It's time to go Veggie, says the UN

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Last week the UN warned that global warming effects could become irreversible by 2030. With the latest outbreak of BSE, and the meat industry being a leading cause to climate change, there has been no better time to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet.

An outbreak of BSE has been confirmed earlier this week in Aberdeenshire farm, Scotland. The ‘mad cow disease’ crisis in 1986 resulted in 4.4 million cattle being slaughtered. The effects of BSE if passed on to humans include; difficulty walking, balance and co-ordination problems, slurred speech, numbness, pins and needles, dizziness, vision problems, anxiety and depression. BSE is incurable and fatal. If BSE wasn’t enough to put you off consuming meat, the NHS have warned “Red meat – such as beef, lamb and pork – is a good source of protein, vitamins and minerals, and can form part of a balanced diet. But eating a lot of red and processed meat probably increases your risk of bowel (colorectal) cancer.”

“If there were more meat alternatives available I would be happy to go vegetarian, but at the moment I think it’s too expensive to become vegetarian.” Says, Carmela De Simone, a 20 year old University student.

In 2010, the UN reported that a global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from the worst effects of climate change. In the last 8 years, global warming has become an increasing threat to planet Earth. An article published by the Guardian in October 2018 stated that “In western countries, beef consumption needs to fall by 90% and be replaced by five times more beans and pulses” in order to avoid dangerous climate change effects.

Shaquille Tvernier, 24, events staff, said “the main change would be removing meat from our diet, that whole industry is detrimental” when asked about solutions to global warming. “It’s hard to start, my plan is to be able to pick up things as I go along and slowly implement them along with my training regime”.

Austen Leversage, 21, however believes “…the Biggest polluters is the aerospace industry and it is never talked about.” According to friendsoftheearth.uk “Air travel is the world’s fastest growing source of greenhouse gases like carbon dioxide, which cause climate change.” However, changing our diet is an easier and faster solution than avoiding air travel, more people eat meat compared to those that travel by plane.

“The impact these industries (animal agriculture) have on our planet is no longer a secret. It’s our responsibility to do something. It blows my mind that more people aren’t willing to make these changes in order to help our planet.” Said Kristie Gill, 22, ITV.

With advances in cruelty free lab grown meat, and more reasons than even to ditch the carnivore diet, it’s the perfect time to go vegetarian.