A produção de carne, o ambiente e todo o resto...

O consumo de carne continua a crescer a nível mundial, e com ele, todo um conjunto sério de problemas. O consumo de carne, aos níveis onde se situa presentemente, só é susceptível de ser sustentado, assente na sua produção industrial - gado alimentando em prado, não assegura a oferta do volume de carne adequado à procura existente. Mas, as consequências são custos ambientais elevadíssimos: poluição, emissão de gases de estufa, etc. - por outro lado, a alimentação do gado com cereais concorre com a utilização destes na alimentação humana, numa altura que se avolumam os problemas de abastecimento alimentar de muitas populações, por todo o planeta (ver aqui). O artigo é de Mark Bittman, do New York Times: Rethinking the Meat-Guzzler . Alguns excertos do artigo:

• "Real prices of beef, pork and poultry have held steady, perhaps even decreased, for 40 years or more (in part because of grain subsidies), though we’re beginning to see them increase now. But many experts, including Tyler Cowen, a professor of economics at George Mason University, say they don’t believe meat prices will rise high enough to affect demand in the United States."

• "If price spikes don’t change eating habits, perhaps the combination of deforestation, pollution, climate change, starvation, heart disease and animal cruelty will gradually encourage the simple daily act of eating more plants and fewer animals."

• "The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, in its detailed 2006 study of the impact of meat consumption on the planet, “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” made a similar point: “There are reasons for optimism that the conflicting demands for animal products and environmental services can be reconciled. Both demands are exerted by the same group of people ... the relatively affluent, middle- to high-income class, which is no longer confined to industrialized countries. ... This group of consumers is probably ready to use its growing voice to exert pressure for change and may be willing to absorb the inevitable price increases.”

• "In fact, Americans are already buying more environmentally friendly products, choosing more sustainably produced meat, eggs and dairy. The number of farmers’ markets has more than doubled in the last 10 years or so, and it has escaped no one’s notice that the organic food market is growing fast. These all represent products that are more expensive but of higher quality."