Meat Consumption as a Crime of Ecocide: A World in Which Meat Consumption is Illegal May be Closer than Many People Realize

By: Jessica Chapman

In fall 2019, Michael Mansfield, one of Great Britain’s top barristers,[1] stated that the British government should propose legislation that makes eating meat from slaughtered animals illegal and a form of ecocide.[2] He suggested this hypothetical legislation as a proposed effort to protect the environment from one of the leading contributors of climate change: animal agriculture.[3] Governments have the power to enact this legislation, and should do so as an acknowledgment of people’s changing values toward the treatment of animals, sustainable diets, and environmental preservation throughout the world.  

Ecocide is the “loss, damage or destruction of ecosystem(s) of a given territory(ies) . . . such that peaceful enjoyment by the inhabitants has been or will be severely diminished.”[4] Attorneys are actively working to convince the International Criminal Court to establish ecocide as a crime,[5] in an effort to protect all beings (flora, non-human fauna, and humans), and the earth itself, from irreparable harm.[6] Ecocide includes activities that cause “direct damage . . . to the Earth’s land, sea and river systems, the flora and fauna within the affected ecosystems, as well [as] the resultant impact on the climate.”[7] The proposed crime can apply to activities that cover environmental, cultural, and emotional damage.[8] Mr. Mansfield, in company with many environmentalists, considers animal agriculture a form of ecocide because it destroys the natural world.[9] Key forms of destruction include, but are not limited to: 1) the creation of at least 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions solely from “raising livestock for meat, eggs and milk”[10]; the creation of acid rain and unbearable smells for communities that surround factory farming facilities[11]; the creation of air pollution that contains hydrogen sulfide and ammonia, which causes surrounding communities to develop increased rates of severe health ailments[12]; and the fact that surrounding communities have an increased risk of contracting diseases whose genesis derive from factory farms, including swine flu and avian flu, that pass through the air and are highly contagious.[13]

The question, however, is not could Great Britain illegalize meat consumption, but would the country choose to do so. Countries have varying legal systems which governments develop around their citizens’ values and to enact protective measures for their citizens’ health and well-being.[14] Particularly with the omnipresent threat of COVID-19 that exists at the time of this article’s writing, national governments have exemplified the speed at which they can enact and successfully enforce new legislation. Every state in the United States enacted some degree of self-quarantine for their citizens in a matter of weeks,[15] and many countries throughout the world enacted similar provisions.[16] China is looking into banning the consumption of cat and dog meat because of public concern regarding COVID-19,[17] and the country banned wildlife trade and consumption of wildlife meat to protect its citizens from exposure to COVID-19[18] – activities that were legal just months prior. COVID-19, which humans likely first caught at a live animal meat market,[19] has harmed nearly everyone in the world one way or another.[20] As seen through China’s protective measures or the closure of many slaughterhouses because of the spread of COVID-19 within them,[21] sovereignties have already inadvertently enacted legislation against meat consumption because of public concern and the risks meat consumption poses. Mr. Mansfield’s proposal that the British government consider meat consumption a crime may make sense to more people now that the world has been affected by a pandemic that originated from meat consumption. Such measures do not seem outlandish given the fact that multiple government officials and news sources refer to the spread of COVID-19, and humans’ fight against it, as a war.[22]

In modern history, countries have illegalized multiple activities that were originally not crimes, but became illegal because of the environmental, cultural, and emotional damage they caused. The following non-exhaustive list includes some crimes that countries now prohibit because of people’s changing attitudes and cultural evolution[23]: smoking in doors,[24] genocide,[25] slavery and human trafficking,[26] torture,[27] dumping of hazardous materials,[28] and poaching.[29] Meat consumption shares many of the same abhorred elements the listed crimes entail. For instance, meat consumption’s supply chain pollutes sea and river systems, destroys ecosystems and the wildlife within them, and exacerbates climate change.[30] Meat consumption’s resulting effects kill thousands of people every year[31] through ailments such as cardiovascular disease and cancer,[32] or facilitate other disasters, like COVID-19, that kill thousands of people in months.[33]

In addition to being a form of ecocide, people could view meat consumption’s supply chain and resulting effects – the illnesses, viruses, and environmental degradation it perpetuates – as a crime against humanity. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines a crime against humanity as an atrocity “that is directed especially against an entire population or part of a population on specious grounds and without regard to individual guilt or responsibility even on such grounds.”[34] The application of defining the crime against humanity to meat consumption could occur in the following manner: Individuals (an entire population) who eat meat and animal byproducts, run the risk of developing cancer and heart disease, among other ailments. COVID-19, which stemmed from meat consumption, has primarily killed older individuals and individuals with compromised immune systems (part of a population). Meat consumption and diseases like COVID-19 do not feel individual guilt or responsibility for the people they killed.

