Meat-gobbling HK Adding To World Pollution: Study

Hong Kong residents gobble down four times more meat than the whole of UK every day and this is making them one of the worst polluters in the world, according to a University of Hong Kong study.

If greenhouse gas emissions are calculated by consumption, it would make the city the seventh highest polluter in the world, found the researchers.

The study found that in Hong Kong, an average of 664 grammes of meat is consumed per person every day – the equivalent of two 10-ounce steaks. Health Department guidelines recommend no more than 180 grammes of meat, fish and eggs, per day.

Yvonne Lau, who conducted the research project, said if people follow the government's guidelines, the city would achieve a 43 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions.

The study said that the official greenhouse emissions calculation is done by calculating emissions from energy production, agriculture and transportation in the city.

If changed into a calculation based on consumption, Hong Kong would rank as one of the highest polluters in the world as this would take into account greenhouse emissions from farm activities, transportation etc from wherever the food products came from, the study said.

Lau said on Thursday that cities such as Hong Kong may not produce much, but they consume a lot, not just food, but also items like clothes. "That's why they contribute to global carbon emissions. So if we use the old [standard] ... we are escaping the responsibility," she said.

She said that countries like Norway have already started adding carbon emissions as part of dietary considerations, advising people to limit their intake of red meat, such as beef, to reduce pollution. Lau told RTHK's Joanne Wong that this is something Hong Kong could also adopt.