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Going veg*n reduces your carbon footprint. No duh!

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20080826/sc_afp/lifestylegermanyclimateagriculture

Maybe this will open peoples eyes a bit more? Hopefully...

That there's crazy talk!  Meat's bad for the environment?  Now you're just being ridiculous.
;D

"Giving up meat could drastically reduce your carbon footprint"

No.  It DOES drastically reduce it.  Thanks.

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Good thing they aren't factoring in OUR methane emissions.  Our carbon footprint might not look so good then.
;D

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Good thing they aren't factoring in OUR methane emissions.  Our carbon footprint might not look so good then.
;D

;D

omg, I can just hear some asshat using this.  "Vegans fart more, so they cause more global warming!"
My carnivore ex-bf would have loved that line.

Really though, I love how EVERY freakin time a story like this is published, they act like its some speculative, esoteric thing.  Like, "Well, we don't know for SURE, but something to think about every now and then is how hideous meat MIGHT be for the environment.  Now, let's not go all crazy and stop eating meat, but let's all sit and scratch our heads and pretend like it's some unmanageable dilemma over which we have no control.  Then we can shrug our shoulders in defeat, move on, and go watch Oprah talk about conscious eating!"

Humbug.

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Notice how the story if from Berlin?  I assume that's Germany.  You'd never see a story like that written in the states.  I'm surprised it got published online for us to read.

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True this.

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Good thing they aren't factoring in OUR methane emissions.  Our carbon footprint might not look so good then.
;D

;D

omg, I can just hear some asshat using this.  "Vegans fart more, so they cause more global warming!"
My carnivore ex-bf would have loved that line.

Really though, I love how EVERY freakin time a story like this is published, they act like its some speculative, esoteric thing.  Like, "Well, we don't know for SURE, but something to think about every now and then is how hideous meat MIGHT be for the environment.  Now, let's not go all crazy and stop eating meat, but let's all sit and scratch our heads and pretend like it's some unmanageable dilemma over which we have no control.  Then we can shrug our shoulders in defeat, move on, and go watch Oprah talk about conscious eating!"

Humbug.

:-D :-D :-D

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Local eating reduces your footprint more... Shipping the stuff for the fancy milks to be processed and then back to where you buy it, moving the very specialized meat alternatives, and organic foods and veggies from CA all uses a ton of gas. In my mind, drinking milk from a farm you've been to, know how the cows are treated, and that hasn't been transported long distances is better for the animals and the world. We'll be hurting a lot more animals through global warming than through using their products, and if you ensure your source is treating them in an acceptable manner, it's not contributing to cruelty.

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Or you could buy a soymilk maker and make nut milk with local nuts.  No dairy cows required.

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Or you could just not drink any milks.

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No milks, no alt. meat products, no beans, and no nuts is what would be local. And in the winter only canned things, apples, onions, potatoes and green house lettuce. That's not healthy or a way to live.

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No milks, no alt. meat products, no beans, and no nuts is what would be local. And in the winter only canned things, apples, onions, potatoes and green house lettuce. That's not healthy or a way to live.

I don't live that way. Nor do I drink animal milk.

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And you eat all local?

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And you eat all local?

This actually has a miniscule impact on carbon footprint.  Eating vegan FAR outweighs eating local. 

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"A U.N. report from just this past November found that a full 18 percent of global warming emissions come from raising chickens, turkeys, pigs, and other animals for food. That's about 40 percent more than all the cars, trucks, airplanes, and all other forms of transport combined (13 percent). It's also more than all the homes and offices in the world put together (8 percent)."  (Source)

I thought this was common knowledge by now.

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Local eating reduces your footprint more... Shipping the stuff for the fancy milks to be processed and then back to where you buy it, moving the very specialized meat alternatives, and organic foods and veggies from CA all uses a ton of gas. In my mind, drinking milk from a farm you've been to, know how the cows are treated, and that hasn't been transported long distances is better for the animals and the world. We'll be hurting a lot more animals through global warming than through using their products, and if you ensure your source is treating them in an acceptable manner, it's not contributing to cruelty.

I'd like to know how you justify this other than "a ton of gas."

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Read Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, then we'll talk. What you are saying is just not true, perhaps it's true of a certain type of vegan, but the type that I previously described. A person who eats organic (carbon not used in pesticides) local vegetables and fruits and some milk and cheese from sources that treat the animals will has a very small footprint.

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And you eat all local?

I eat vegan and organic....which sometimes means also local. I was simply saying one doesn't have to consume animal's milk if she thought she was harming the world more by consuming soy milk.

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Your article is about eating vegetarian. In my mind, there are too many animals being raised for food to make it good for the animals or the world, so I don't eat meat. With very little supplement with some dairy, a locavore diet is the best in terms of a footprint. This whole thread is about cutting down on gas usage and its environmental effects, that's how I justify eating like this.

AC-I was using milk as an example, there are so many treats that I had as a vegan that take a lot of energy to get to me. I think it's more important for me, as a conscious eater, to give up avocados, nuts, a lot of fresh fruit and other special vegan goodies that come from far away, than some things that are not vegan and close.

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As always, to each their own. I just wanted to point out that if minimizing a carbon footprint is the name of the game, vegan might not be best. I think almost everyone here is about knowing where their food comes from, and eating consciously, so it's a good thing to bring up, especially on this thread. I really recommend Animal, Vegetable, Miracle, by B. Kingsolver. It's well documented and a good read, about returning to the earth with a locavore diet for a year.

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Oh. I see your profile now.

eta: NOT VEGAN. haha...I could not resist..............  ;)

>:D ?

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