Which is better for the environment: less meat or less cars? For Sandrine Rousseau, the deputy Europe Ecology the Greens of Paris, the answer is found: “Reducing the amount of meat is the most effective action in the face of climate change from a personal point of view. In the actions to be taken, it is the one that is most effective, even in front of the car”she said on LCI.
To verify the declaration of the elected, the cell “True from false” of franceinfo first contacted Sandrine Rousseau directly to find out what data it was based on. She responded by forwarding us a study from a consulting firm specializing in adaptation to climate change. The document lists and evaluates a dozen actions to reduce CO2 consumption. This ranges from putting LED bulbs at home, going to zero waste or even not taking the plane. And of all these gestures, it’s true, the consumption of meat is the one that has the most impact. But on a few conditions, which Sandrine Rousseau does not specify.
For example, the MP talks about consuming less meat while the study is based on a Frenchman who decides to become downright vegetarian, eliminating meat and fish. Concerning the use of the car, the study assumes a French person who decides to systematically carpool. These are therefore two very specific and even judged conditions “caricatures” by the authors of the study themselves.
For other data than this study on the environmental impact of meat and cars, we can turn to the figures of Citepa, the organization that calculates greenhouse gas emissions in France. According to them, it is the car that pollutes the most, especially vehicles that run on diesel.
However, not far behind, we find cattle breeding which is a very important source of pollution, particularly because the animals consume a lot of water and food. We can also add the methane produced by the cows. Moreover, the IPCC, the UN climate experts, believes that eating less meat is an effective lever, but not as much as those related to transport.