One of the media’s favourite subjects of late has been the threat of greenhouse gases that currently plagues us. It seems that every week a new report is released, the findings of which paint a more worrying scenario than the previous weeks’.

I believe veganism to be the best of diets from a health/animal-rights/environmental standpoint, and have never really had much concern about its effectiveness. An uncertainty has been creeping in recently, with concerns about just how green it is to transport soya beans from America (even organic), compared to cattle-farming in Sweden. Many products may give the impression of a more compassionate way of eating, but look past the actual product itself and there may be a whole process of unsound methods in the production and transportation before it arrives innocently on the shelves of the supermarkets.

Yesterday I read some interesting articles in a recent issue of Naturskyddsförening‘s magazine, including figures about the amount of greenhouse gases that are created in the production of different foodstuffs. This takes into account my above thoughts about the hidden environmental costs, and makes for an interesting read (the figure next to each product is the amount of kilograms of greenhouse gases that are created to produce 1kg of each item):

prawns – 18kg
beef steak – 12.6kg
hard cheese – 10kg
cod – 8.4kg
lamb steak – 6.4kg
iceberg salad – 5.5kg ¤
tomatoes – 5.5kg ¤
ham/bacon – 3.6kg
chicken – 2.9kg
carrots – 0.2kg

¤ grown in greenhouses

A recent report by the FAO claims that 30% of the world’s land surface is used for the production of livestock (contributing 18% of the total CO2 emissions, more than transport).

Meat consumption in Sweden has rocketed the last 30 years, and Swedes purportedly drink most milk in the world (114 litres per person per year). We in Sweden spend an average of 15% of our income on food and drink. Unsurprisingly, meat and dairy products account for a large proportion of this:

meat – 17%
alcohol – 16%
dairy products – 14%
flour products – 12%
vegetables – 9%
misc drinks – 8%
confectionery – 8%
fruit – 7%
fish – 5%
salt/spices – 3%
fat – 2%

It requires minimal analysing skills to see our role in this problem. Even if these figures are loosely based on reality we must start to take personal responsibility for a favourable outcome of the situation. Small, insignificant steps made by the masses become meaningful, and I just hope there is a nascent sub/conscious revolution going on in the heads of the general population. The media has a role to play in this, a role that must become more than a fad, until we realise what we are doing and make drastic changes.