Chicken farmers may attribute the recent drop in prices of poultry to a possible decrease in consumption of meat throughout the country, but information released by the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy tells a different story.
Data from the institute shows the average Taiwanese consumes 77.1kg of meat each year, exceeding that of people in China, Japan and South Korea and slightly trailing Americans and Germans.
Council of Agriculture data from 2006 shows that the amount of meat consumed each year in Taiwan per person is more than 16kg greater than China, at 60.8kg, and far more than the average consumption of 40kg in Japan and South Korea, and close to Germany’s 79.1kg and 77.3kg in the US.
Eugene Chien (簡又新), chairman of the Taiwan Institute for Sustainable Energy, cited a recommendation from Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the UN’s Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, that in order to help delay the effects of global warming, the public should eat less meat, use bicycles to travel and decrease consumption.
In order to meet its goals of conserving energy, the Council for Economic Planning and Development will establish a task force to evaluate environmental policies aimed at energy conservation. It invited Chien to present a report on the effects of climate change on Taiwan.
A former head of the Environmental Protection Agency and minister for foreign affairs, Chien said that every 1kg of beef is equal to consuming 10kg of wheat, producing 36kg of carbon dioxide, and more than 100 types of toxic gas — produced by cows — eroding 35kg of surface soil.
Chien also recommended energy conservation in other areas.
Citing architecture as an example, he said energy can be conserved by using more efficient lighting, home appliances and air-conditioning or insulating walls. In industrial technology, energy can be conserved using hybrid cars, changing raw materials and using alternatives to fossil fuels.
In agriculture, changes can be made to methods of raising livestock, sewage systems and decreasing production of carbon dioxide, he said.
Palauan President Surangel Whipps Jr arrived in Taiwan last night to kick off his first visit to the country since beginning his second term earlier this year. After arriving at Taoyuan International Airport at around 6:30 pm, Whipps and his delegation were welcomed by Minister of Foreign Affairs Lin Chia-lung (林佳龍). Speaking to gathered media, the Palauan leader said he was excited and honored to be back in Taiwan on his first state visit to Taiwan since he was sworn in this January. Among those traveling with Whipps is Minister of State Gustav N. Aitaro, Public Infrastructure
RESOLUTIONS DEBATE: Taiwan’s allies said that UN and WHA resolutions cited by China and other nations ‘do not determine Taiwan’s participation in WHO activities’ A proposal to invite Taiwan to this year’s World Health Assembly (WHA) was rejected on Monday, resulting in Taipei’s absence from the annual meeting for a ninth consecutive year, although partners spoke up for Taiwan’s participation at the first day of the meeting. The first agenda item after the opening was a “two-on-two debate” on a proposal to invite Taiwan to participate at the WHA as an observer. Similar to previous years, two countries made statements in favor of the proposal, while two others expressed their opposition. Philippine Secretary of Health Teodoro Herbosa, president of the 78th WHA, accepted the WHA General Committee’s
Premier Cho Jung-tai (卓榮泰) on Friday laid out the Cabinet’s updated policy agenda and recapped the government’s achievements ahead of the one-year anniversary of President William Lai’s (賴清德) inauguration. Cho said the government had made progress across a range of areas, including rebuilding Hualien, cracking down on fraud, improving pedestrian safety and promoting economic growth. “I hope the public will not have the impression that the Cabinet only asked the legislature to reconsider a bunch of legal amendments,” Cho said, calling the moves “necessary” to protect constitutional governance and the public’s interest. The Cabinet would work toward achieving its “1+7” plan, he said. The
Nvidia founder and CEO Jensen Huang (黃仁勳) hosted a dinner in Taipei last night with key Taiwanese suppliers to celebrate the successful mass production of the company’s new Blackwell AI systems. Speaking to the media earlier yesterday, Huang thanked Nvidia’s Taiwanese partners for their contributions to the company’s ecosystem, while also sharing his plans to meet with Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co (TSMC) founder Morris Chang (張忠謀). In response to rumors that Nvidia will launch a downgraded Hopper H20 chip for China in July, Huang dismissed the reports, saying, “That is not true.” He clarified that there
RSS