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

2. 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.”

3. What is needed for life?
Air
Water
Food

4. 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

5. 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 ?
June 2008: - will ice be completely melted by Sept?

6. 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

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

8. 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)

9. Water - Tomorrow potable water is running out
% 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

10. No water = No food

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

12. 100m more people starve

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

14. “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

15. 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

16. Meat consumption is growing

17. 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

18. 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.

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

20. 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

21. Ineffective use of soil

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

23. 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

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

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

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

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

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

29. Thank you for your attention.