Benedict Advertising - Business Building Solutions

by Donna Cooper, Jr. Copywriter

Should you put your own health at risk for the sake of the environment? Well, that is what PETA and other animal rights activists would suggest. I read in the New York Times today about PETA’s new ad campaign, calling out meat-eaters as the #1 cause of Global Warming. According to a study conducted by the United Nations, Livestock businesses are the #1 culprit for emitting greenhouse gases that are depleting the ozone layer, more so even than all forms of transportation combined. That’s a pretty staggering claim.

But, PETA, and other groups like the Humane Society of America is putting their own spin on it by demanding that we put down that chicken leg and pick up a tofu burger instead. All well and good if you’re not allergic to soy, or gluten for that matter. I know several people who used to be vegetarians until it came out that they were actually allergic to those ingredients that make up a vegetarians diet.

Being a vegetarian is not always a healthy alternative. The protein and vitamins that are found in meat can’t always be found in the same quantities in such things like lettuce, soy-based products, and bread. So, what can those people who can’t give up meat do to help the environment?

While I’m all for helping the environment, I don’t think discouraging the entire world from eating meat entirely is going to be very effective. I think the campaigns that are already out there, that are also being supported by Al Gore, Leonardo DiCaprio and many other famous faces, are sending the message loud and clear. I’ve already started to recycle every thing I can. I get paper bags at the grocery store instead of plastic. I wash my clothes with cold water, turn my thermostat down a few degrees, and shut off lights when not in the room, all to save energy. Yes, that saves me money, but it also cuts down on the overall consumption of electricity.

But, am I going to become a vegetarian? No. Cutting out meat entirely isn’t going to solve the problem, not if only a few people do it. Cutting back on meat is a more likely alternative than giving it up altogether. If more people cut back to eating meat only 3 or 4 times a week, it would have much more of an impact than a few thousand people across America who stop eating meat all together.

Though, every little bit helps.

This entry was posted on Thursday, August 30th, 2007 at 8:58 am and is filed under What's the 411?. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.