Greenhouse gases produced by cow belches, flatulence and manure are some of the biggest menaces the world faces today. To cut down on the environmental costs of the livestock industry, environmental groups, business owners and even some schools have been trying to encourage people to eat less meat. Tonight we have an in-depth look at some of these efforts.
There are fruit, animals and a festive atmosphere. At this carnival-like event, marchers aren’t protesting or looking to protect their rights. They just want to remind people to eat less meat.
Su Siao-huan
Meat-Free Monday Founder
The earth has the Amazon rainforest, where many trees have been cut down. The main reason for the deforestation is to expand the livestock industry, mostly to raise cattle. If everyone continues to consume large amounts of meat products, will the earth have a second or third Amazon forest for us to cut down? Unfortunately, no.
Carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide are all greenhouse gases. According to World Meteorological Organization statistics, emissions of these gases reached their highest levels ever in 2009. Raising livestock is largely responsible for producing methane and nitrous oxide.
Liu Shaw-chen
Academia Sinica
The main reason for global warming, as you know, is carbon dioxide emissions. Carbon dioxide makes up about 60 percent. Of the remaining gases, next comes methane. Methane is of course closely associated with livestock. Methane emitted by the livestock industry accounts for about 20 percent.
The amount of methane released by one cow is not much, but the world has several hundred million cattle. They release as much as 100 million metric tons of harmful gases annually. In other words, eating less meat could slow global warming. And in Taiwan, many groups and schools have already responded to campaigns calling for meat-free Mondays.
This is the kitchen at Hohsing Elementary School in Hsinchu County. Cooks are busy preparing the students’ lunch. On the preparation counter are organic carrots, bell peppers and onions. The only thing missing is meat. Two years ago, the school began holding vegetarian Mondays and organic Fridays.
Wu You
Hohsing Principal
We know vegetarianism is very effective in reducing carbon emissions, but everyone is simply chanting slogans. We all know this is very important, so we hope the slogans can be turned into actions. That’s to say, we think it’s time to start.
The school insists on buying ingredients locally to reduce the amount of pollution caused by transporting food. In the beginning, parents worried the lack of meat would cause their children to have an imbalanced diet and affect their development.
Zou Ben-jhou
Hohsing Administrator
When making the menus, we want to make sure to have at least five different colored vegetables every day. We want the vegetables to look and taste good.
Jin Mei-yun
Wan Fang Hospital Nutritionist
As long as you choose the right dietary methods, your protein intake will be sufficient. For example vegans could get their protein from soybeans in foods such as tofu, dried tofu or soybean milk. They could also rely on nuts, kidney beans or mung beans. These all have suitable levels of protein. I don’t think there’s any problem. If you make the right choices and eat suitable amounts, you will get enough nutrients.
Three vegetables and one soup. The servings are not large, but the food looks good, tastes good and is nutritional. The kids are happy to eat it.
Ciou Jhen-cyuan
Hohsing Student
The taste is sweeter than ordinary vegetables. It’s also different from those vegetables that are grown using pesticides or chemical fertilizers.
The students all seem to understand the benefits. In addition to their environmentally-friendly diet, they have been learning environmental protection concepts in class.
Hohsing Teacher
Cows must eat grass. A 500-kilogram cow needs to eat 4,000 kilograms of food, such as grass and other plants. If you think about how much greenery and grass it eats, that’s the amount of plants you let disappear. You could easily have had something to eat at a vegetarian eatery.
Wu You
Hohsing Principal
I think you need to mix real life concepts into the curriculum to internalize organic and environmental protection ideas in the children.
In the Hollywood movie The Day After Tomorrow, extreme weather events caused by global warming cause monumental damage. The movie shocked many people with its scenes of widespread disaster as nature fought back. Meanwhile, the extreme weather events in the film have also seemingly become more common in real life.
No one should think he or she can’t make a difference in saving the earth. Right now, more and more people are joining save the earth campaigns. Chen Guo-jhang is the owner of a restaurant in Yilan that mixes culture, art and the environment. Every meal served at the restaurant is made from locally-grown, organic food.
Chen only uses foodstuffs from small, local farms in his restaurant. Apart from the food being fresh, he feels that only by using local food is he able to help protect the environment by cutting down on energy needed to transport food long distances.
Chen Guo-jhang
Yilan Restaurant Owner
You don’t need to talk about it helping the small farmers, it actually has a larger effect on ourselves, including the influence I have had on my family and children. Just that point makes it worthwhile.
Su Siao-huan
Meat-Free Monday Founder
If everyone makes fighting against global warming the second thing they do, no one will ever do anything. We have gone first to open up the way, and I have made it a top priority in my life.
Chen Guo-jhang
Yilan Restaurant Owner
If we don’t eat meat, forests could return to the remaining arable land. The new forests would be able to soak up carbon dioxide. That’s something to look forward to.
Making environmental protection concepts a part of their daily life, these people believe actions speak louder than words. As they do everything they can to reduce their carbon footprint, they hope others will soon join them.
