During the past few weeks I have spoken in public on the benefits of lower consumption of meat as a means to reduce the emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs). As would be expected I have, as a result, received some comments that are positive and others which amount to strong criticism. My purpose in raising this issue was only to create a debate on the subject. The Synthesis Report which is part of the Fourth Assessment Report of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) clearly stated, " There is also high agreement and medium evidence that changes in lifestyle and behaviour patterns can contribute to climate change mitigation across all sectors. Management practices can also have a positive role." In my view an important component of lifestyle changes relates to changes in diet which in actual fact may bring about an improvement in human health. In the case of meat consumption there are benefits not only to the individual who reduces consumption of meat but clear advantages in terms of reducing GHG emissions.

The Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) brought out a report in 2006 which estimates emissions of GHGs from agriculture as a whole, of which 80 percent are accounted for by livestock production. These constitute 18 percent of all GHG emissions from human activities. An interesting comparison between a vegetarian meal and a beef steak, for instance, was provided by The New York Times in its issue of 27 January 2008 which is revealing. A meal consisting of 1 cup of broccoli, 1 cup of eggplant, 4 ounces cauliflower and 8 ounces of rice results in 0.4 pounds of emissions of CO2 equivalent. On the other hand a 6 ounce beef steak results in 10 pounds of CO2 equivalent emissions, which amount to 25 times that of the vegetarian meal with which the comparison was made.

Quite unexpectedly, I received considerable media coverage on my presentation and several comments. The ‘Observer' of the UK on September 7, 2008 carried a front page headline "UN says eat less meat to curb global warming". The UN was in no way involved with the views that I expressed, because they represent my personal views on the subject, of course within the context of lifestyle changes that the IPCC has put forward as a possible approach to mitigation of GHG emissions. Even more unexpected, and somewhat amusing, was the op-ed page article authored by Boris Johnson, the recently elected Mayor of London, which was carried in the Daily Telegraph of September 9. Prior to his election there were references to Mr. Johnson as a joker. He certainly has a sense of humour which I appreciate, particularly since he stated in his article, "No, Rajendra Pachauri, distinguished chairman of the panel, I am not going to have one meat-free day per week. No, I am not going to become a gradual vegetarian. In fact, the whole proposition is so irritating that I am almost minded to eat more meat in response."

All in all I am happy that I have been able to at least stir up a "healthy" debate linking dietary choices with the health of individuals and, of course, the health of the planet, the only one on which we humans can live at present. As a result, I have also received several invitations for speaking on the same subject in other parts of the world, and I might accept some of these to see that there is global attention provided to the excessive consumption of meat and the benefits of reducing it both in terms of human health and the health of the planet. I certainly do not expect people to alter their daily preferences, but perhaps some reflection could bring about changes that may actually result in reducing emissions of GHGs. If that were to happen I would feel satisfied that at least raising this issue was not so futile despite the Hon'ble Mayor of London threatening to eat more meat in response to my provocation. Since I believe he travels on a bicycle, he would probably have to travel a little more to burn up the extra calories! He may then even qualify for an appropriate event in the 2012 Olympics, which are to be staged in London.

this article posted from Dr Pachauri's blog

http://blog.rkpachauri.org/blog/4/Lifestyle-Changes-for-A-Healthy-Planet.htm

Dr. Pachauri(帕卓里博士)是聯合國氣候變遷委員會（IPCC）的主席，也是2007年諾貝爾和平獎的得主（另一共同得主為美國前副總統高爾）