Wednesday 2 June 2010 18.09 BST
A global shift towards a vegan diet is vital to save the world from hunger, fuel poverty and the worst impacts of climate change, a UN report said today.
As the global population surges towards a predicted 9.1 billion people by 2050, western tastes for diets rich in meat and dairy products are unsustainable, says the report from United Nations Environment Programme's (UNEP) international panel of sustainable resource management.
The panel, which drew on numerous studies including the Millennium ecosystem assessment, cites the following pressures on the environment as priorities for governments around the world: climate change, habitat change, wasteful use of nitrogen and phosphorus in fertilisers, over-exploitation of fisheries, forests and other resources, invasive species, unsafe drinking water and sanitation, lead exposure, urban air pollution and occupational exposure to particulate matter.
Agriculture, particularly meat and dairy products, accounts for 70% of global freshwater consumption, 38% of the total land use and 19% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions, says the report, which has been launched to coincide with UN World Environment day on Saturday.
More:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2010/jun/02/un-report-meat-free-diet
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2009/oct/26/palm-oil-initiative-carbon-emissions
http://www.guardian.co.uk/environment/2008/sep/07/food.foodanddrink
聯合國的報告指出，我們必須減少食用動物性產品。才能讓世界免於遭受氣候變遷的嚴重衝擊。
根據聯合國今天發表的報告：為了拯救世界免於飢荒、能源耗竭及氣候變遷的險惡衝擊，全球改採純素飲食( vegan)至關重要。
聯合國環境規劃署( UNPE)永續資源管理跨國專家委員會發表報告：全球人口預估將於2050年達到91億，而西方大量食用肉品跟奶製品的飲食方式，無法讓地球永續生存。
這項報告表示：“人口增加帶來越來越多的肉品消費，而農牧業對環境帶來的衝擊，預料將大幅地增加。不像石化燃料，農牧業不容易有替代方案：人都得吃東西。所以，如果要減輕農牧業對環境帶來的衝擊，唯一可行的辦法，只有靠全世界大規模的飲食改變，不吃動物產品。”
愛德格‧赫衛區教授是這份報告的主筆，他表示：生產動物性產品對環境造成的傷害，比生產建築材料，像砂子、水泥、塑膠跟金屬等都來的大。生產生質燃料以及穀物餵養動物，跟燃燒石化燃料一樣危害劇烈。
聯合國報告的這項建議，也呼應了去年史登爵士所提出的忠告，史登爵士是前英國工黨的氣候變遷經濟顧問。他呼籲大家蔬食是對地球比較友善的飲食，聯合國跨政府氣候變遷小組的主席，帕卓理博士也大聲疾呼，要採行一週一素來抑制排碳。
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