洩「肉」天機
根據ＷＭＯ世界氣象組織報告指出，除了一般人所熟知的「二氧化碳」，是造成全球暖化的元凶，而畜牧業所排出的溫室氣體甲烷與氧化亞氮，分別排名第二、第三位。所以當您夾起肉片、準備滿足口腹之慾時，無形間已為地球增加了暖化速度！「改變個人飲食習慣」成了目前國際間，認為有效解決地球暖化的方式之一。在台灣，已經有部分學校與團體，開始推動「無肉日」活動，以「少吃肉、多素食」減緩對地球的傷害。像是位在新竹縣的和興國小，不但推動每週素食日，也把環保的概念融入到課程；而宜蘭也有餐廳業者，刻意選購當地生產的農作物，減少食材運送的能源消耗與碳排放，將「節能減碳」融入到日常生活。
又是水果，又是動物，熱鬧的氣氛，嘉年華會式的化妝遊行，走上街頭，不是為了抗議，也不是為了爭取權益，只為了提醒大家「少吃肉」。
[[「週一無肉日」發起人 蘇小歡]]
“我們地球有一個亞馬遜(雨林)，(有很多樹被砍掉)，而砍掉的原因，就是因為要發展畜牧業，主要就是來養牛，如果這個肉品，大家繼續這樣大量地消耗下去，將來地球還有第二個、第三個亞馬遜盆地來讓我們砍嗎，應該是沒有了”
根據世界氣象組織(WMO)的數據指出，2009年大氣中的溫室氣體，也就是二氧化碳，甲烷以及氧化亞氮的濃度，創下歷史新高，其中甲烷與氧化亞氮，就是來自畜牧養殖的排放。
[[中研院環境變遷研究中心主任 劉紹臣]]
“全球暖化你也知道，主要是二氧化碳，二氧化碳佔差不多百分之六十，那剩下的第二個就是甲烷，甲烷當然跟這個畜牧業很有關係，經過畜牧業排放的甲烷，佔差不多百分之二十”
一頭牛釋放的甲烷不多，但是全世界有上億頭牲畜，一年就可以產生一億噸的有害氣體，換個角度來說，少吃肉，也能減緩地球暖化。而國內已經有不少團體與學校開始響應「全球週一無肉日」活動。
這裡是新竹縣和興國小的廚房，廚師忙著打理學生的午餐，料理台上有有機紅蘿蔔，甜椒與洋蔥，惟獨缺少了肉類這一項，早在兩年多前，學校就推動起週一素食日，週五有機日的餐飲革命。
[[新竹和興國小校長 吳柚]]
“我們也知道說，素食是可以很有效的來節能減碳，可是大家都是在喊口號，大家都知道這件事情很重要，但是我們是希望，能夠把口號化為行動，也就是說，我們覺得說，開始做吧”
就連青菜，學校都堅持要向當地菜農購買，減少外地運送時的空氣污染，只不過剛開始推動的時候，曾經遭到家長質疑，不吃肉難道不會營養不均衡，影響到學生的成長嗎。
[[新竹和興國小總務主任 鄒本洲]]
“我們在開菜單的原則，還是秉持著說，讓我們的蔬菜，天天能夠超過五種顏色，所以盡量讓菜能夠色香味俱全”
[[萬芳醫院營養室主任 金美雲]]
“其實只要選擇正確的飲食方式的話，他還是可以吃到足夠的蛋白質，譬如說全素的人，大概正常的定義是不喝牛奶，不吃蛋，那他的營養素，可能就是他的蛋白質來自於大豆，大豆做出來的一些豆腐、豆干、豆漿，或者他可以從一些堅果類，或者是紅豆、綠豆這些都還是有適量的蛋白質，我想這都沒有問題，只要正確的選擇、適量吃的話，營養一定夠”
三菜一湯，雖然份量不多，卻是色香味俱全又兼顧營養，小朋友個個吃得津津有味。
[[新竹和興國小學生 邱振權]]
“味道就是比較，比一般的蔬菜甜啊，然後跟那些，有加農藥的還是肥料的都不一樣”
小學生說得頭頭是道，因為他們不僅要「吃得環保」，就連上課也要學習「環保新觀念」。
[[新竹和興國小老師]]
“牛要吃草，牠五百公斤要吃掉四千公斤的飼料，像牧草啊、植物啊，你想牠吃了那麼多樹木、那麼多草，可是你卻輕輕鬆鬆的，一個速食店的東西就吃掉了，你讓多少植物都不見了”
[[新竹和興國小校長 吳柚]]
“我覺得就要從生活面，跟課程來做結合的話，才能夠建構孩子，有機或者環保這樣的概念，才能夠比較內化”
好萊塢影片《明天過後》，是部描述因為地球暖化，帶來世界末日浩劫的電影，情節中大災難場景，與大自然的反撲，讓許多人感到震撼，然而電影裡「氣候異常」的描繪，也在現實生活中逐漸出現。
千萬別以為拯救地球，個人的力量太過渺小，現在有愈來愈多人，加入「救地球」的行列，他是宜蘭一家餐廳的老闆陳國章，這間融合人文、藝術與環保的餐廳，每一道端上桌的菜餚，全是在地的有機蔬菜
陳國章的餐廳用的食材，全部來自當地小農，除了新鮮，最重要的是，他對於環保的具體實踐，因為唯有避免過長的食物旅程，才能降低對能源與環境的傷害
[[宜蘭餐廳業者 陳國章]]
“不要說對他們(小農)有一些幫忙，其實對我們自己內在還是有更大的幫忙，包括我影響到我的家人，影響到我的小孩，光是這一點就值得了啦”
[[「週一無肉日」發起人 蘇小歡]]
“假如大家都把它抗暖化列為第二件事，這件事就永遠不會有人做了，我們先來開一個先頭，我把它當作生活中，第一優先的事情。”
[[中研院環境變遷研究中心主任 劉紹臣]]
“我們假使說不吃肉，省下來的可耕地，可以歸還到森林，那歸還到森林，就是吸收空氣中的二氧化碳，這個是非常可觀的”
將環保觀念融入生活，這群人以身體力行的方式，無時無刻避免地球暖化，或許您也可以改變飲食習慣，「節能減碳」就在舉手之勞間。
http://englishnews.ftv.com.tw/read.aspx?sno=BD06FE1A09D035290FEA094EF409...
留言列表
