alone are estimated to be ~14% of total global emissions, more than the direct emissions from the transport sector? But while many of us know that improving the fuel average of our car or taking the bus will help mitigate climate change, few of us, I suspect, think of what we eat playing a major role in exacerbating climate change.
There is another reason for agriculture and specifically the livestock sector’s importance in the climate change debate. We have seen that the changing climate will put intense pressure on our water resources, so optimising our water use is critical. We hear the refrain constantly in our lives “Turn off the tap; don’t waste water”. High end luxury hotels wear their “greenness” on their sleeves by asking us to opt to reuse our towels or linens while serving menus overflowing with offseason vegetables and exotic meats. These cosmetic measures are worse than useless; unless we target and reduce water use in agriculture, we are, to quote a former colleague, rearranging the deck chairs on the Titanic in our battle to conserve water. Why? Agriculture consumes more than 85% of the water we use.
Agriculture impacts the water system in several ways. First, the choice of crop or livestock (some take up a lot of water, some a lot less). However, because water is not priced appropriately, farmers decide which crop to grow based on other considerations. Second, the technology used in growing crops: often technologies such as drip irrigation, building check dams or farm ponds, using the SRI method of rice propagation etc. save water but do not make commercial sense for farmers because water is considered free. Third is the scale of post-harvest waste in the agricultural supply chain. In countries like India, waste occurs near the point of production as poor storage facilities or cold chain infrastructure causes food to rot. India loses half its production of fruits and vegetables and substantial portions of its grain, milk and meat to waste- wasting with it the man power, water, fuels, fertilizers and pesticides used to grow, protect and transport them.
Recommendations to price water or redesign the food distribution system are out of scope of this series. But, what can we personally do? The easiest way to lower our impact on the climate and adapt to a warmer and dryer world is to eat less meat and thus impact the farmer’s choice of crop. Why is that? Calorie for Calorie or gram for gram, meat takes more water to grow than vegetables. Beef takes 112 Litres of water to provide a gram of protein, compared to the 34 Litres that chicken takes to do the same or the miniscule 19 Litres for pulses to provide a gram of protein. While strident environmentalists may advocate going vegan, all of us, all at once, that solution is not practical. As we become wealthier as a nation, we aspire to the “better” life - which includes increasing the amount of meat in our diets. And surveys show that people’s eating choices are guided by more immediate reasons - taste, cost, aspirations - rather than a need to act for the societal good. But the same surveys also show that when people are aware that their eating choices impact the climate, they are willing to change, especially in countries like India. So perhaps we do not go vegan all at once. Just substituting one out of three meals of red meat with chicken or pulses could be the first step in a long journey.
Climaction is a fortnightly column that is published in MetroPlus Weekend on alternate Fridays. The next article in this series will appear on June 1.
Feedback and questions may be e-mailed to climaction2015@gmail.com
Mridula Ramesh is the Executive Director of Sundaram Textiles. She is also a student and teacher of global warming.
