Sir, – I refer to "Meat consumption must drop by 90 per cent to avert climate crisis, report warns" (News, January 18th).
So, what will we eat instead of meat? Vegetables? Vegetables, such as beans and lentil, will make the human race fart more. Methane, a gas lighter than air, when emitted from humans is every bit as toxic as cow's methane. A human with only one stomach has less efficiency to process the gas than a cow with three stomachs and therefore will expel more methane. Anyone who has ever lived with a vegan can verify this. They make Austerlitz sound like a quiet morning in a rural setting. – Yours, etc,
BILL GRIFFIN,
Allihies,
Beara,
Co Cork.
Sir, – Brendan Wright (January 18th) appears to have completely missed the point of the study he critiques. He may very well have “managed to achieve a longer lifespan than previous generations” while eating pork and beef to his heart’s content, but it will be rather a struggle for subsequent generations to accomplish the same feat when much of the world’s arable land is desertified and its cities underwater, because of a climate crisis exacerbated by industrial animal farming. – Yours, etc,
ALAN EUSTACE,
St Cross College,
Oxford,
England.
Sir, – Slán go feoil? – Yours, etc,
PAUL DELANEY,
Dalkey,
Co Dublin.