The meat that COP27 is not talking about

According to Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist, when you eat a steak, you killa lemur in Madagascar. You eat a chicken, you killan Amazonian parrot.

- NITIN MEHTA

As world leaders meet in Cairo to try and stop a catastrophe that the human race faces, no one notices the vegan elephant in the room. The world leaders in Cairo will hardly mention meat as the single most cause of the dire state of our planet. Indeed, meat is on the menu for the delegates.

According to Gidon Eshel, a geophysicist, when you eat a steak, you kill a lemur in Madagascar. You eat a chicken, you kill an Amazonian parrot. This is because rainforests are being decimated and converted to pasture and feed crops to meet the increasing demand for meat and dairy. Between 2001 and 2020, a total of 411 million hectares was lost globally. Livestock farming uses up 85% of the land.

Biodiversity is essential for oxygen production, water filtration, nutrient recycling, soil generation, pollination and seed dispersal, without which we would not survive. The very foundations of economics, livelihood, food security, health and quality of life is dependent on that.

Earthworms and pollinating bees are crucial for human survival and both of them are dying. Bats, birds, butterflies, bees and other small insects are important pollinators. More than three quarters of global food crops, including fruits and vegetables, as well as coffee, coconut and almonds rely on animal pollination. The decline in pollinating insects is due mainly to intensively produced soya and other cereals which are drenched in pesticides and chemicals which kill all insects and even birds. Mother Earth is not getting its nutrients and there might only be a limited number of harvests left.