--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: As far as food is concerned, the great…" description: "\"“As far as food is concerned, the great extravagance is not caviar or truffles, but beef, pork and poultry. Some 38 percent of the world's grain crop i..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/peter-singer-1001_carbon-dioxide_as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-ex_2680267.jpg" --- # As far as food is concerned, the great extravagance is not… ![“As far as food is concerned, the great extravagance is not caviar or truffles, but beef, pork and poultry. Some 38 percent of the world's grain crop is now fed to animals, as well as large quantities of soybeans. There are three times as many domestic animals on this planet as there are human…” quote by Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/peter-singer-1001_carbon-dioxide_as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-ex_2680267.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/peter-singer-1001_carbon-dioxide_as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-ex_2680267.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/peter-singer-1001_carbon-dioxide_as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-ex_2680267.jpg) > ““As far as food is concerned, the great extravagance is not caviar or truffles, but beef, pork and poultry. Some 38 percent of the world's grain crop is now fed to animals, as well as large quantities of soybeans. There are three times as many domestic animals on this planet as there are human beings. The combined weight of the world's 1.28 billion cattle alone exceeds that of the human population. While we look darkly at the number of babies being born in poorer parts of the world, we ignore the over-population of farm animals, to which we ourselves contribute...\[t\]hat, however, is only part of the damage done by the animals we deliberately breed. The energy intensive factory farming methods of the industrialised nations are responsible for the consumption of huge amounts of fossil fuels. Chemical fertilizers, used to grow the feed crops for cattle in feedlots and pigs and chickens kept indoors in sheds, produce nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas. Then there is the loss of forests. Everywhere, forest-dwellers, both human and non-human, can be pushed out. Since 1960, 25 percent of the forests of Central America have been cleared for cattle. Once cleared, the poor soils will support grazing for a few years; then the graziers must move on. Shrub takes over the abandoned pasture, but the forest does not return. When the forests are cleared so the cattle can graze, billions of tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. Finally, the world's cattle are thought to produce about 20 percent of the methane released into the atmosphere, and methane traps twenty-five times as much heat from the sun as carbon dioxide. Factory farm manure also produces methane because, unlike manured dropped naturally in the fields, it dies not decompose in the presence of oxygen. All of this amounts to a compelling reason...for a plant based diet.”” [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. Industrial animal agriculture consumes massive grain, fuels deforestation, and emits greenhouse gases, making plant‑based diets environmentally crucial. **In simple terms:** Livestock production harms climate and ecosystems. Key Takeaway Adopt plant‑based eating to reduce environmental impact. Themes environment climate food systems ethics Mood concerned motivated Type ethical environmental When to use this quote - dietary choices - policy advocacy - consumer education Key Concepts sustainability resource allocation greenhouse gases Questions to Reflect On - How can governments incentivize sustainable agriculture? - What personal habits most reduce your carbon footprint? A Different Perspective Reducing meat alone won’t solve all climate issues; systemic change needed. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Carbon dioxide](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-dioxide/) [Environment](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/environment/) [Factory farming](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/factory-farming/) [Food](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/food/) [Fossil fuel](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/fossil-fuel/) [Human population](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/human-population/) [Plant based diet](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/plant-based-diet/) [Weight of the world](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weight-of-the-world/) ## Related quotes > [“Today, the earth’s continents are home to billions of Sapiens. 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Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-colin-campbell/) > [Whether the patient has a cardiac condition, hypertension, autoimmune disease, fibroids, or asthma, he or she must be informed that fasting and natural, plant-based…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joel-fuhrman/whether-the-patient-has-a-cardiac-condition-hypertension-autoimmune/) [Joel Fuhrman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joel-fuhrman/) > [Some people feel that humans have a right to eat other animals but not to trash the earth. They may choose veganism because a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/karen-dawn/some-people-feel-that-humans-have-a-right-to-eat-other-animals-but/) [Karen Dawn](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/karen-dawn/) > [I'm not perfect, but what's wonderful about eating a plant-based diet is, I don't have to be.