#NoBeef - The simplest way to combat climate change.
#NoBeef
www.0beef.com
#NoBeef - The simplest way to combat climate change.
Going #NoBeef for a year, you can save 50,000 litres of water, 2.2 tonnes of CO2 equivalent greenhouse gases, and 1,300 square metres of land!
LONDON, UK, 13th November, 2018 - A new movement is launching tomorrow (14th) to raise awareness about the threat to our environment caused by the farming and production of beef. Called #NoBeef, it urges people to stop eating beef or, at the very least, to reduce their beef consumption.
For a whole variety of reasons, as you can learn on 0beef.com, beef is bad for the environment and, therefore, ultimately bad for all of us. Cattle farming is the biggest driver of deforestation, of fresh water depletion and of soil degradation worldwide. #NoBeef proposes an individual choice: A small dietary change with a large ecological impact. Consider the facts:-
• Greenhouse Gas Emissions. Agriculture produces more than 7 billion tonnes of CO2 per year, and cattle farming alone is responsible for more than half of that. “Whether cattle are fed on grain in a feedlot, or are pastured on grass, they are emitting more methane than the atmosphere can handle without catastrophic climate change.” - Peter Singer, Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics at Princeton University.
• Deforestation. Cows require the cultivations of enormous quantities of land for both grazing and to provide their feed. “38.5% of world land use area is dedicated to agriculture.” (Hold The Beef Report, Columbia University, 2016). Of that total, 77% is devoted to livestock production.
• Topsoil Degradation. “Feed production (of which beef is the main user) is the principal driver of topsoil losses, with key agricultural provinces already depleted of 50-80% of their original topsoil.” - Gidon Eshel, Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard & Professor of Environmental Physics at Bard College, 2018.
• Water Depletion. The UN Food and Agriculture Organisation estimates that 70% of global freshwater is used by agriculture, of which 40% is used on livestock feed production. Scientists have claimed that 1kg of beef requires some 16,000 litres of water to produce.
• Nutritional Efficiency. “To produce a gram of beef protein requires 10-50 times the land it takes to produce a gram of chicken or egg protein, and 50-100 times the land it takes to produce a gram of legume protein.” -Gidon Eshel, Radcliffe Fellow at Harvard & Professor of Environmental Physics at Bard College, 2018.
Therefore, individuals can make a difference. By refusing to eat beef, or eating less of it, we can reduce the catastrophic impact of cattle farming on our world. #NoBeef is dedicated to raising awareness about beef production via 0beef.com, Facebook and Instagram.
The #NoBeef Impact Calculator displays the positive impact of giving up beef for one year, and details the greater impact achieved by cutting out all animal based protein. The #NoBeef Pledge enables the campaign to track the number of supporters, calculate their positive impact, and highlight their impact online.
As David Katz, founding director of the Prevention Research Centre at Yale University and supporter of #NoBeef, says: “Reducing our intake of meat, and particularly beef, is undoubtedly the single most meaningful step we could take to reduce the environmental impact of our diets, while also promoting our own health (assuming we substitute wholesome plant foods), and fostering the kinder, gentler treatment of our fellow creatures. It is a rare trifecta of opportunity, advantage and virtue.”
#NoBeef is supported by top academics in the field, including Professor Paul R. Ehrlich, president of the
Centre for Conservation Biology; Professor Maureen Raymo, director of Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory
at Columbia University; and Jeff McMahan, White’s Professor of Moral Philosophy at the University of
Oxford.
About #NoBeef
#NoBeef was founded by scientist and environmentalist Matthew Shribman, www.MatthewShribman.com,
and co-founded by the environmentalist Frankie Walters. Core team members include Becca Clube, Nathan
Rawle, Ana Terol-Díez, and Madi Woodstock. #NoBeef uses online media as a platform for accessible
information to communicate the environmental costs of beef consumption and production. Whilst #NoBeef
espouses the benefits of plant-based diets, it’s primarily directed towards those reluctant to give up all animal
proteins, but ready to take a first step in the right direction.
Notes to Editor
Contacts
Frankie Walters
frankie@0beef.com
(+44) 07545 524416
Becca Clube
Becca@matthewshribman.com
The founders of #NoBeef are available for interviews upon
request.
Images have been separately attached for publication purposes.
Sources:
- Shifting Diets for a Sustainable Food Future, 2016
- The Green, Blue and Grey Water Footprint of Farm Animals and Animal Products, Mekonnen and
Hoekstra, 2010
- Hold The Beef Report, Columbia University, 2016
- Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock, UN Food and Agriculture Organisation Report, 2013
- Yields and Land Use in Agriculture, Roser and Ritchie, 2018
- Comparative Analysis of Environmental Impacts of Agricultural Production Systems, Agricultural Input
Efficiency, and Food Choice, Clark and Tilman, 2017