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WHAT TO DO AND HOW TO DO IT:INDIVIDUALS AND GROUPSGiven all the problems with livestock production and meat consumption, is thereanything that normal people can do? Yes: individuals can make choices about theirconsumption patterns, and groups can push for change.Livestockproductionshould respectboth people andnatureAsmall but growing number of people in developedcountries are making a choice: theyare insisting on products that conserve theenvironment and respect animal welfare. Manypeople are starting to choose ‘flexitarian’ dietswhich includes eating less and better meat andmore plant based protein. United Nations agenciessuch as the Food and Agricultural Organization(FAO) and the World Health Organizationrecognize the need for change. In 2010, FAOdefined a sustainable diet as “…those dietswith low environmental impacts which contributeto food and nutrition security and tohealthy life for present and future generations.Sustainable diets are protective and respectful ofbiodiversity and ecosystems, culturally acceptable,accessible, economically fair and affordable;nutritionally adequate, safe and healthy; whileoptimizing natural and human resources.”Many civil society organizations and farmers’movements are calling for a different food andagriculture system: one that respects both peopleand nature. Along with international organizationssuch as the World Cancer Research Fund,they are pushing for less meat in Western dietsand healthy menus in public institutions suchas hospitals and schools. The Meat Free Mondaysmovement has gained momentum and has nowbeen established in 29 countries around the world.Animal welfare concerns are also attracting attention,and not just in Western societies:The Eurogroup for Animals unites 40 organizationsacross Europe to defend animal welfarePeople for the Ethical Treatment of Animals in theUSA says that “animals are not ours to eat, wear,experiment on, use for entertainment or abusein any way”.The Chinese Animal Protection Network consistsof more than 40 groups and wants to shift fromemotion to science as a basis for efforts to protectanimals.The Animal Welfare Board of India advises thegovernment and has been “the face of the animalwelfare movement in the country for the last50 years.”The demands of all these organizations areclearly directed at wealthy, middle-class consumersaround the world. However, no one has anythingagainst the nearly one billion people, someof them the world’s poorest, who depend on rear-Via Campesina, a worldwide organization for small-scale farmersMembership by country, 2013VIA CAMPESINA164 organizationsin 79 countries58MEAT ATLAS