Mr. Mansfield stated an opinion that proves to have merit on myriad levels at this time in history: meat consumption is a threat to the world’s existence as we know it. People who are concerned about the effect animal agriculture has on their long-term quality of life should urge their governments to illegalize meat consumption. The world’s pandemic-induced quarantine creates momentum for such legislation and would be a proactive step toward promoting a healthier human population that does not deplete limited natural resources.[35] If we do not change our values and respective policies quickly, the world’s ecosystems will become too toxic for us to live in contentedly and we will be forced to encounter much greater tragedies than we have already experienced through the COVID-19 pandemic. We have the (limited) time now, to enact legislation that promotes the survival of all beings and ecosystems. We should adapt to our environment, as we have throughout centuries, in ways that will enable us to protect ourselves and those we love from future, unapologetic natural disasters and mass deaths, that derive from human-induced activity. The wars against pandemics and natural disasters that originate from human activity are not wars against external threats, they are wars against ourselves, which we have had the power to prevent all along. Illegalizing meat consumption and calling it ecocide is a fundamental strategy that will enable the global human community to ensure that it does not lose a war that never needed to occur.

#environment #meat #MichaelMansfield #human #rights #internationalrights #COVID19 #coronavirus #ecocide #climatechange #agriculture #animalagriculture #agribusiness #law #UK #GreatBritain #China #wildlife #meatconsumption #crimesagainsthumanity #crime #health

[1] See, e.g., Michael Mansfield: Meet Britain’s [sic] boldest barrister, Independent (May 7, 2008), https://www.independent.co.uk/news/people/profiles/michael-mansfield-meet-britainrsquos-boldest-barrister-821976.html, and Phoebe Weston, Top British barrister says eating meat could become illegal, INDEPENDENT (Sept. 23, 2019), https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/eating-meat-illegal-vegans-michael-mansfield-qc-labour-conference-a9115656.html?fbclid=IwAR0YXyUnqnxD3uLQrlGizkkbS5_60OcDbYIEi1oYG9hPHDKUJ1ke3bpyC6Q.

[2] Weston, supra note 1.

[3] Id.

[4] What is Ecocide?, Ecocide Law (last visited Apr. 14, 2020), https://ecocidelaw.com/ecocide-law-2/.

[5] Ecocide law, Ecocide Law (last visited Apr. 14, 2020), https://ecocidelaw.com/.

[6] What is Ecocide?, supra note 4.

[7] Id.

[8] Id.

[9] Weston, supra note 1.

[10] Id.; James Cameron & Suzy Amis Cameron, Animal agriculture is choking the Earth and making us sick. We must act now, Guardian (Dec. 4, 2017), https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/04/animal-agriculture-choking-earth-making-sick-climate-food-environmental-impact-james-cameron-suzy-amis-cameron; Key facts & findings, Food & Agric. Org. of the U.N. (last visited Apr. 14, 2020), http://www.fao.org/news/story/en/item/197623/icode/.

[11] See, e.g., Sandi Schwartz, 5 Facts About Animal Agriculture & Air Pollution That You Just Can’t Argue With, One Green Planet (2017), https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/facts-about-animal-agriculture-and-air-pollution/.

[12] Id. (citing Livestock Production, NRDC (last visited Apr. 14, 2020), https://www.nrdc.org/issues/livestock-production, and generally National Assoc. of Local Boards of Health, Understanding Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations & Their Impact on Communities (2010), available at https://www.cdc.gov/nceh/ehs/docs/understanding_cafos_nalboh.pdf.

[13] Schwartz, supra note 11 (citing Kate Good, EXCLUSIVE: The Shocking Truth About the Health & Environmental Impact of Factory Farm Waste, (2015), https://www.onegreenplanet.org/environment/health-and-environmental-impact-of-factory-farm-waste/. COVID-19 may very well be part of this group of illnesses, depending on the results of testing that will occur after the writing of this article. See e.g., Aylin Woodward, New research suggests the coronavirus can travel 13 feet through the air in a hospital – but you probably won’t walk through virus ‘clouds’, Business Insider (Apr. 13, 2020), https://www.businessinsider.com/how-coronavirus-travel-through-air-droplets-aerosols-2020-3?amp%25253Butm_medium=referral.

