
The way we eat is killing us – and the planet - cirrus-clouds
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/jan/28/global-food-killing-humans-planet-climate-change-obesity
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cirrus-clouds
I know this can be a divisive topic, but here's some more food for thought on
the subject.

In the 'west' we are conditioned into thinking daily meat consumption is a
natural state of affairs. But actually, we are eating more meat today than at
any time in the past.

A 2011 report by the PBL Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency found
that:

\- average EU consumption of animal products was twice the global average

\- per-capita consumption of animal products in Europe has increased by around
50% over the 1961-2007 period

\- the energy intake and protein intake from animal and vegetable products in
the EU are higher than recommended in WHO guidelines – for protein by as much
as 70%

Source: _The protein puzzle: The consumption and production of meat, dairy and
fish in the European Union_ [https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-eu-unit-
stateless/201...](https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-eu-unit-
stateless/2018/08/dd8a16f3-dd8a16f3-protein_puzzle_web_1.pdf)

This more recent collection of data by _Our World in Data_ (2017) shows the
staggering rise in meat production and consumption worldwide. The mind simply
boggles at the sheer scale of the animals killed for human consumption e.g.
more than 1.4 _billion_ pigs slaughtered globally in 2014 for meat. (I'm a
meat eater in case you're wondering.)

In the 'west', the cheap meat prices and abundant supply at the supermarket
are impossible to resist. Changing our diet doesn't mean giving up meat but it
does mean reducing consumption substantially. How many of us are willing to
make that change?

[https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-eu-unit-
stateless/201...](https://storage.googleapis.com/planet4-eu-unit-
stateless/2018/08/dd8a16f3-dd8a16f3-protein_puzzle_web_1.pdf)

