Ghent - the first city to pave the way
Mmmmm! Making Meat Moderation Mainstream and Marketable
the case for a weekly vegetarian day
Tobias Leenaert
EVA (Ethical Vegetarian Alternative), Belgium
|
|
|
|
The human population on our planet has a huge appetite for meat and other animal products. Demand is expected to double by 2050, when our numbers are projected to reach nine billion people. The livestock sector, however, today is already implicated in significant problems of both sustainability and animal welfare. Presently, according to the FAO, it is one of the main culprits for every major environmental problem and it is a great user of resources like water and arable land. Opinions on how to proceed from here differ. One camp of researchers – and obviously the livestock sector itself – believes a solution can only lie in more intensive farming practices, including more intensive animal agriculture and the use of technological innovations like genetic modification. Another camp believes such an evolution would only exacerbate the problems and especially cause even more animal welfare issues. Here we take side with the second position, and suggest that, especially as meat consumption is rising in developing countries, the West needs to choose a significant dietary shift. Meat and other animal products can no longer remain the center of our everyday meals and food habits. Assuming this is a preferential option, there are several ways in which this shift might be set in motion. We examine one case study: the Belgian Thursday Veggie Day campaign, with focus on the city of Ghent.
Meat the present situation
The high consumption of meat and animal products is responsible for significant problems in several domains. A brief overview.
