The Effects of Human Carnivory

This is a lecture from William Ripple, an Oregon State environmental professor about the impact of human carnivory on the planet.

The surprise, for me, was in the number of indirect impacts meat eating has on the environment, including climate. Not only are the impacts large, they're deep.

For example: Wiping out wolves to protect cattle meant wild herbivore populations (e.g. moose) overgrazed Yellowstone, dramatically reducing infant tree growth, so aspens and willows (important habitat by themselves) suffered.

The impacts are similar in the sea (90% of the salmon are gone, and salmon are the source of mountain forest fertility...yes, bear poop is that important.)

One factoid of interest: Substituting beans for beef in the American diet can deliver almost half of the US climate change mitigation target for 2020.

So...as irritating as it is to consider changing diet (and that doesn't have to be perfect...even "meatless Monday" would have a significant impact)...it looks like something that needs to be done.

Final word: If you ever changed from whole milk to skim, you know that tastes change to fit your diet. When you start drinking skim, it tastes like white water, but after a couple of weeks, the whole milk tastes like clotted cream, while the skim is perfectly fine.

As someone who has gone trans-diet...;-)...I can testify it entails zero sacrifice.

If you want more about the amazing health effects, or how to get started (free) suggestions, those links should help.