Less meat is good for your health and environment, Kenyans told

World Animal Protection has called on Kenyans to eat less meat, especially this festive season.

The organisation has launched a one-month campaign on social media with the hashtag #EatLessMeat to champion the cause.

World Animal Protection Kenya director, Tennyson Williams, said that as Africans, we associate eating meat with being affluent.

“We think that the more meat we eat, the more it shows how rich or successful we are,” he said.

However, the consequences of eating more meat are heavier to us as individuals and to the environment.

“The more animals we keep to eat, the more we increase global warming and climate change,” he said.

He said animals contribute a lot to greenhouse gas emissions that cause global warming, furthering the climate crisis.

In addition, he said that the more animals we farm and produce to eat, the more we human beings and animals will compete for the same resources.

This will also impact the climate drastically.

“I’m not saying don’t eat meat at all, I’m saying we should reduce the amount of meat we eat because excess meat is also bad for your health,” he said.

Hypertension, obesity and other health complications result from eating too much meat.

He said during this month as they campaign for Kenyans to eat less meat, you could choose a particular day when you don’t eat meat for the entire day.

“Then you can take a picture of your plate and post it across social media with the hashtag #EatLessMeat and encourage others to help lessen the effects of climate change on the planet,” he said.