by Charles Ray

Created on: February 16, 2009   Last Updated: February 19, 2009

IS ADOPTING A VEGETARIAN DIET THE EASIEST WAY TO REDUCE YOUR CARBON FOOTPRINT?

I am instantly suspicious of any statement that is so categorical. Will my not eating meat reduce my personal carbon footprint? On the surface that might seem easy to answer, but it conceals a lot.

If I become a vegetarian, will I only eat raw vegetables? Am I eating only organically grown vegetables? Unless the answer to those questions is YES, then think about what contributes to a carbon footprint. The process of growing, harvesting and processing vegetables is as energy-dependent as growing and processing meat. Vegetables get to market in the same fossil fuel conveyances; use fertilizers and other machinery in the growing process; the plants use energy in the production process. So, tell me, how does that reduce my footprint?

Another aspect of vegetarian eating that most people chose to ignore, or perhaps are ignorant of, is the emission of methane. Have you ever been on a cattle ranch or dairy farm? Did you ever notice that acrid, unpleasant odor that seems to hang over the place? That, my friend, is methane. Do you know where methane comes from? It is a gaseous by product of the vegetarian diet of cattle, and it is emitted from their rear quarters, continuously. Believe me; you do not want to be at the south end of a north herbivore. Not, at least, without a gas mask.

What about people who eat only vegetables? Well, unless they only eat pulped up concoctions or very low fiber plant life, they too emit large quantities of methane. What, you might ask, does this have to do with reducing one's carbon footprint? Well, it is established that methane can cause damage to the ozone layer. So, what good does it do to reduce my carbon footprint if the emanations from my body are causing damage that can increase my exposure to harmful radiation? In addition, if you've never been in a small room with a large number of high fiber eaters; or worse, an elevator; you don't know the meaning of the word discomfort.

If you chose to be a vegetarian for personal health reasons, that is your choice to make and I applaud you. To do so on the basis of urban myth-based science, however, is the worst of folly. Before you throw that chicken or fish into the garbage (that's right; even though I'm not a vegan, I pass on red meat for personal health reasons), ask to see the scientific evidence that proves this claim.

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