Arnold Schwarzenegger: 'Go part-time vegetarian to protect the planet'

Former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger says people should go meat-free one or two days a week to protect the climate.

Meat-eating was an environmental problem, with farming creating an estimated 28% of global greenhouse gases, the body-builder and movie star told BBC News. Asking people to go totally vegetarian would be too demanding, he said. It would better to suggest giving up meat once or twice a week, he added.

When asked how young men would achieve a body like The Terminator - the cyborg assassin in the film of the same name - without steak, he said many successful body-builders avoided meat. "You can get your protein many different ways," he told BBC News. "I have seen many body-builders and (weight) lifters that are vegetarians.

"My friend recommends stop eating meat. I think that's a good idea but people won't buy in. "People will buy in to stop eating meat one or two days a week - you have to start slowly. It's a very big challenge but it doesn't mean it shouldn't be done."

Livestock emissions

Most public debate on climate change focuses on industry, but emissions associated with meat-eating are causing increasing concern.
Producing 1kg of meat protein is calculated to take between 3 and 10kg of vegetable protein. Emissions from farming, forestry and fisheries have nearly doubled over the past 50 years and may increase by another 30% by 2050, according to the United Nations. Most of the emissions from meat farming come from belching livestock and nitrogen fertilisers.

Mr Schwarzenegger tackled the steak issue after an address to a packed hall of students at Paris's leading political science institute, Sciences Po. His audience in the French capital hung on the words of a man old enough to be their grandfather, and applauded his optimism that climate change could be tackled. As governor of California, Mr Schwarzenegger took on the oil and gas giants to cut carbon emissions through renewables.
He said his successor, the Democrat Jerry Brown, had increased his level of ambition - and the next governor would want to trump that.
He said it was pointless trying to persuade people to give up things they wanted, like big cars or jets. What was needed was technology to allow people to live the lives they want to live - but in a way that does not pollute.

Korte samenvatting: Arnold Schwarzenegger zegt dat mensen 1 à 2 dagen per week vlees-vrij zouden moeten eten om het klimaat te beschermen. Vlees eten is een milieuprobleem dat met de landbouw ontstaan is. Mensen vragen om vegetariër te worden zou te veeleisend zijn. Het is beter om voor te stellen 1 à 2 dagen geen vlees te eten. Volgens hem zijn er vele bodybuilders en gewichtheffers die vlees vermijden, je kan dus ook op een ander manier je eiwitten binnen krijgen.

Mijn mening: Het niet-vegetarisch eten heeft een grote invloed op ons milieu. Het zou dus een goed initiatief zijn van de mensheid om ten minste één à twee keer per week geen vlees meer te eten. Helaas zal niet iedereen hiermee akkoord gaan en niemand kan ertoe verplicht worden enkele dagen per week vegetarisch te leven. Toch zijn er weinig nadelen voor onze gezondheid te bevinden aan vegetarisch eten. Zoals Arnold Schwarzenegger zelf zegt, kent hij voldoende bodybuilders en gewichtheffers die het doen zonder hun dagelijkse portie vlees. En onze nodige proteïnen kunnen we ook elders uit halen. Voor mensen die vlees toch moeilijk kunnen missen bij hun maaltijd, zijn er vleesvervangende producten die zij misschien eens kunnen uitproberen. Ikzelf ben helemaal voor, als we hiermee onze aardbol vooruit kunnen helpen.