…It can be a little annoying. Why am I such a disapproving, restrictive, hippy, liberal, evil person? Well, I’ll tell you a bit about something that recently reminded me of how it annoys me.
Meat-eating at HybridFest in Madison, WI
Recently I was at a car show all about saving fuel and reducing our eco-impact to talk about one of my other websites, and I happened upon a video display for the new Ford Escape Hybrid.
The display, to highlight how little carbon the car put out, said that it would take 168 miles of driving to emit the same amount of greenhouse gases as a single burger on the BBQ grille. Of course the numbers are a little twisted, but the point is valid, meat has a large environmental impact, even when compared to motor vehicles.
Hearing this, of course, is less than shocking for me. However, what did catch my attention was the number of steak dinners at the banquet for HybridFest members. A small minority of us ate vegan or vegetarian (I know of one other), but the large majority had large steaks and everyone else had grilled chicken.
It’s not shocking, people don’t always make the connection, but it’s an important one to make. So, if you’ve been on the bubble about veganism, vegetarianism, or even meat-light, please don’t forget that a meat-free diet is a comparatively large part of decreasing your carbon footprint.
Related posts:
I totally agree. Here is a video on meat production if you are interested: http://meat.org
As a relatively new vegetarian I can see how they don’t connect the dots. When it comes down to it, sacrificing money to buy green tech is much easier for people than sacrificing taste buds. Most people’s lives revolve around food. And sadly people are more worried about taste than making a positive impact on their health and the environment. Much easier to buy a hybrid.