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/victoria-moran/i-m-not-perfect-but-what-s-wonderful-about-eating-a-plant-based-diet/) [Victoria Moran](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/victoria-moran/) > [If you have never tried a plant-based diet, start. If you've never juiced vegetables, start. If you've never taken vitamin C to saturation, start.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-saul/if-you-have-never-tried-a-plant-based-diet-start-if-you-ve-never/) [Andrew Saul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-saul/) > [Beyond my desire to boycott the torture factories, I am also way happier when I eat a plant-based diet, and I feel about a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/olivia-wilde/beyond-my-desire-to-boycott-the-torture-factories-i-am-also-way/) [Olivia Wilde](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/olivia-wilde/) > [“Plants are not cognizant. When we cut a leaf, we assume that the plant is suffering. But that's our own anthropomorphism about what's going…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/daniel-chamovitz/plants-are-not-cognizant-when-we-cut-a-leaf-we-assume-that-the-plant/) [Daniel Chamovitz](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/daniel-chamovitz/) > [50-100 years from now we are all going to be eating a plant based diet. Whether that happens through a catastrophe or a peaceful…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mark-bittman/50-100-years-from-now-we-are-all-going-to-be-eating-a-plant-based/) [Mark Bittman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mark-bittman/) > [I know of nothing else in medicine that can come close to what a plant-based diet can do. In theory, if everyone were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/t-colin-campbell/i-know-of-nothing-else-in-medicine-that-can-come-close-to-what-a/) [T. Colin Campbell](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/t-colin-campbell/) > [“Vegans following a whole food diet had a borderline supply of vitamin B12. Folic acid, vitamin B6, TSH, iron metabolism, and the blood count…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joachim-schwarz/vegans-following-a-whole-food-diet-had-a-borderline-supply-of-vitamin/) Joachim Schwarz > [The single most impactful thing you can do today is adopt a more plant-based diet.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/louie-psihoyos/the-single-most-impactful-thing-you-can-do-today-is-adopt-a-more/) [Louie Psihoyos](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/louie-psihoyos/) > [Eat a plant-based diet - which act like prebiotic and probiotics in the gut.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/deepak-chopra/eat-a-plant-based-diet-which-act-like-prebiotic-and-probiotics-in-the/) [Deepak Chopra](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/deepak-chopra/) > [When I was 88 years old, I gave up meat entirely and switched to a plant foods diet following a slight stroke. During the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-spock/when-i-was-88-years-old-i-gave-up-meat-entirely-and-switched-to-a/) [Benjamin Spock](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-spock/) ## More by Peter Singer > [I have never really been fond of animals. I certainly wasn't an 'animal lover' when I became involved in the movement. I just came…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-have-never-really-been-fond-of-animals-i-certainly-wasn-t-an-animal/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Knowledge is generally considered a good thing; so, presumably, knowing more about how the U.S. thinks and operates around the world is also good.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/knowledge-is-generally-considered-a-good-thing-so-presumably-knowing/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [The price we are willing to pay for safety cannot be infinite. It is distasteful to put a price on human life, but the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-price-we-are-willing-to-pay-for-safety-cannot-be-infinite-it-is/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [The hope of Internet anarchists was that repressive governments would have only two options: accept the Internet with its limitless possibilities of spreading information,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-hope-of-internet-anarchists-was-that-repressive-governments-would/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [ Nineteen thousand children \[are\] dying every day. Does it really matter that we're not walking past them in the street? Does it really matter… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/nineteen-thousand-children-are-dying-every-day-does-it-really-matter/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“The unchallenged assumption is that humans may use animals for their own purposes, and they may raise and kill them to satisfy their preference…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/the-unchallenged-assumption-is-that-humans-may-use-animals-for-their/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Beginning to reason is like stepping onto an escalator that leads upward and out of sight. Once we take the first step, the distance…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/beginning-to-reason-is-like-stepping-onto-an-escalator-that-leads/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Population growth is not a reason against giving aid but a reason for reconsidering the kind of aid to give.