The One Thing
What's the most important thing I can do to help protect nature?
When people find out what I do, they often ask me what is the most effective thing they can do to reduce their negative impact on the planet. I’ve heard this asked at countless talks too and the speakers often flounder or hedge their answer. Perhaps the speakers don’t know the answer, but I’m also sure that sometimes they don’t want to be the bearer of seemingly bad news. But the dismissal of this topic leaves most people thinking there is no simple way they can make a positive impact towards preserving nature. This is tragic in light of the fact that consumerism by individuals is responsible for some 60-80% of the loss of our natural resources. Not only does dismissing the topic muddy the waters, but we miss a magnificent opportunity to share the empowering news that as consumers we make a huge impact on the state of the world.
When we buy stuff, we support a whole chain of businesses from miners and farmers, to manufacturers and craftspeople, all the way to truck drivers and store clerks. Our purchases influence what new products will be made, how the government will act to support our lifestyles, who will get richer, and so on down the line all the way to which ecosystems will be depleted. And so while we often lay the blame of ecological damage on policymakers, industry, and billionaires, in fact, it is our collective purchasing, voting, and investing which supports ecologically destructive practices.
Where do I get the quoted value above that consumerism is responsible for 60-80% of natural resource loss? Well, I referenced a number of studies that show this in my book, A Drop of Grace. But today I came across a paper which assesses the per capita resource use of various nations across 4 sectors: greenhouse gas emissions, water use, land use, and material footprint. U.S. citizens have the largest per capita emissions of greenhouse gases, almost 5 times the global average. Luxembourg citizens take the prize for the largest material and water footprints, and Australians are top of the charts for land use.
The average American is responsible for the extraction of 651 cubic meters of water and 18 tons of material every year, as well as the use of 23,000 meters squared of land and the emission of 18 tons of carbon dioxide equivalents. Every year. That’s a shocking amount of resource use per capita. Breaking it down further, the authors find that food and non-primary consumption are the main drivers of this consumption.
While these numbers may be depressing, they open the window to effective and essential action. How we consume is a key lever to how nature is impacted. While pursuing eco-conscious policy and treaties are essential, what we buy is equally as, if not more, important. And what are the products with the greatest impact? Food, shelter, and transport, with the greatest among these being food. I was surprised by this when I first came across it but a little reflection made me realize that it makes sense that food is our greatest driver of environmental depletion. We eat - a lot. Several times a day for most of us. And we eat like the kings and queens of yesteryear. Out of season fruits, processed foods, and meat. I’m afraid much of our natural resource depletion is down to this last one meat. This is why I think some pundits avoid this answer, for many people enjoy eating meat. But it must be stated. Livestock is responsible for 70-95% of Amazonian deforestation, uses 30% of the global land surface, 24% of fish captures, and 37% of pesticide applications, while also being responsible for 55% of soil erosion and 18% of greenhouse gas emissions.
So what’s the one most effective thing we can do to reduce ecological destruction? Reduce our meat, and dairy, consumption. It isn’t pretty, but I’ve said it.