Cutting meat consumption is a powerful and personal act most Americans can do to tackle the climate crisis. | Perspective by NaomiOreskes
When I give public lectures about the climate crisis, the most common question people pose is: “Are you an optimist or a pessimist?” My answer is yes. California has achieved dramatic emissions reductions in a thriving economy, which makes me hopeful, yet in general the fossil-fuel industry is determined not to change. The second most common question is: “What can I, personally, do?
Some people have argued that calls for individual action actually distract us from corporate responsibility. That could explain why the fossil-fuel industry is enamored of such entreaties. Oil giant BP popularized and promoted the idea of a carbon footprint, deflecting attention to its customers who, it suggests, should take personal responsibility by lowering their carbon footprints.
Yet individual acts can grow into influential group activity. It is easy to feel helpless in the face of the strength of the fossil-fuel behemoth or to think that calling your congressperson is a meaningless gesture, especially when you learn about the billions of dollars the industry and its allies have spent trying to block Congress from acting. But one effective act, and one that can be amplified, is to eat less red meat.
You do not have to become a vegan to do this. According to one recent study, if every person in the U.S. cut their meat consumption by 25 percent, it would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1 percent. That might not sound like a lot, but it would help protect the rain forest, so the positive effects—including reduced water and fertilizer use, improved biodiversity and safeguarded rights of Indigenous peoples—would be amplified.
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