12 Years Til Planetary Destruction

Nov 4th

We can no longer justify our meat consumption:

The science is in, there is no doubt that we have less than 12 years to change the way we live on this planet! No kidding! Since 2006, the UN has been telling us that the only sustainable way of feeding the world is through small scale, organic, plant based farming. With this year's UN meeting in Poland taking place, we can only hope that governments will start to heed these calls seriously.

According to the UN report on OECD countries and meat consumption in 2017, Kiwis ranked amongst the highest of world-wide meat eaters, consuming 72.2 kg of farmed land animals. We also have one of the highest Green House Gas emissions rates per capita, that is due entirely to our animal agriculture.

With the explosion of reports such as this, we can no longer adopt a “head in the sand” approach. We cannot continue to ignore the most inconvenient truth “Meat and dairy consumption is unsustainable and must be reduced”. The single biggest contribution any individual can make right now to stop climate change is to go stop the products of animal agriculture .

In the light of these reports, we are calling on the government to make considerable changes to the way we farm and look at animal agriculture in this country. We need to incentivise and make the transition for farmers to plant-based farming, as easy and as soon as possible. We also call upon the Ministry for Health to examine it's dietary requirement guidelines, in line with modern medical research.

Some good news is that Kiwis don't have to wait for the government to create changes, each can make changes themselves. As Jane Goodall says “You make a difference” and what bigger difference can you make than by changing what you eat? It is huge, the carbon footprint of a plant-based vegan is less than 1/6 that of a meat eater!

“If our governments will not commit to saving the planet for future generations, then individuals must”, said Claire Insley, Media Spokesperson for the Vegan Society Aotearoa. “ The simplest thing that is in your control is what you eat, so make that choice plant-based, more often than you make it animal-based and you will reap the health rewards and the whole world will benefit”

The Vegan Society Aotearoa offers resources especially for Kiwis that show them how to try vegan. The 21 day challenge sends encouraging and informative emails every day to guide challengees through shopping, recipes, meal times, tips and tricks towards easy plant-based eating.

www.tryvegan.org.nz

ENDS

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