European livestock raising exceeds carbon storage of trees and soils

In a study published in the journal Nature Geoscience, researchers at Germany’s Max Planck Institute for Biogeochemistry found that although farms in Europe have the capacity to store some 125 million tons of CO2 equivalent through absorption by trees, grass and soil, these numbers did not take into account emissions from livestock and fertilizers. Lead author and Institute Director Dr. Detlef Schulze stated that the numbers changed drastically when factoring in the methane generated by livestock as well as the nitrous oxide produced by animal manure.

In fact, the beneficial absorption number was removed altogether and was replaced instead by 34 million tons of CO2 equivalent emissions. Commenting on the current method of ignoring these livestock-related greenhouse gases, Dr. Schulze said, “That’s definitely not acceptable.” Dr. Schulze and colleagues, our heartfelt thanks for this further documentation of the harmful effects of farmed animal raising. Our prayers that climate negotiators act on such clear data by ensuring that livestock production is accounted for and regulated under all new emission reduction agreements and goals.

In her endeavors to safeguard life on our planet, Supreme Master Ching Hai has frequently highlighted the need to stop the meat industry and its intense global warming effects, as during an interview published in the July 2009 edition of the Irish Sunday Independent newspaper.

Supreme Master Ching Hai: If we are vegan we don’t even need to worry about CO2 yet. CO2 by transportation and all that is not the grave urgency like methane gas and nitrous oxide and all the gases that are produced out of animal industry.

From my inside knowledge, and also scientifically speaking, 80% of global warming would be stopped if we stopped the animal industry. As the top climatologist Dr. James Hansen said, being veg is the single most effective thing a person can do to stop global warming.

http://www.iol.co.za/index.php?set_id=1&click_id=143&art_id=nw20091122222410940C386700
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