What Would Happen If the World Suddenly Went Vegetarian?
如果世界突然变成素食主义者会发生什么？
People become vegetarians for a variety of reasons. Some do it to relieve animal suffering, others because they want to pursue a healthier lifestyle, Still others are fans of sustainability or wish to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. No matter how much their carnivorous friends might deny it, vegetarians have a point: cutting out meat delivers multiple benefits. And the more who make the switch, the more those benefits would manifest on a global scale.
人们成为素食主义者有多种原因。一些人这样做是为了减轻动物的痛苦，另一些人是因为他们想要追求更健康的生活方式，还有一些人追求可持续发展或希望减少温室气体排放。不管他们有吃肉的朋友们可能会否认这一点，素食主义者有一个观点：戒肉可以带来多种好处。而且，越多的人做出了改变，这些好处就越能在全球范围内体现出来。
Jarvis and other experts at Colombia’s’ International Centre for Tropical Agriculture carried out researches to see what might happen if meat dropped off the planet’s menu overnight.
贾维斯和哥伦比亚国际热带农业中心的其他专家进行了研究，以了解如果肉类一夜之间踢出地球的菜单会发生什么。
First, they examined climate change, Food production accounts for one-quarter to one-third of all greenhouse gas emissions from human activities worldwide, and the worst of responsibility for those numbers falls to the livestock industry. Despite this, how our dietary choices affect climate change is often underestimated. In the U. S. , for example, an average family of four emits more greenhouse gases because of the meat they eat than from driving two cars-but it is cars, not steaks, that regularly come up in discussions about global warming.
首先，他们研究了气候变化。粮食生产占全球人类活动温室气体排放量的四分之一到三分之一，而造成这些数字的最严重责任落在畜牧业身上。尽管如此，我们的饮食选择对气候变化的影响常常被低估。例如，在美国，一个平均四口之家因为吃肉而排放的温室气体比开两辆车排放的更多，但在全球变暖的讨论中经常出现的是汽车，而不是牛排。
Food, especially livestock, also takes up a lot of room. Of the world’s approximately 12 billion acres of agricultural land, 68% is used for livestock. Should we all go vegetarian, ideally we would give at least 80% of that pastureland to the restoration of grasslands and forests, which would capture carbon and further alleviate climate change.
食物，尤其是牲畜，还占据了很大的空间。在世界上约120亿英亩的农业用地中，68%用于畜牧业。如果我们都吃素，理想情况下，我们会将至少80%的牧场用于恢复草原和森林，这将捕获碳并进一步缓解气候变化。
The remaining 10 to 20% of former pastureland could be used for growing more crops to fill gaps in the food supply. Though a relatively small increase in agricultural land, this would more than make up for the loss of meat. That’s because one-third of the land currently used for crops is dedicated to producing food for livestock- not for humans.
剩余的10%至20%的原牧场可用于种植更多作物，以填补粮食供应的缺口。虽然农业用地的增加相对较小，但这将弥补肉类的损失。这是因为目前用于农作物的土地中有三分之一用于生产牲畜的食物，而不是人类的食物。
网友评论