Reduce meat consumption for sustainability

Absent from the April 17 flowchart and questionnaire, “Are You (Not) a Sustainability Guru,” was the most important lifestyle question of all: Have you reduced your consumption of meat and other animal products?

As we all learned in freshman biology, at every step up the food chain, 90 percent of the potential energy is converted to heat and waste. This means we save tremendous resources by eating "lower on the food chain."

In fact, the production of 1 pound of animal protein requires 11 times the fossil fuel, 1,000 times the water, and three times the land mass than the production of 1 pound of plant protein.

So, more important than riding your bike to work, hanging your clothes out to dry, and adjusting your thermostat is what you put on your plate.

— Carrie Stilwell
Asheville

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