There’s a chorus of voices calling for changing the conversation around climate change, and now Moby joins Humane Society International in stressing that reforming global food systems simply must be part of these discussions.
But at COP26, the United Nations’ international climate change conference happening now in Scotland, animal agriculture is not on the agenda. So, Moby teamed up with HSI and our #TheCowInTheRoom campaign to speak up about why food system reform is such a crucial part of these discussions—he put it on video, and his message is loud and clear:
Here’s a brief recap of why food system reform—specifically, reducing the number of animals in the food system by transitioning to more plant-centric diets--is such an important element of climate progress:
- More than 88 billion land animals are bred, raised and slaughtered for food every year, and this emits an enormous amount of greenhouse gas.
- The animal agriculture industry is responsible for at least 14.5% to 16.5% of human-induced greenhouse gas emissions globally. This is on par with emissions from all the planes, trains, automobiles and ships around the world.
- By 2030, the livestock sector is projected to account for nearly half of the world’s emissions budget for 1.5°C.
- The farm animal production sector is also the single largest anthropogenic user of land, with meat, egg, dairy and aquaculture production systems using approximately 83% of the world’s farmland while providing just 37% of the world’s protein and 18% of calories.
- Animal agriculture is also a major driver of deforestation, species extinction, land degradation, exhaustion of water resources and pollution.
At the COP26 conference, HSI and ProVeg handed in a petition containing more than 70,000 citizen signatures urging world leaders to act on animal agriculture. The petition is part of our campaign, which received support from other major celebrities including Joaquin Phoenix, Billie Eilish, Alan Cumming, Alicia Silverstone, Leona Lewis, Lily Cole and Stephen Fry, as well as from more than 50 animal protection and food justice organizations around the world and 16 of some of the leading plant-based food manufacturers and investors.
I’m heartened and inspired by this momentum, and I couldn’t agree more with Moby’s point that everything we care about depends upon and relies upon a stable climate. Our multifaceted work toward a more humane future for all animals across the world is no exception.
You can find out more about the impact of intensive animal agriculture on our planet and the lives of animals around the world.
Follow Kitty Block on Twitter @HSUSKittyBlock.
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