SOS全球暖化 - 開始吃素加入環保拯救地球

根據聯合國跨政府氣候變遷小組的報告「牲畜的巨大陰影」指出，畜牧生產是導致全球暖化的最大因素。
動物排泄物及畜牧飼料作物用地，對水源所造成的污染影響，比人們所有活動加總為大。
供應肉食餐所需土地，是蔬食餐的10到20倍之多，全世界幾乎有一半的穀物和大豆產量，都用於餵食牲畜。

Proportion of GHG emissions from different parts of livestock production

畜牧生產排量：18%
全球運輸工具排量： 13.5%

畜牧生產佔溫室氣體總排量的18%，包括：
二氧化碳：9%
甲烷：37%—其對全球暖化的威脅，以100年分攤，是二氧化碳的23倍、以20年分攤是62倍
氧化亞氮(N2O)：65%—其對全球暖化的威脅，以100年分攤，是二氧化碳的296倍、以20年分攤是275倍
資料來源：聯合國糧農組織(FAO), 2006 (1)

生產1公斤牛肉：

溫室氣體排量威脅，相當於36.4公斤的二氧化碳。
使用化學肥料相當於釋放340克的二氧化硫，和59克的磷酸鹽，耗費1億6千9百萬焦耳的能量。
生產1公斤牛肉的二氧化碳排量相當於歐系車每250公里的排量，足以點亮1個100瓦的燈泡20天。
超過三分之二的能源用於供應生產及運輸牲畜飼料。

資料來源： Animal Science Journal, 2007

" the permafrost layer is melting each day. And the methane gas,or other gas even, are releasing into the atmosphere. I really hope and pray that someone is listening.Methane and nitrous oxide is made by stock raising, stock keeping, animals keeping. So they are far more poisonous, far more dangerous than CO2.

Because the atmosphere is getting warmer and so the methane is bubbling out. If we stop the worst cause of global warming,meaning stock raising, animal breeding,then we will be able to save the planet. We have to stop the killing of man or animals. We have to stop producing animals products. And we have to stop using it."
- Supreme Master Ching Hai - 6 July 2008– London Conference (2)

森林砍伐在氣候變遷中，扮演重大的角色。有超過300個專家指出：「如果我們失去森林，就無法遏止氣候變遷」。但在2007年8月到2008年8月之間，亞馬遜森林的開採面積擴大69%，被用於肉品供應需求。畜牧業無疑是唯一最大的土地使用者。

畜牧生產用地佔所有農業用地的70%，且是全球陸地的30%
原先亞馬遜流域的70%林地已被充作牧場，而剩餘林地的絕大部分被用於種植飼料作物。
20%的牧場在過度、密集放牧和侵蝕之下退化。
資料來源：FAO, 2006; Goodland R. et al,1999

" Everything has something. Like trees， they are there to give oxygen to the planet. Without trees， we die. Really， we will. We die without trees. The water will be less because there are no trees to attract water and to keep water when it is there.
So， everything on this planet， including us， is inter-related and helping each other to make our lives here comfortable and livable， comfortably. But if you we don't know that， we are killing ourselves. Every time we kill a tree， or kill an animal，we are killing a little part of ourselves. "
- Supreme Master Ching Hai - 6 Jun 2001– Florida， USA

糧價上揚導致額外的7千5百萬人口，陷於飢餓邊緣，根據估計，2007年全世界有9億2千3百萬的人口營養不良。(1)

但是我們真的缺乏糧食嗎？儘管內含缺乏效率的層面，但全球有三分之ㄧ的穀物及超過90%的大豆，都被用來餵養牲畜。這些畜牧飼料足以餵飽20億人口。

生產1公斤的牛肉，需要10公斤的穀物
生產1公斤的豬肉，需要4到5.5公斤的穀物
生產1公斤的雞、鴨肉，需要2.1到3公斤的穀物
資料來源： FAO, 2006; CAST 1999; B. Parmentier, 2007

"Everything else takes too long and we don’t have time. So we have to choose the vegetarian diet; no more animals breeding. Choose organic farming, helping each other, sharing the food that we have.

