Democracy Now! interview, Jane Goodall discusses the impact of diet on climate change, especially as it relates to destruction of rainforests: In a recentinterview, Jane Goodall discusses the impact of diet on climate change, especially as it relates to destruction of rainforests:





[I]n order to feed the billions and billions of cows and pigs and chickens, even if you don’t care about the cruelty, even if you refuse to admit that these are individuals with feelings, who feel pain and have emotions, even if you don’t admit that, you have to admit huge areas of forest are cut down to grow grain to feed them. Intensive cattle grazing is turning forests to woodland, to scrubland. And food in one end, gas out both ends, that’s methane. And that’s an even more potent greenhouse gas than CO2. It’s about 36 percent of all methane emissions come from this intensive farming.





“At the U.N. climate summit in Paris last month, Goodall talked Republican climate change denial, the link between diet and climate change, her hopes ‘to save the rainforests’ from corruption and intensive farming, and how climate concerns drove her to be a vegetarian,” the article states.





Goodall is not alone in her concerns.





Just last month, a U.K.-based think tank reported that by cutting back on meat and switching to a plant-based diet we could keep the earth from warming above 2 degrees Celsius from pre-industrial levels. Additionally, according to the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, carbon dioxide emissions from raising farmed animals make up about 15 percent of global human-induced emissions, with beef and milk production as the leading culprit.





Goodall is a passionate protector not only of the planet, but also of animals. She was one of the first to really delve into the lives of animals and is well-known for her work with chimpanzees. Throughout her life she has encouraged people to act compassionately.





You can do your part to protect the planet and animals by ditching meat and other animal products.



