What would happen if everyone stopped eating meat tomorrow? - Carolyn Beans

翻译人员: Catherine Zheng 校对人员: Jacky He

Let's explore a hypothetical together.

我们大家来探讨一个假设。

There are over four times as many livestock as people.

牲畜的数量是人类的四倍多。

Farmed cattle alone weigh nearly ten times as much

仅养殖牛的重量和就相当于所有

as all wild mammals combined.

野生哺乳动物总和的十倍。

So imagine if a wizard of meatless dining suddenly appeared

那么，假设一位 反肉食的巫师突然现身，

and with one wave of a wand wiped away all meat from our shelves—

一挥魔杖把我们 全部的肉类给移除了，

along with any desire to eat it.

也消灭了吃肉的欲望。

Farm animals destined for food vanish— whisked away to another planet.

将要成为食物的养殖动物消失了， 被送到了另一个星球上。

What happens in the following days, years, and even millennia?

在接下来的几天、几年甚至 几千年里会发生什么？

Overnight, food related greenhouse gas emissions drop by about 63%.

一夜之间，与食物相关的 温室气体排放量下降约 63 ％。

We no longer get protein and key nutrients

我们不再从每年

from the approximately 70 billion chickens, 1.5 billion pigs,

加工以被消费的 约 700 亿只鸡、15 亿头猪、

300 million cattle, and 200 million tons of fish and shellfish

3 亿头牛和 2 亿吨鱼类和贝类中

processed for consumption each year.

摄取蛋白质和关键营养素。

To help fill this nutritional gap,

为了填补这一营养缺陷，

our demand for fruits, vegetables, and legumes go up—

我们对水果、蔬菜和 豆类的需求都会增加——

a diet that most dietitians agree contains all of the nutrients we need

这是大多数营养师认为 包含我们健康生活

for a healthy life.

所有营养需求的饮食。

But initially there aren’t enough of these foods to go around.

但是最初，这些食物的供应不足。

The rise in demand causes produce costs to soar.

需求的增加导致农产品成本飙升。

In regions like Mongolia,

在像蒙古这样的地区，

where the harsh environment makes it difficult to grow vegetables,

恶劣的环境使种植蔬菜变得困难，

a sudden lack of meat leaves people with little to eat.

突然缺肉使人们几乎没有什么食物。

Cultures built around meat lose their foundations.

依赖肉类建立的文化 会失去他们的根基。

Members of salmon-eating tribes in the Pacific Northwest of the United States,

例如，美国西北太平洋地区 食鲑鱼的部落成员

for example, lose not only sustenance and livelihoods,

不仅失去了生计，

but an integral component of their religion.

还失去了宗教不可分割的组成部分。

Tens of millions of anglers lose work that was already threatened

数千万垂钓者失业， 即便这些工作本已

by dwindling fish populations.

受到鱼类种群减少的威胁。

As the meat industry collapses,

随着肉类行业的崩溃，

many households in developing countries are left scrambling for income

发展中国家的许多家庭 只能急迫地搜寻

that once came from livestock farming.

曾经来自畜牧业的收入。

Some meat producers shift to agricultural crops,

一些肉类生产者转向农作物，

which leave workers— and neighboring communities—

这使得工人和邻近社区

less susceptible to respiratory diseases associated with livestock production.

不易感染与牲畜管理 相关的呼吸道疾病。

As crop agriculture expands, prices come down.

随着农作物农业的扩张，价格下降。

Ultimately, vegetarianism becomes less expensive than meat-eating

最终，在大多数国家，

in most countries.

素食主义变得比吃肉便宜。

Luckily, we don’t need to clear new farmland to grow all this food.

幸运的是，我们不需要开垦 新的农田来种植所有这些作物。

Without animals raised for meat,

如果没有为肉类饲养的动物，

land that had been used to grow feed is now available.

原本用来种植饲料的土地 变得现成可用。

All things considered, our new diets require less land and water.

综合而言，我们的新饮食 需要更少的土地和水。

Millions of deaths are avoided every year,

每年可以避免数百万人死亡，

thanks in part to lower rates of heart disease, cancer,

这在一定程度上归功于心脏病、癌症

and other conditions associated with red meat consumption.

和其他与红肉消费相关的 疾病发病率降低。

We no longer contract new pathogens from wild animals hunted for food,

我们不再被捕获的野生动物 传染新的病原体，

or novel influenza viruses from farmed pigs,

或者从养殖猪上感染新的流感病毒，

or drug-resistant superbugs that develop in beef cattle

或是接触在提前施加 抗生素的肉牛身上

that have been preemptively fed antibiotics.

出现的耐药超级细菌。

As the years pass, global biodiversity rises

随着岁月的流逝， 全球生物多样性增加，

as habitat loss, pesticide use, and other pressures from agriculture subside.

由于农业催生的栖息地丧失、 农药使用和其他影响消退。

Amazonian birds have more forest to fly over.

亚马逊鸟类能飞越更广的森林。

Fewer cheetahs are shot for stalking too close to livestock.

更少的猎豹因为捕猎牲畜而被射杀。

Bee, wasp, and butterfly communities thrive as natural areas expand.

随着自然区域的扩大， 蜜蜂、黄蜂和蝴蝶群落茁壮成长。

In turn, insect-pollinated crops produce higher yields.

于是，昆虫授粉作物的产量也更高。

Many ocean species rebound from overfishing.

许多海洋物种从过度捕捞中恢复过来。

Throughout history, humans in traditionally vegetarian regions

纵观历史，传统素食地区的人类

have evolved a genetic mutation

已经进化出一种基因突变，

that helps them more efficiently process fats from plants.

可以帮助他们更有效地 处理植物中的脂肪。

So over thousands of years,

因此，几千年来，

our bodies may evolve to make the most of our veggies.

我们的身体也许会进化以充分消化蔬菜。

Or we may lose some adaptations, like the ability to extract iron from meat.

我们也可能会失去一些适应能力， 比如从肉中摄取铁的能力。

Of course, a wizard will not turn our world meatless.

当然，没什么巫师 能使我们的世界无肉化。

Though many individuals are choosing to go vegetarian,

尽管许多人选择吃素，

globally, meat eating is still on the rise.

放眼全球，肉类摄入量 仍在上升阶段。

This trend spells trouble for our climate.

这种趋势给我们的气候带来了麻烦。

Even if we suddenly stopped burning fossil fuels,

即使我们当即停止燃烧化石燃料，

business as usual food systems paired with a growing population

到本世纪末，同样的食物系统 加上不断增长的人口

would push global temperatures over 1.5°C by the end of the century.

将使全球气温攀升超过 1.5°C。

Cattle are the biggest culprit.

牛是最大的罪魁祸首。

Beef and dairy production are responsible for over 60% of all food-based emissions,

牛肉和奶制品生产占 所有食物类排放量的 60％ 以上，

while only providing around 18% of the world's calories.

而仅提供全球约 18％ 的卡路里。

In fact, diets containing modest portions of meats like chicken

实际上，肉类占比少 （例如鸡肉）的饮食

often produce less greenhouse gas than vegetarian diets high in dairy.

通常比乳制品含量高的素食 产生温室气体更少。

Reducing beef, cheese, and milk consumption could go a long way

减少牛肉、奶酪和牛奶的消费

toward achieving many of the benefits of a meatless world—

能长期带来无肉化 世界的许多益处——

no magic required.

并不需要魔法。