A UK livestock consultant who spoke last month in the heart of Canada’cattle country said environmental movements like Meatless Monday do not have the impact many believe it does.
Jude Capper, an independent Livestock Sustainability Consultant based in Oxfordshire, UK, said the effectiveness of the Meatless Monday campaign is minimal.
Capper’s research focuses on modelling the environmental impact of livestock production systems, specifically dairy and beef – projects include the effect of specific management practices and technology use upon environmental impact. She’s studied the GHG emissions associated with salmon transport and the impact of going “meatless” for one day per week and conducted a review of the U.S. beef industry’s environmental impact for a global NGO.
My principal professional goal is to communicate the importance of livestock industry sustainability and the factors affecting sustainability to enhance the knowledge and understanding of stakeholders within food production from the farmer and rancher through to the retailer, policy-maker and consumer.
“Meatless Monday” as an environmental movement doesn’t have the impact some believe it does, according to Capper in a talk last month in Lethbridge, Alberta.
She said the total carbon footprint from meat in Canada amounts to about 3.9 per cent.
“What that means is if everyone in Canada went meatless every Monday for a whole year, the national carbon footprint would come down less than 0.55 per cent,” she said.
And because the meat needs to be replaced with another food, the idea is misleading to the public, according to her.
h/t: Lethbridge Herald
