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Ask HN: Can we can stop climate breakdown by quitting meat and growing plants?

11 points by LetsGrowPlants ↗ HN
I just finished watching a documentary called Cowspiracy that takes a closer look into the effects of mass production livestock and fishing on the environment.

Link: www.cowspiracy.com

FAQ: http://www.cowspiracy.com/faq/

On Netflix: https://www.netflix.com/title/80033772

Do you think we can help reverse or stop the devastation of our environment and its many undesirable effects by quitting meat and growing and eating only plant base foods?

Because I just read that the raising of agricultural animals accounts for more than half of greenhouse gas production: http://www.worldwatch.org/node/6297

And the warming accelerated by these gases apparently helps to intensify storms: https://earthobservatory.nasa.gov/Features/ClimateStorms/page2.php

8 comments

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bananicorn
It certainly is one of the best things which you personally, can do for the environment.

I couldn't tell you if we're able to STOP it before we suffer even more catastropic consequences, but with time, such a way of living (if lived by a high enough percentage of the population), will eventually reverse the damage done. It's one hell of a step in the right direction.

Cleaner conscience, cleaner environment.

bprager
That depends on who you ask: https://www.sciencealert.com/vegetarian-and-healthy-diets-ma...
bananicorn
>What if you just want to replace the same amount of energy you get from meat with energy from vegetables? Well, then, to put it very simply, you need to eat a lot of vegetables.

You generally just need to eat the right vegetables. Take beans or potatoes for example - you definitely won't starve when you incorporate the right kind of vegetables into your diet.

Any too restricted diet is also unhealthy, so "to put it simply" just doesn't cut it when talking about diets.

edit:

a bit further down the article, this is stated:

>Update: The researchers did not find that vegetarians or vegetarianism are harmful to the environment, or that producing vegetables is more harmful to the environment than producing meat.

tmaly
much of the fertilizers used in commercial farms rely on fossil fuels. we would need a way to overcome this.
PerfectElement
But aren't the biggest commercial farms growing live stock feed?
veganjay
Switching to a plant-based diet certainly has a positive effect on the environment.

But, I wonder if it is enough to stop a climate breakdown. I believe that automobiles and factories contribute the most to climate change. According to EPA[1], CO2 from fossil fuel and industrial processes account for 65% of global greenhouse gas emissions.

However, every little bit helps and thus I encourage folks to follow a plant-based diet for environment and other reasons. (I've been vegan 20+ years.)

[1] https://www.epa.gov/ghgemissions/global-greenhouse-gas-emiss...