[14] See, e.g., Law & the Rule of Law, judicial learning ctr. (last visited Apr. 14, 2020), https://judiciallearningcenter.org/law-and-the-rule-of-law/; Edward W. Younkins, The Evolution of Law, Le Québécois Libre (Aug. 5, 2000), http://www.quebecoislibre.org/000805-11.htm.

[15] See Lockdowns, closures: How is each US state handling coronavirus?, Aljazeera (Apr. 14, 2020), https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2020/03/emergencies-closures-states-handling-coronavirus-200317213356419.html.

[16] See, e.g., Laurie Garrett, Sorry, America, the Full Lockdown is Coming, Foreign Policy (Mar. 18, 2020), https://foreignpolicy.com/2020/03/18/america-united-states-lockdown-coming/.

[17] See, e.g., Bloomberg News, China Moves Toward Ban of Eating Dogs, Citing Public Concern, Bloomberg (Apr. 9, 2020), https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2020-04-09/china-moves-toward-ban-on-eating-of-dogs-citing-public-concern; Aristos Georgiou, Chines City Bans Eating Cats & Dogs After Coronavirus Linked to Wildlife Meat, Newsweek (Apr. 2, 2020), https://www.newsweek.com/chinese-city-bans-eating-cats-dogs-coronavirus-wildlife-meat-1495817.

[18] Aylin Woodward, China just banned the trade and consumption of wild animals. Experts think the coronavirus jumped from live animals to people at a market., Business Insider (Feb. 25, 2020), https://www.businessinsider.com/china-bans-wildlife-trade-consumption-coronavirus-2020-2. Time will tell whether citizens comply with these new regulations.

[19] Id.

[20] Coronavirus Disease 2019 Global Map, Ctrs. for Disease Control & Prevention (Apr. 14, 2020, 12:00 PM), https://www.cdc.gov/coronavirus/2019-ncov/cases-updates/world-map.html.

[21] Kate Taylor, Am. could be ‘perilously close’ to meat shortages as slaughterhouses shutdown and hundreds of workers test positive for COVID-19, Business Insider (Apr. 13, 2020, 9:46 AM), https://www.businessinsider.com/sick-workers-closures-hit-meat-suppliers-sparking-shortage-fears-2020-4.

[22] See e.g., Rodion Ebbighausen, How Vietnam is winning its ‘war’ on coronavirus, DW (Mar. 26, 2020), https://www.dw.com/en/how-vietnam-is-winning-its-war-on-coronavirus/a-52929967.

[23] Alternatively, governments also legalize activities, like the consumption of marijuana, because of people’s activist efforts.

[24] Weston, supra note 1.

[25] See Convention on the Prevention & Punishment of the Crime of Genocide art. IV, Dec. 9, 1948, A/RES/3/260.

[26] See U.N. Universal Declaration of Human Rights art. 4, Dec. 10, 1948, resolution 217 A (III).

[27] See id. at art. 5.

[28] See Basel Convention on the Control of Transboundary Movements of Hazardous Wastes & their Disposal art. 9, Mar. 22, 1989.

[29] See generally Convention on Int’l Trade in Endangered Species of Wild Fauna & Flora, Mar. 3, 1973.

[30] What is Ecocide?, supra note 4; see also Dom Phillips & Daniel Camargos, Revealed: rampant deforestation of Amazon driven by global greed for meat, Guardian (July 2, 2019), https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/02/revealed-amazon-deforestation-driven-global-greed-meat-brazil.

[31] See Katherine Harmon, Red Meat Consumption Increases Risk of Early Death, Sci. Am. (Mar. 12, 2012), on the statistics of death caused from the consumption of red meat.

[32] See generally, e.g., Jeanine M. Genkinger & Anita Koushik, Meat Consumption & Cancer Risk, 4 PLoS Med. 1883 (2007), available at https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2121650/pdf/pmed.0040345.pdf.

[33] World Health Org., Coronavirus disease (COVID-19) Situation Rep. – 90 1 (Apr. 19, 2020), https://www.who.int/docs/default-source/coronaviruse/situation-reports/20200419-sitrep-90-covid-19.pdf?sfvrsn=551d47fd_2 (stating COVID-19 caused 152,551 confirmed deaths since its spread in December, as of April 19, 2020).

[34] Crime against humanity, Merriam-Webster (last visited Apr. 14, 2020), https://www.merriam-webster.com/dictionary/crime%20against%20humanity.

[35] See, e.g., Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret (A.U.M. Films & Media 2014).

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