My respect and thanks to Bruce Friedrich for having the courage to write to the president about this very important issue! In fact many so-called environmentalists don't like to hear about this point because they are still meat-addicted or have part in meat-industry interests. Nevertheless, the greenhouse gases produced by the meatindustry should be taken into first consideration and i'm very curious in observing the 'green scene' who shall be the first to take up this issue! I hope that to the green movement doesn't happen the same thing as it happened to the different religions: In the beginning everything was included, also the animals - then they saw that it was not comfortable for the profiteurs and at the end of the line the animals ended all alone and abandoned: Endproduct zero!!!!!! So I just hope...

Posted by: Sacred Cause | June 11, 2007 12:10 PM

Jack, I appreciate yours and PETA's education on the benefits of vegetarianism. Not only is it better for the earth and the animals, it can reduce such devestating and miserable diseases such as cancer and heart disease.

But I'm having trouble understanding why it has to be a competition with other benevolent causes, such as environmental causes. To downplay CO2 emissions from other causes seems like a terrible mistake.

I have not seen any studies which prove that eating meat is worse than driving SUVs or pollution from buildings. I know of no scientific study that will back up that statement. And while we try to slip vegetarianism in the back door with a false statement, the reality is that animals are dying.

Of course I still support vegetarianism, say it every post if you want, but don't use false information to promote it, that way we only make things worse, especially for the polar bears. They will be the first casualty of this disaster, which could not make me sadder. Which is why I'm speaking up over this.

If there is a scientific study that I missed, that shows that meat eating is worse than SUVs, I would like to see it. And if so, please accept my profound apology.

Posted by: Maya | June 11, 2007 01:12 PM

Maya,
i think that you didn't understand jack's point: he doesn't say that meat eating is worse from green house gases but that animal factories cause worse greenhouse gases than cars!

Posted by: kaori yamanaka | June 11, 2007 03:48 PM

Kaori, you're correct that I'm sure Jack still wants us to practice an environmentally friendly lifestyle. I think we all agree on that.

But like you said, Jack stated that "greenhouse gasses" (but specifically CO2)from meat eating is WORSE than the CO2 produced from cars, planes etc.

What I'm saying, Kaori, is show me the published, peer-reviewed, objective-based scientific study which supports his claim.

AND show me the study that puts the cars and meat eating on an equal basis, in other words don't show me the statistics from every factory farm on the planet and compare it to twelve SUVs. That would not be a balanced picture.

Show me, for example, the CO2 output from factory farms versus the SUVs in America alone. That would be more than fair on Jack's side.

I repeat: I support vegetarianism. And I repeat: show me the study, or don't bother debating.

Posted by: Maya | June 11, 2007 05:06 PM

to Maya:
there are thousands of arguments concerning animal cause and animal fighters are right even if no statistics are existing: animals slaughtered to death in slaughterhouses suffer terribly - did you ever see a statistic about that... If there are no statistics existing about greenhouse gases from cars versus animal factories so please tell al gore to make one - he shall surely not be the first to do so because it's not in his interest! But as this cause concerns specially the abused animals I can imagine - if there is not already one existing - that PETA shall make one!

Posted by: kaori yamanaka | June 11, 2007 05:18 PM

You'll be amused to know that I did indeed make a bit of a fool out of myself. Jack, my sincere apologies.

http://earthsave.org/globalwarming.htm

Although I STILL cannot find a published scientific study, I did find that there apparently is one supporting this idea. I guess it's not specifically about output but rather about the reactions of CO2 versus methane.

Seriously, I had no idea. I still want to read it in the Journal of Science before I believe it 100 percent.

Posted by: Maya | June 11, 2007 05:21 PM

here is the following statistic:
earth save report: how environmentalists are overlooking vegetarianism as the most effective tool against climate change in our lifetime by noam mohr:

this is an extract of his report:

'by far the most important non-co2 greenhouse gas is methane, and the number one source of methane worldwide is animal agriculture. methane is responsible for nearly as much global warming as all other non co2 greenhouse gases put together. methane is 21 times more powerful a greenhouse gas than co2. animal agriculture produces more than 100 million tons of methane a year.'

So it is very ok that at least PETA is doing something! Chapeau Jack!!!!

Posted by: silent tongue | June 11, 2007 05:52 PM

it's already a success or let's call a miracle that double v bush starts to care about climate change! but i think that becoming a vegetarian is a too fat dog to swallow for him!

Posted by: captain nemo | June 12, 2007 05:59 AM

so what you're saying is that there vastly less green house gas emissions once we're all vegetarians?

I don't think so, unless you propose mass culling of animals that are no longer useful for meat. All animals create emissions and I can't see that stopping simply because we won't eat them.

Posted by: rojo | June 12, 2007 07:37 AM

to rojo:
let's repeat it again and again: it's not the emissions of living beings causing green house gases but the concentration of thousands of beings in the same place and their excrements!

and also for STEVE and all the other non-reading people CAPITO?

Posted by: Sacred Cause | June 12, 2007 12:01 PM

Rojo, some of the "global warming" produced by factory farms is a result of a rise in CO2 resulting from the clearcutting of forests.

The methane produced from livestock is indeed concentrated from factory farms. Their diet may also be an issue. All you have to do is visit one of these factory farms (especially ones with cattle) to smell how concentrated the methane becomes. You won't find any wildlife area that smells like that!

Posted by: Maya | June 12, 2007 04:18 PM

rojo, are you for real????

It is very simple: billions of people no longer eating meat = no need to breed millions and millions of animals every year. So, the number of emissions-producing beings on this planet would be dramatically reduced... Is that so hard to understand?

Posted by: Michele | June 12, 2007 10:45 PM

Maya, you'll be interested to know methane has no odour, but I take your point on factory farms. incidently this methane is being captured on many farms and used for fuel.

michelle, true but if we're not eating meat then the number of animals in general will INCREASE. What's hard to understand about that.

Posted by: rojo | June 23, 2007 09:15 AM

Rojo,

Realistically you know that there isn't going to be a sudden stop in people eating meat so this over abundance of animals is not really an issue. Even most people that do go veg take a little time to do it. The demand will decrease so hopefully the farmers will stop breeding, with the drought in Australia you would know (being a farmer) how hard it is to raise anything now.

Posted by: Sonia | June 29, 2007 12:51 AM

Fewer people eating meat = fewer factory farms breeding and raising animals = gradual decline in the population of livestock.
Production facilities will be shut down if demand is drastically reduced, their stock cleared (aka. slaughtered). These animals aren't going to be released into the wild to roam and breed!

Posted by: Riko | July 5, 2007 02:58 PM

I don't get you people. I really don't. Tell me why you think God put cows and pigs and chickens on planet Earth? To frolic around with us in the flowers? No, to give our bodies nutrients and allow us to survive. It would seem to me that we are on top of the food chain. So your telling me that if the way humans are killing their food is unhumane, then lions should stop hunting down their pray. Think about it, about how it suffocates the poor little gazelle. But it HAS to do this to survive. Like I said, there is a reason God made animals. Also, did you know that there are more chickens in the world than humans? I bet you didn't. And did you know that a chickens brain is, infact, quite small? Very small. So your telling me that a chicken has rights and does not deserve to die? PETA....what a joke

Posted by: Sigh | January 31, 2008 09:25 AM