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/population-growth-is-not-a-reason-against-giving-aid-but-a-reason-for/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Well the real concept of basic needs if you cut it right down are simply the physical needs that are unavoidable for all of…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/well-the-real-concept-of-basic-needs-if-you-cut-it-right-down-are/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“Dairy farmers routinely remove calves from their mothers at an early age so that the milk will be available for humans; anyone who has…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/dairy-farmers-routinely-remove-calves-from-their-mothers-at-an-early/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [Attempts to defend amusement parks and circuses on the grounds that they 'educate' people about animals should not be taken seriously. Such enterprises are…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/attempts-to-defend-amusement-parks-and-circuses-on-the-grounds-that/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“A consequence of this alienation of humans from their own nature is that they are also alienated from each other. Productive activity becomes ‘activity…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/a-consequence-of-this-alienation-of-humans-from-their-own-nature-is/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [“I argued against the view that the only obligation we have to strangers is to avoid harming them; but even if we were to…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-argued-against-the-view-that-the-only-obligation-we-have-to/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [I believe that in this new world that we live in, we often have a responsibility, you know, to actually go beyond the thou…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/i-believe-that-in-this-new-world-that-we-live-in-we-often-have-a/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) > [It may be thought justifiable to require tests on animals of potentially life-saving drugs, but the same kinds of tests are used for products…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/it-may-be-thought-justifiable-to-require-tests-on-animals-of/) [Peter Singer](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) [Explore all 310 Peter Singer quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/) ## More Carbon dioxide quotes > [Washington bureaucrats have classified the very air we exhale as a pollutant and have gone unchallenged in this incredible assertion. The logical consequence is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ron-paul/washington-bureaucrats-have-classified-the-very-air-we-exhale-as-a/) [Ron Paul](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ron-paul/) > [Breathing is give(carbon dioxide) and take(oxygen), such is life, find balance.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marcel-williams/breathing-is-give-carbon-dioxide-and-take-oxygen-such-is-life-find/) Marcel Williams > [We have to slow down the emissions of carbon dioxide and methane from coal burning, oil and eventually natural gas... And the best ways…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ramez-naam/we-have-to-slow-down-the-emissions-of-carbon-dioxide-and-methane-from/) [Ramez Naam](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ramez-naam/) > [Whether carbon dioxide is quite the environmental villain that some people make it out to be is not yet proven.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tony-abbott/whether-carbon-dioxide-is-quite-the-environmental-villain-that-some/) [Tony Abbott](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tony-abbott/) > [As we pump greenhouse gases into our atmosphere, the ocean absorbs carbon dioxide, making the seawater acidic and hostile for shellfish and corals.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/barry-gardiner/as-we-pump-greenhouse-gases-into-our-atmosphere-the-ocean-absorbs/) [Barry Gardiner](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/barry-gardiner/) > [ \[The doctrine of air\] I was led into in consequence of inhabiting a house adjoining to a public brewery, where I at first amused… ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/joseph-priestley/the-doctrine-of-air-i-was-led-into-in-consequence-of-inhabiting-a/) [Joseph Priestley](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/joseph-priestley/) > [“The discovery of an interaction among the four hemes made it obvious that they must be touching, but in science what is obvious is…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/anonymous/the-discovery-of-an-interaction-among-the-four-hemes-made-it-obvious/) [Anonymous](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/anonymous/) > [“The instrument Keeling built, the gas chromatograph, works by passing infrared (IR) light through a sample of air and measuring the amount of IR…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/heidi-cullen/the-instrument-keeling-built-the-gas-chromatograph-works-by-passing/) [Heidi Cullen](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/heidi-cullen/) > [If food was no longer obliged to make intercontinental journeys, but stayed part of a system in which it can be consumed over short…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/carlo-petrini/if-food-was-no-longer-obliged-to-make-intercontinental-journeys-but/) [Carlo Petrini](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/carlo-petrini/) > [I know that nuclear is better than fossil fuels when it comes to carbon dioxide, but nuclear energy is by no means clean. We…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sheryl-crow/i-know-that-nuclear-is-better-than-fossil-fuels-when-it-comes-to/) [Sheryl Crow](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sheryl-crow/) > [Centuries-old habitats such as coral gardens are destroyed in an instant by bottom trawls, pulverized by weighted nets into barren plains. And global carbon…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/ted-danson/centuries-old-habitats-such-as-coral-gardens-are-destroyed-in-an/) [Ted Danson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/ted-danson/) > [Now, we put out a lot of carbon dioxide every year, over 26 