A team of researchers led by agricultural economist Shaun Larcom looked at the impact of a 2011 appeal by Catholic Church bishops in England and Wales to maintain the traditional meat-free diet on Friday.
Although only a quarter of Catholics in England and Wales heeded the call, it has cut annual CO2 emissions by 55,000 tons a year – the equivalent of 82,000 people flying from London to New York once a year.
If the Pope were to reintroduce the global meat-free mandate, it would be “an important and inexpensive means of reducing greenhouse gas emissions,” said Larcom, the study’s coordinator, who works at the University of Cambridge. The research has been published on the Social Science Research Network.
Accordingly, the exemption would take effect even if only a minority of Catholics obeyed the papal order. With more than a billion believers worldwide, the Catholic Church is “very well positioned” to help fight global warming.
The Friday renunciation of meat commemorating the crucifixion of Jesus that occurred on this day of the week is one of the oldest Christian traditions. However, since the 1960s, meatless Fridays have only been mandatory for Catholics on Holy Week before Easter.
Livestock farming for meat production is responsible for more than 14 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions.
(SDA)