Zuzana Skvarilova, Dresden, 30.7.2008 Vegetarianism as the foundation for human sustainable development Zuzana Skvarilova, Dresden, 30.7.2008

Sustainable development of society… “…is development which meets the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.”

What is needed for life? Air Water Food

Global warming “… global warming could prove a greater risk to the world than terorism… ” (FAO) extreme weather events food infrastructure disturbance increase in global hunger threat to the human existence

North pole ice free by September? (NSIDC) Aug 2007: - ice was 23% below 2006 levels - ice was 50% below 1950‘s levels - will ice be lost by 2012-13 ? June 2008: - will ice be completely melted by Sept?

Water - Today World: 2.2m people die from not having access to safe water annually Europe: 1 in every 6 persons does not have access to safe drinking water

Water time bomb Melting mountains 70% of the world population affected

Water and the future “…not even in the economically enabled and water rich nations, no supply strategy could keep pace with the present rate of population increase and demand… ” (WHO)

Water - Tomorrow potable water is running out 14 - 25% more water is required by 2025 but we are expected to have 1/3 less water by 2020 nearly everyone might be affected by water shortage by 2025

No water = No food

Increased food prices - biofuels USA: 20- 35% of corn is used for ethanol production EU: 35% of vegetable oil is used for biodiesel production

100m more people starve

The global situation is critical We need to do all we can to change it, before it becomes irreversible.

“Meat is murder on the environment” (New Scientist) Its impact on the environment is huge: deforestation increase in greehouse gasses soil degradation soil and water pollution increase of world hunger increase of water scarcity

Ever increasing meat production increased 5x in the last 50 years 283m tons were produced in 2007 (2.3% increase since 2006) this amount is expected to double by 2050

Meat consumption is growing

Deforestation 70% of the Amazon rainforest has been destroyed Deforestation contributes to: 1/3 of CO2 emissions in the world fauna and flora extinction global warming increased flood occurrences drying out of rivers and desertification

Greenhouse gas effect CARS CATTLE KEEPING 18% from all greenhouse gasses production come from meat production, CARS which is about 5% more than comes from the transport industry.

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948) “Earth provides enough to satisfy every man’s need, but not every man’s greed.”

Over 900m people are starving today All could be fed if: food production was evenly spread across the globe people would only consume moderate amounts of meat

Ineffective use of soil

Cereal fed to the livestock About 61% of global cereal production is fed to the livestock. (FAO)

2.2mil people die every year from not having access to drinking water Water pollution 2.2mil people die every year from not having access to drinking water Livestock waste goes into the soil and rivers where it leads to: increase in water pH levels dying out of the aquatic ecosystem increase in algae blooms occurance pollution of underground sources of water increase in water scarcity

And we waste! FAO: 1 kg potatoes 160 l water 1 l milk 900 l water 1 kg eggs 4 700 l water 1kg beef 16 000 l water „One can shower themselves for a year with the same amount of drinking water that is required to produce 2kg of meat.“

Summary population growth changing eating habits running out of natural resources water scarcity global hunger climate change population growth changing eating habits

Can humanity survive? Vegetarianism seems like one of the most effective way to achieve human and world sustainable development. (FAO, UNESCO)

Vegetarianism is a solution available to us today can accommodate human basic needs can sustain the natural function of all ecosystems

Spread vegetarianism The future of our planet is in our hands but we are running out of time.

Thank you for your attention. www.csvv.cz zuzana.skvarilova@csvv.cz