billion tons. For each American, it's about 20 tons. For people…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/bill-gates/now-we-put-out-a-lot-of-carbon-dioxide-every-year-over-26-billion/) [Bill Gates](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/bill-gates/) > [Plate tectonics is not all havoc and destruction. The slow movement of continents and ocean floors recycles carbon dioxide dissolved in the oceans back…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/seth-shostak/plate-tectonics-is-not-all-havoc-and-destruction-the-slow-movement-of/) [Seth Shostak](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/seth-shostak/) > [Carbon dioxide pollution is transforming the chemistry of the ocean, rapidly making the water more acidic. In decades, rising ocean acidity may challenge life…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/sigourney-weaver/carbon-dioxide-pollution-is-transforming-the-chemistry-of-the-ocean/) [Sigourney Weaver](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/sigourney-weaver/) > [It’s time to move the debate past the dogmatic view that carbon dioxide is evil and toward a world view that accepts the need…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/robert-bryce/it-s-time-to-move-the-debate-past-the-dogmatic-view-that-carbon/) [Robert Bryce](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/robert-bryce/) [Browse all 263 Carbon dioxide quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/carbon-dioxide/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“As far as food is concerned, the great extravagance is not caviar or truffles, but beef, pork and poultry. Some 38 percent of the world's grain crop is now fed to animals, as well as large quantities of soybeans. There are three times as many domestic animals on this planet as there are human beings. The combined weight of the world's 1.28 billion cattle alone exceeds that of the human population. While we look darkly at the number of babies being born in poorer parts of the world, we ignore the over-population of farm animals, to which we ourselves contribute...[t]hat, however, is only part of the damage done by the animals we deliberately breed. The energy intensive factory farming methods of the industrialised nations are responsible for the consumption of huge amounts of fossil fuels. Chemical fertilizers, used to grow the feed crops for cattle in feedlots and pigs and chickens kept indoors in sheds, produce nitrous oxide, another greenhouse gas. Then there is the loss of forests. Everywhere, forest-dwellers, both human and non-human, can be pushed out. Since 1960, 25 percent of the forests of Central America have been cleared for cattle. Once cleared, the poor soils will support grazing for a few years; then the graziers must move on. Shrub takes over the abandoned pasture, but the forest does not return. When the forests are cleared so the cattle can graze, billions of tons of carbon dioxide are released into the atmosphere. Finally, the world's cattle are thought to produce about 20 percent of the methane released into the atmosphere, and methane traps twenty-five times as much heat from the sun as carbon dioxide. Factory farm manure also produces methane because, unlike manured dropped naturally in the fields, it dies not decompose in the presence of oxygen. All of this amounts to a compelling reason...for a plant based diet.”", "creator": { "@type": "Person", "name": "Peter Singer" }, "isPartOf": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website" }, "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-extravagance-is-not-caviar-or/", "about": { "@type": "Thing", "name": "Carbon dioxide" }, "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-extravagance-is-not-caviar-or/#quotation", "image": { "@type": "ImageObject", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/peter-singer-1001_carbon-dioxide_as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-ex_2680267.jpg", "contentUrl": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/peter-singer-1001_carbon-dioxide_as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-ex_2680267.jpg", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/fc1/peter-singer-1001_carbon-dioxide_as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-ex_2680267.jpg", "width": 1080, "height": 1080, "caption": "“As far as food is concerned, the great extravagance is not caviar or truffles, but beef, pork and poultry…” — Peter Singer", "creditText": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "creator": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } } }, { "@type": "BreadcrumbList", "itemListElement": [ { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 1, "name": "Home", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 2, "name": "Quotes", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 3, "name": "Peter Singer", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/peter-singer/" }, { "@type": "ListItem", "position": 4, "name": "“As far as food is concerned,...", "item": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-extravagance-is-not-caviar-or/" } ], "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/peter-singer/as-far-as-food-is-concerned-the-great-extravagance-is-not-caviar-or/#breadcrumb" }, { "@type": "WebSite", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#website", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "publisher": { "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization" } }, { "@type": "Organization", "@id": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/#organization", "name": "SMS4Smile Quotes", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/", "logo": { "@type": "ImageObject", "url": "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/wp-content/themes/sq/assets/icons/icon-512.png", "width": 512, "height": 512 } } ] } ```