素食主義并不能使世界免于環(huán)境破壞

研究人員警告說，素食主義并不能使世界免于環(huán)境破壞

Here’s a red-hot take on red meat: Going vegan won’t save the environment.

這是一個關于紅肉的熱門觀點:成為素食主義者并不能拯救環(huán)境。

Livestock farmers are being unfairly “demonized” by vegans and environmental advocates, experts from the University of Edinburgh and Scotland’s Rural College told their peers at a panel in London, the Telegraph reports.

據(jù)英國《每日電訊報》報道，來自愛丁堡大學和蘇格蘭農村學院的專家在倫敦的一個研討會上告訴同行們，飼養(yǎng)牲畜的農民正被素食主義者和環(huán)保人士不公平地“妖魔化”。

The shocking stance comes despite the urging of hoards of climate scientists who say eating a plant-based diet is one of the best ways to curtail our current environmental crisis.

這一令人震驚的立場來自于大量氣候科學家的呼吁，他們認為食用植物性飲食是減少當前環(huán)境危機的最佳途徑之一。

According to the Scottish scientists, meat production isn’t the culprit of global warming — in fact, breeders are producing cattle that are less harmful to the environment. Also, they argue, meat is critical for the development of children worldwide, and fewer livestock farms wouldn’t necessarily mean more sustainable land use.

根據(jù)蘇格蘭科學家的說法，肉類生產并不是全球變暖的罪魁禍首——事實上，養(yǎng)殖者生產的牛對環(huán)境的危害更小。他們還認為，肉類對全世界兒童的發(fā)展至關重要，減少畜牧業(yè)并不一定意味著更可持續(xù)的土地利用。

“Often the argument is made that going vegan would minimize land use, and the modeling studies that have been done demonstrate that that’s not the case,” said Geoff Simm, director of Global Academy Agriculture and Food Security at Edinburgh. “We feel that while livestock production has a range of economic, social and environmental costs and benefits, the costs have perhaps been receiving far more attention recently than some of the benefits.”

愛丁堡全球農業(yè)與食品安全學院主任杰夫·西姆說:“人們常常認為，成為素食主義者會使土地利用最小化，而已經完成的建模研究表明事實并非如此。”“我們認為，雖然畜牧業(yè)生產有一系列的經濟、社會和環(huán)境成本和效益，但這些成本最近受到的關注可能遠遠超過一些效益。”

A primary benefit of livestock production, according to Simm, is that “even small amounts of animal-sourced food have a really important effect on the [cognitive and physical] development of children,” thanks to the high concentration of protein and “bioavailable micronutrients” in meat.

Simm說，畜牧業(yè)生產的一個主要好處是，由于肉類中含有高濃度的蛋白質和“生物可利用的微量營養(yǎng)素”，“即使是少量的動物性食品，對兒童的(認知和身體)發(fā)育也有非常重要的影響”。

Mike Coffey of Rural College slammed veganism as “completely unnecessary.”

鄉(xiāng)村學院的麥克·科菲抨擊純素食主義是“完全沒有必要的”。

“If everybody went vegan, it would be devastating for the UK environment,” he said. “Animals bred for food help boost biodiversity.”

他說:“如果每個人都成為素食主義者，那對英國的環(huán)境將是毀滅性的。”“為食物而飼養(yǎng)的動物有助于促進生物多樣性。”

Coffey points to research being done to develop genetically modified cows that would grow faster and eat less, and emit 30 percent less methane than conventional cows.

科菲指出，目前正在進行的研究旨在培育出生長更快、吃得更少、甲烷排放量比傳統(tǒng)奶牛少30%的轉基因奶牛。

According to the US Environmental Protection Agency, the cultivation of animals such as cattle produces “almost 1/3 of [all] emissions from the agriculture economic sector,” which is responsible for 9% of the planet’s overall greenhouse gas output. Furthermore, they add that manure management on these farms accounts for nearly a fifth of the farm sector’s greenhouse gas footprint.

根據(jù)美國環(huán)境保護署(US Environmental Protection Agency)的數(shù)據(jù)，養(yǎng)殖牛等動物產生的溫室氣體“幾乎占農業(yè)經濟部門排放總量的三分之一”，占全球溫室氣體排放總量的9%。此外，他們還補充說，這些農場的糞便管理占了農業(yè)部門溫室氣體足跡的近五分之一。

Coffey hopes that farmers in the UK and around the world will soon have the option to invest in more efficient cattle.

Coffey希望英國和世界各地的農民很快就能選擇投資于更高效的牛。

“By next year farmers will be able to select bulls whose [offspring] consume less feed for the amount of milk they produce,” said Coffey. “Where we go next is can we actually measure methane emissions from groups of animals?”

科菲說:“到明年，農民們就可以根據(jù)產出的牛奶量來選擇那些消耗較少飼料的牛了。”“下一步我們要做的是，我們能否真正測量動物群體的甲烷排放量?”

Edinburgh University professor Andrea Wilson added that the environmental impact of veganism has not been scrutinized to the same degree.

愛丁堡大學教授安德里亞·威爾遜補充說，素食主義對環(huán)境的影響還沒有得到同等程度的研究。

“We know a lot about the livestock sector because people have looked at it. We actually know very little about the vegan sector,” she said. “The danger is we demonize one and jump too quickly to the other.”

“我們對畜牧業(yè)了解很多，因為人們已經關注了它。事實上，我們對素食界知之甚少，”她說。“危險在于，我們妖魔化了其中一個，很快就跳到另一個。”