Edging Towards Vegetarianism

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Consider greenhouse gases-those carbon dioxides and methanes that trap escaping heat and raise the earth's temperature. Many experts say the accumulation of greenhouse gases in the upper atmosphere could lead, in two short generations, to a global warming that will have catastrophic effects-expanding deserts, flooded coastal areas, loss of species and genetic diversity and massive dislocations in agriculture.

Combustion of fossil fuels releases carbon dioxide and contributes heavily to the greenhouse effect, yet the fossil-fuel energy to produce one pound of feedlot beef would grow 40 pounds of soybeans, the chief ingredient in tofu delights and hamburger extenders. (A mixed blessing, I must admit. Whenever my wife goes on a "cleansing diet," I become submerged in such soybean concoctions. Sometimes my willpower is weak. In early March, during a cleansing episode, I sneaked out one night to get a juicy porterhouse at a nearby restaurant.) If all earthlings were meat eaters, global petroleum reserves would disappear by the year 2003; if vegetarians, by 2250. That gap constitutes a big cushion of security-long enough to develop alternative sources of energy and modes of transport. National security would also be cushioned: If only 10% of my fellow Americans stopped eating meat, oil imports would no longer be necessary.

Major sources of methane are the digestive tracts of higher mammals, including those raised for food. By reducing their numbers, we therefore decrease the habitat for methane-producing organisms. In the United States alone, livestock animals manufacture a full 250,000 pounds of manure every second.

In looking further into the environmental argument for vegetarianism, I was drawn to the tragedy of tropical rain forests, which are being cut and burned at a staggering rate. Here again, I quickly discovered, the eating of meat is a crucial element. Much of the clearing is done to -create ephemeral pastures for animals that end up on North American dinner plates. A couple of years ago, Burger King stopped using rain forest beef; consumer pressure played at least a partial role in its decision. Labor is cheap and land is even cheaper. Profits are almost unavoidable. Tropical soils are thin, however, and the new grazing lands are soon depleted, forcing a migration deeper into virgin stands of forest. Abandoned pastures erode and become virtual deserts, watersheds become mudsheds and hydroelectric reservoirs become silted and useless. In the end, after suffering deforestation, floods and malnutrition in order to grow filet mignon, the people of Costa Rica, for example, eat less meat than does the average North American house cat. Central American countries, meanwhile, export 200 million pounds of meat annually.

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