This is part five of a 10-part series on how changing ones eating habits may be the most accessible and impactful way to improve the world.

With both increasingly frequent Prius sightings and fewer appearances by big “manly” trucks, it appears that many people believe that changing to a more efficient mode of transportation is the most significant way they can help to reduce global warming. According to an in-depth study* (see below for summary) conducted by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), however, individuals are actually better off changing the destination of their forks, rather than the destination of their car keys.

The FAO study revealed the animal agriculture sector to be responsible for nearly one-fifth of human-induced greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions – an amount larger than that contributed by all forms of transportation taking place across the globe.

This large contribution swells from the massive amount

of methane (CH4), nitrous oxide (N20), and carbon dioxide (CO2) that are released into the atmosphere during every step of the process. CO2, for instance, is heavily produced during the production of fertilizers and feed, while the deforestation occurring in order to provide land for grazing and feed crops is devastating forests that act as carbon reservoirs. Enormous amounts of methane – a GHG having 23 percent the global warming potential of CO2, are released from animals and their manure, while their compaction of the soil inhibits the efficiency of the very soil micro-organisms working to oxidize methane – effectively turning soil into methane reservoirs only to be released upon erosion.

Finally, nitrous oxide – a GHG with 296 percent the global warming potential of CO2 has been considerably elevated as a response to the massive amounts of artificial fertilizer entering to the soil during feed-crop production, as well as the increasing production of manure and urine. In fact, 65% of all N20 emitted globally into our atmosphere arises directly from animal agriculture.

So if you’re looking for a way to turn down this planet’s heat, be effective and kill the 3 dangerous gases with one fork – simply reduce the amount of meat, eggs and dairy entering your daily life.  This reduction will not only ease global warming, but also lessen a whole other host of environmental problems associated with animal production – the topic of our next edition in “Cultivating Thoughts on Food.”

*note: the Humane Society has put together an 18-page summary of the FAO report in a quick and informative read available for download. Simply click here to dig in to it.