Environmental impact, respect for animal welfare, product quality… The directives to reduce meat consumption are strict. We consider the challenges of this fundamental movement.
Has the traditional steak and fries, the star of French brasseries, gone stale? The debate is stirring up the media…and possibly some of your family dinners. Torn between a vegan teenager and a meat-eating uncle, it’s not easy to enjoy a leisurely Sunday meal. If it is difficult to reconcile the two, we can seek to understand the issues. Starting with this one. 30% of an individual’s carbon footprint is related to their diet.
In the video: “The world without meat”. a documentary on the plate of the future
Reduce your carbon footprint
The heaviest and disproportionately heavy item in the carbon footprint of a French citizen is animal protein. The question: intensive farming, greedy for both energy and farmland, and for imported grains to feed the animals. The numbers are clear. if producing 1 kg of vegetables produces approximately 1 kg of CO CO2:*, the same amount of pork requires three times more. And for 1 kg of beef, that’s 20 kg of CO2: which arise.
Slow down
Therefore, reducing your meat consumption makes good environmental sense; it was also the first proposal voted on by the Citizens for Climate Convention. According to the Ministry of Agriculture, the French consume an average of 80 kg of meat per year and per inhabitant, that is, more than 200 g per day. This was the goal of the “Green Monday” initiative, launched in 2019 by researchers in Grenoble and supported by 500 people, to encourage the French to replace meat with plant-based proteins one day a week. According to a recent study published in the journal Scienceit will have an even greater impact on the climate than eating 100% local at all meals.
Make the right choice
Eating meat less often also allows you to have fun while buying better quality products. At least we choose the “Meat and Eggs of France” logo. this blue, white and red hexagon on the labels guarantees that the animals were born, raised, slaughtered, butchered and processed in France. It’s already good. It is ideal to apply to the most ecologically complex economies. by promoting locally produced feed for animals, these sustainable farms avoid soy imports, promote diverse crops, and fully participate in rural life, from maintaining landscapes to local economies. At the butcher’s stall, if you are not lucky enough to practice sustainable agriculture near your home, the ideal is to opt for the organic label and the Label Rouge logo; it costs more, but we offer the pleasure of quality meat, better paid breeder. , and a reduced carbon footprint.
* All these numbers are taken Endless worldBy Jean-Marc Yancovici and Jean-Michel Blain, published by Dargaud (2021).
Source: Le Figaro
