Can vegetarian diet stop the ozone hole?
Actress Maggie Q claims a veggie diet to save the climate
Body painting in ‚ozone blue‘ on the bare skin of a famous actress like Maggie Q is of course provocative. And it has a strong message: You can stop climate change with a veggie diet. But is that really true? Can you fight the ozone hole by not eating meat?
Stock Breeding and Climate Change are Directly Related
Fact is: Back in 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that livestock production is the main cause of some of the worst environmental problems of our time, including climate change. This is due to the release of ammonia and three fatal greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide. The substances come directly from the digestive process of animals and as well from clearing woodland for new pastures or fodder production. These gases seriously harm the climate.
Denying Meat is Good for the Environment
According to the animal rights organization PETA the production of a single kilogramme of beef causes as much emissions as a 250 kilomentres car drive – and consumes as much energy as a 30 Watts light bulb does in three months. Potatoes, for instance produce barely a tenth of these emissions, and vegetables are even more climate-friendly. Studies claim that a vegetarian diet can avoid about 40 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. That is enormous, when fighting against climate change and the ozone hole.
The Ozone Hole has Become Smaller
When it was discovered forty years ago by satellite data, it quickly became clear that CFCs in spray cans and refrigerators harm and destroy the ozone layer above our Planet. Since the ban of these propellant and refrigerating gases, the ozone layer appears to stabilize slowly. According to latest satellite measurements, the ozone hole 2006 became even a little bit smaller – a great achievement at last! In Europe, between two and six percent of the population claims to be vegetarian. There is still room for improvement in order to make the world a better place.
Photo: Cameron Yee