Documentation:Open Case Studies/Political Science/Advocacy2
Climate Change Action Plan
Lab Meat
Introduction
This advocacy group promotes sustainable/alternative forms of food production along with the promotion of alternative food consumption. The goal is not to limit an individuals choice in food products, but to offer them alternatives to the products that they know. The focus of this group will be specifically on the red meat industry. The meat industry accounts for 18% of greenhouse gas emission, 40% of methane emission, and 65% nitrous oxide which are some of the most potent chemicals that affect climate change[1]. The meat industry also accounts for 30% of the land surface of the planet[2].
Harms[3]:
- Leading cause of deforestation
- Takes away antibiotics (takes away 80%)
- It's a leading cause of drought, every pound of beef uses 2,500 gallons of water
- Misallocation of agriculture, it diverts grain resources
- Propagates Obesity and Cancer Risk
- Leading Cause of water pollution because of animal waste
- Leading cause of mass extinction of all species
- Massive contributor to Global Warming
Action Plan
Our action plan can be broken up into three different strategies: Advocacy, Business Services, Grass Roots Outreach.
Advocacy
Our advocacy campaign will have us partnering with like minded people who want to assist us in promoting this new technology to their communities. This can mean allies within all levels of government such as......., partnering with business people who would like to put funds towards furthering this technology, and cultural figures who support the cause.
We have to have strong reach with major companies in the system. We want to influence and guide policy through the different levels of government (lobbying), we want to facilitate interested parties and partner them up with appropriate co-operatives, we want to establish a cohesive front for lab grown meat.
Business services
Our consultants and specialists will aid scaling business/laboratories, allowing them to be more productive, innovative and increase potential for growth. Our goal is to provide these labs with the resources, services and funding that they need in order to compete in this market and grow.
Grass Roots Outreach
Our goal here is to reach and educate as many people about the benefits of using lab grown meat. This will be done through extensive media campaigns, social media presence, partnering with local businesses for pop up restaurants for promotional exposure. We will seek celebrity endorsements who support the cause, and use their cultural influence to help further the cause.
Implications
Political
Economic
In a study published in the National Academy of Sciences, researchers at the University of Oxford have estimated the overall value of giving up meat in the economy. Overall, the researchers pointed out that the economic value of health benefits associated with more plant-based diets is comparable with, or exceeds, the value of the environmental benefits (Davis, 2016). The difficulty with attempting to measure the impact of meat reduction on the economy comes from the valuation techniques used. They are subjected to uncertainties and it is important to point out that it would require a massive overhaul of dietary patterns across the globe which translates into reducing red-meat consumption by 56 percent, and increasing fruit and vegetable consumption by 25 percent (Davis, 2016). However, it is still beneficial to put a dollar value on these estimations for several reasons. First, it can guide policy as countries can compare the health and environmental costs of consuming meat and thus consider alternatives that are less costly and implement programs to increase the consumption of fruits and vegetables (Davis, 2016). Secondly, the estimations could also serve to analyze potential policies such as new taxes or changes to the regulation of food advertising. Overall, the goal of this study is to demonstrate individual action is critical and must be accompanied by population-based approaches that will affect the whole food environment.
Social
Remaining Challenges
The main challenge that our action plan would face would be the overall impact of meat reduction on the fishery environment. As people stop consuming meat, they might turn to fish and other aquatic food as an alternative. However, these organisms are also at risk in terms of the pollution that arise from their over production as well as the bad fishing practices that are ongoing. It is thus important to consider how meat reduction could lead to further negative impacts on the environment by creating an increased reliance on fish. Questions still need to be addressed. Does meat consumption include fish and if it does not, to what extent is eating fish as an alternative a good or bad option for individuals who seek to stop eating meat?