Would you stop eating meat to save the planet?

The meat industry is a huge contributor to greenhouse gases, and Australians eat double the global average.

So the world eats a lot of meat. In fact, consumption levels have doubled over the last 50-odd years to around 43 kg per person in 2014.

But Australians eat more than twice that, making us the biggest meat eaters in the world. A level way above the recommended amount.

So what’s so wrong with our meat obsession?

Well for starters, the animal livestock industry is taking up a lot of space. The area used for meat and dairy farming globally is about the same size as the US, China, Europe and Australia combined. And with a lot of land comes a lot of resources.

Take water as an example, more than 15-thousand litres of water is needed to make just one kilo of beef, compared to just 322 litres per kilo of fruit or veg. A recent European Commission study says if make the switch to vegetarianism, our ‘water footprint’ could be halved.

Also, animal production is emitting a lot of gas. “Direct livestock emissions” account for 10% of Australia’s overall greenhouse gas contributions. That’s mainly things like nitrous oxide - a gas released when the land can’t take in all the nutrients from fertilisers.

If eating less meat could help combat climate change, should Australia do its part by going vego?

Richard Eckard spoke with Jan Fran and Marty Smiley