Last week, in a major address in the nation’s capital, former Vice President Al Gore called for a 10-year plan to move the nation’s entire energy supply to solar, wind, and other renewable sources. What he failed to address is the massive role of meat production in the global climate crisis.

An authoritative 2006 report by the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization found that animal agriculture accounts for fully 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming. That’s more than automobiles! It is also a major cause of land and water degradation.

Carbon dioxide, the chief greenhouse gas, is emitted by burning forests to create animal pastures and by combustion of fossil fuels to operate feed growing tractors, factory farm and slaughterhouse machinery, trucks, and refrigeration equipment. The much more damaging methane and nitrous oxide are discharged from digestive tracts of cattle and from animal waste cesspools, respectively.

The good news is that each of us can do our part to reduce global warming without waiting ten years. Our local supermarket stocks a rich variety of soy-based lunch un-meats, hotdogs, veggie burgers, dairy products, and ready-to-eat frozen dinners. Did I mention the cornucopia of fruits and vegetables that have always been readily available to us? More details are at www.tryveg.com.

Bob Lovejoy
Buffalo