Livestock Emissions--an Open Letter to John Diaz

Dear John Diaz,

I read your column today with interest, but I continue to be mystified as to why, with all the talk of emissions, no one talks about livestock.

At the COP 21  as far as I know only Arnold Schwarzenegger brought up the importance of eating less meat.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/newsbeat/article/35038053/arnold-schwarzenegger-stop-eating-meat-and-save-the-planet

I also heard that vegetarians--much gentler on the environment than meat-eaters--had a hard time finding food they could eat at the COP 21.

http://www.huffingtonpost.in/2015/12/03/cop21-vegetarians_n_8706150.html

I read the op-ed piece by Georgeanne Brennan praising French  "civilization" in terms of its cuisine, and even though I am a Francophile myself, I thought that those wonderful chefs she was praising could have done a lot better at the COP 21.

http://www.sfchronicle.com/opinion/article/Delicious-French-way-of-life-stands-up-to-hateful-6777942.php

What happened to the United Nations report on the bad effects of livestock?

Of course, I understand that politics and lobbying enter in to all of this, as do die-hard habits and other cultural considerations, but I still marvel at the absence of animal agriculture  in the discussion by official bodies purporting to care about global depletion and pollution! 

You can call me an abolitionist vegan if you like, but I see a connection between slavery and promotion of meat consumption.  (If animal agriculture isn't mentioned as a major environmental problem, to me that constitutes  promotion of it!)  Slavery was a very important part of the culture of the South, and their livelihood depended upon it.  It was their whole way of life! 

But there are also moral imperatives, and saving the planet may be one of those!

Tina Martin