Because if we are vegetarian, all of us, we will have so much food to share with everybody; no one will ever go to sleep hungry at night anymore. And then we will have saved a lot of time, energy, money to help them also combat disease and rebuild their lives. Everything’s possible, because there will be no more war, even with animals. Peace begins at home."
- 2008 Critical Moments to Save the Planet: What Can I Do? Seminar -June 29, 2008(2)

我們目睹嚴重的乾旱造成土地龜裂，大量的洪水氾濫接連而來，毀損農作及帶來前所未有的破壞，使全球每天有30,000個孩童死於水源污染相關疾病。 (1)

70%的水源用於生產糧食(3) ，而畜牧業是水源污染的最大禍首，其所產生的阿摩尼亞(氨氣)排量佔64%，促使酸雨形成。

一間養殖場所產生的污染廢水，超過休斯頓、德州整座城市。(4)

生產一客牛排需要4664公升的水，但一份全素餐卻只需要371公升的水。(5) 科學家們計算過，我們放棄一磅牛肉或四個漢堡，即可以比至少六個月不洗澡，還能省下更多的水量。 (6)
Source: FAO, 2006; CAST 1999; B. Parmentier, 2007

"Yes. And a vegetarian diet will stop 80% of global warming, stop all the cruelty, beginning on our plate. Generating loving, kind energy around the world, stop water shortage and water pollution, stop food shortages, stop world hunger and war, prevent deadly diseases, save enormous tax and medical bills to build a better world, and support new useful inventions and good people’s organizations."
- An Interview with Supreme Master Ching Hai by James Bean of Spiritual Awakening Radio -July 29, 2008 - USA (7)

Fish fed to farmed animals threaten the ocean’s ecosystem and One-third of world fish catch used for animal feed. The results of a nine-year study by the Institute for Ocean Conservation Science at Stony Brook University and the University of British Columbia found that an alarming 28 million tons of ocean fish are currently being ground up and fed to factory-farmed fish, pigs and chickens.

Dr. Ellen K. Pikitch of Stony Brook University stated, “…It’s an enormous percentage of the world’s fish catch. Skyrocketing pressure on small wild fishes may be putting entire marine food webs at great risk.”

A report by the US-based research and education organization World Policy Institute stated that expanded fishing practices has created a perilous situation for ocean life. A 2003 study showed that 90 percent of the large fish in the oceans had disappeared in the previous 50 years, and the World Policy Institute is now calling for the monies spent on subsidies to the fishing industries to instead be used to create large marine reserves.

The ocean is acidifying from absorbing too much carbon dioxide, and warm temperatures force animals into new habitats. So-called “dead zones” devoid of life can be found spanning areas as large as tens of thousands of square miles. These are caused by both pollution and overfishing.

The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization has reported that up to 80 percent of fished species are now on their way to extinction.

" Fish eating is also very depleting to planetary ecosystem. They have proven that overfishing of sardines has resulted in many dead zones. Because they are there for some reason. They are there for maybe oxidizing the ocean, give life to some other kind of species or cleaning the environment. Whatever the species that God has left on the planet, they have work to do. Just like humans, we have work to do. Animals, they have work to do. It's just many humans think they're useless so they fish them up and eat them. But they're very, very useful to our ecosystem."
Supreme Master Ching Hai - Videoconference with Hamburg Center, Germany – July 18, 2008

Some Diseases Related to Meat Consumption

Blue tongue disease
E. coli
Salmonella
Bird flu
Mad cow disease
Pig's disease (PMWS)
Listeriosis
Shellfish poisoning
Pre-eclampsia
Campylobacter

SOME OF THE COSTS OF MEAT EATING:
HEART DISEASE

Over 17 million lives lost globally each year
Cost of cardiovascular disease is at least US$1 trillion a year

CANCER

Over 1 million new colon cancer patients diagnosed each year
More than 600,000 colon cancer-related mortalities annually
In the United States alone, colon cancer treatment costs about US$6.5 billion.
Millions of people are newly diagnosed with other meat-related cancers every year.

DIABETES

246 million people are affected worldwide
An estimated US$174 billion spent each year on treatment.

OBESITY

Worldwide 1.6 billion adults are overweight with 400 million more who are obese
Costs US$93 billion each year for medical expenses in the United States alone.
At least 2.6 million people die annually from problems related to being overweight or obese

PLUS MORE…