Wednesday, May 7, 2008

Meetings and Meat Things

Hundreds of omnivores have gathered at UN CSD 16. We must acknowledge that the extent of prosperity amongst the delegates is not representative to that of the average global citizen.

By: Maayke Damen and Don Gerritsen, Dutch Youth Representatives

Country representatives reiterate that the world is currently witnessing rising incomes of middlemen in several developing countries. As people achieve rising incomes, their ability to purchase more products, and those of higher quality, increases.

Food products are a good example of this phenomenon. Purchasing higher quality foods means altering from traditional, low cost food such as wheat and rice to meat products such as beef, poultry and pig. Meat consumption patterns vary around the world. The average worldwide consumption of meat is 31 kg pp per year. Americans currently consume approximately 124 kg pp per year. And Bangladesh consumes 3 kg per person. However, meat consumption around the world is growing at an incredible pace.

Economic development is in essence excellent for the well-being of a country's citizens. But it could simultaneously have an enormous impact on the world's environmental systems. One of the problems regarding meat is the amount of land required for its production. In the Netherlands, 20.9 m2 of land is required to produce 1 kg of beef, just for feed and other inputs. Let alone the enormous increase in water use.

If every person on the planet were to consume the same amount of meat as the average American and all land was used at the same technological way as land in the Netherlands, meat production alone would account for 30% of the world's potentially arable land, which is at least 4 times as much as is currently being used.

But the land is urgently needed for food crops, especially with the current food crisis.

Furthermore, cow owners in the European Union receive a subsidy of approximately 800 dollars anually per cow. This contrasts with the fact that poor people in Africa receive a mere 8 dollars per person per year.

Land availability is not the only problem. Greenhouse gas emissions and energy requirements also pose potential difficulties. For example, production of one kg of beef requires the equivalent of 14.8 kg of CO2. As a comparison, one gallon of gasoline emits approximately 2.4 kg of CO2. Consuming one kg of beef thus has a similar impact on the environment as 6.2 gallons of gasoline, or driving 160 miles on the highway in an average American mid-size car.

The current cycle of the CSD provides countries with an excellent opportunity to discuss this topic now. If the issue addressed above will be discussed at this review year, precedents can be created for policy improvements at next year's CSD.

Action needs to be undertaken to reduce competition of the effects of globally changing diets with natural resources to mitigate the current food crisis and climate change.

And attempt to practice what you preach!