More than 45,000 lives a year could be saved if everyone began eating meat no more than two or three times a week, health experts claim today. Widespread change to low-meat diets would stop 31,000 early deaths from heart disease, and 9,000 from cancer, according to new analyses of British eating habits. Dramatically reduced meat consumption would slow down climate change and deforestation in South America, where rainforests are being chopped down to raise cows, which are later exported to Europe.
Eating too much meat, particularly processed meat, is unhealthy because it can involve consuming more fat than official guidelines recommend. “We don’t need to go vegetarian to look after ourselves and our planet, but we do need to cut down on meat,” said Peter Bennett. “While the government has ignored the environmental aspect of meat and dairy consumption, it can’t ignore the lives that would be saved by switching to less and better meat.”
Meat producers criticised the report. “The vast majority of consumers eat less than average recommendations of red meat already,” said Chris Lamb. “It is over-simplistic to say that changing one element of the diet can have such a dramatic result. Red meat has a valuable role to play as part of a healthy diet.” Jen Elford, of the Vegetarian Society, added: “Of course less meat is better than more, but we can’t start solving the environmental and health problems without moving away from animal protein.”
1. Summarise the text in your own words as far as possible. (50 words maximum)
2. Find in the text synonyms for:
a. extensive, general
b. illness
c. reduce
d. of considerable importance
3. Answer the following questions. Use your own words and expressions.
a. How are the rainforests affected by meat consumption?
b. Why is eating too much meat so bad?
c. What arguments do meat producers use to defend themselves? Give two.
4. Write a composition on the following topic (120 words)
What can you do to have a healthy lifestyle?
