MEAT THE CHANGE: We have to go Slow with meat!

For the Slow Food network, the new year brings the Meat the Change campaign, which helps explain the impact of meat consumption and factory farms on climate change, starting with a fun quiz to inspire us to reflect on our daily habits. 

The climate crisis is one of the great challenges of our generation. Governments are finally starting to wake up to the gravity of the situation and slowly we are seeing more initiatives and preventative measures that could help limit the catastrophic consequences of climate breakdown. But it’s still not enough.

Each one of us must do our part, starting from our shopping cart.

Our individual choices can affect not only the global food system, but also the environment of the whole planet. In particular, when it comes to meat production and consumption, there’s much we can do. The new Meat the Change campaign, launched by Slow Food, will help consumers to understand their environmental impact and find easy ways to have a more sustainable lifestyle, starting from meat consumption. Clear and engaging explanations, simple recipes and tips for making more conscious choices when buying meat will be featured on Slow Food’s communication channels, helping consumers go Slow with meat.

Are we really going Slow?

In the West we are seeing a growing awareness among consumers about the importance of conscious and sustainable choices when it comes to clothing, cars and homes. In general, we’ve become greener, including when it comes to food shopping. As well as an increase in sustainable mobility and eco-friendly fashion, when it comes to food values environmental and social sustainability are becoming more and more important.

But this virtuous trend is not being reflected directly in purchases relating to meat.

Meat is still at the top of the list of foods with negative environmental impacts, both for CO₂ emissions and for water consumption.

We need to change course, starting with simple everyday actions. Have you ever wondered how much your meat consumption affects the environment?

We’ve known it for a while: The current level of meat consumption in the world is unsustainable and the consequences are serious for the environment and our health. And that’s without taking into account the conditions on intensive animal farms, effectively meat factories that completely ignore animal welfare in order to meet the growing demand of the market.

For a while now Slow Food has been asking everyone to make conscious food choices, which affect not just us personally but also global policies, and as a result the planet. We don’t need to completely change our way of life: Conscious food choices can be an easy starting point along the way towards a lifestyle that’s more sustainable and more Slow.

What exactly does Go Slow mean?

Go Slow can mean many things, all equally important, but first and foremost it means adopting ways of life that don’t impact on the environment, directly or indirectly. That doesn’t necessarily mean giving up meat altogether. The Meat the Change campaign will be a useful tool for changing habits without completely changing our way of life.

When it comes to meat consumption, Living Slow means eating less meat and choosing meat of better quality: finding out more about the work of sustainable farms that guarantee quality because they have a lower environmental impact and make animal welfare a priority and supporting these farms.Go Slow, in general, means being aware of your choices and seeking to have a low environmental impact, actively fighting against deforestation, soil exploitation, desertification and greenhouse gas emissions.

Stay connected and live Slow: Meat the Change can help.
Start now and find out more about Go Slow!

Take the quiz and share on social media