Cars or Cows?

Which one contributes more to global warming? The answer is surprising but the solution is easy.

An excellent article on a favorite topic of mine from the Washington Post...

It's not simply that meat is a contributor to global warming; it's that it is a huge contributor. Larger, by a significant margin, than the global transportation sector.

[But] telling people to give up burgers doesn't poll well.

The pity of it is that compared with cars or appliances or heating your house, eating pasta on a night when you'd otherwise have made fajitas is easy. It doesn't require a long commute on the bus or the disposable income to trade up to a Prius. It doesn't mean you have to scrounge for change to buy a carbon offset. In fact, it saves money. It's healthful. And it can be done immediately.

It's also worth saying that this is not a call for asceticism. It's not a value judgment on anyone's choices. Going vegetarian might not be as effective as going vegan, but it's better than eating meat, and eating meat less is better than eating meat more. It would be a whole lot better for the planet if everyone eliminated one meat meal a week than if a small core of die-hards developed perfectly virtuous diets.

I just read that the Baltimore City Public School System is about to become the first fully Meatless Monday school system in the U.S. I like meat and am not close to giving it up but our experience with "Meatless Monday" has been great and very easy to stick to.