The environmental burden of Animal Agriculture

Climate change is an epidemic that is affecting the lives of all species on planet earth. It is no secret that greenhouse gases entering the atmosphere, due to vehicle gas emissions, cause global warming. But, something that is not making headlines as much as it should be is the effect of livestock, and animal agriculture farming on climate change, and the environment as a whole.

According to a UN report, cattle-rearing generates more global warming gases than transportation. Livestock is one of the most significant contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems, and cattle-rearing is a major source of land and water degradation. It was reported that in 2006, about 90% of CH4 (methane) emissions from enteric fermentation in Canada comes from ruminants.

Cows are fed so they can breed, and perpetuate the mass-production cycle of dairy and meat. Part of the feeding process, requires cows to eat water-intensive grains, using up a large amount of the earth’s water. It takes a whopping 2464 gallons of water to produce one pound of California beef. Moreover, acres of forests are destroyed to graze animals, and grow soybeans. The soybeans are fed to cows, pigs, and factory farmed fish.

Considering this is a major environmental issue, one would assume that it is discussed a lot on environmentalist websites but shockingly, major environmentalist organizations such as GreenPeace and Sierra Club do not mention the effects of animal agriculture on our environment. The main focus seems to be on natural gas production, fracking, and the contribution of fossil fuels to global warming.

Aside environmental issues such as water and land degradation, and the rise of greenhouse gases, the animal agriculture industry contributes to other problems such as the loss of species due to overgrazing, and habitat loss from livestock production.

It is evident that the government has influence in the content non-profits will promote on their websites, because they are a major funding source for non-profits. Moreover, the big meat producers have political power because of how wealthy they are, and are therefore influential in federal policies. It is beneficial for the government to be on good terms with corporations, because they are potential sponsors.

Emissions are on the rise, as the demand for meat and dairy consumption is growing, and the world is constantly populating. Implementing sustainability solutions such as renewable energy to reduce climate change is a long, and expensive process but we can start by reducing the amount of meat that is consumed.

It is a utopian idea for everyone to stop consuming meat and dairy. Especially since meat and dairy has been part of the standard American diet for quite some time now, but people can gradually cut out meat and dairy from their diets. For starters, they can only eat meat and dairy a couple of days a week. I am slowly cutting out meat from my diet, and eventually dairy too in hopes of becoming vegan one day. Currently, the only meat I eat is chicken, which is a much more sustainable option instead of beef. Eating chicken instead of beef cuts a quarter of emissions.

The idea of sustainable farming seems unrealistic when the nature of the agriculture industry is that everything has to be mass-produced to meet the demand. For example, in the case of fishing, fish are accumulated in big fish nets, and other aquatic species such as sharks, dolphins, and more are entrapped in the process.

Traditionally, people are told that meat and dairy are the main sources of protein, and while this is true, people can get enough proteins from plant-based foods. Although idealistic, it would be great for the environment, if more and more people switched to a vegan diet. To put things into perspective, a vegan diet uses up about 1/18th land compared to a meat diet.

Also, an average vegan diet has a foodprint of about 1.5 t CO2e, while for a meat lover it is 3.3. People can obtain the nutrients that they usually get from meat and dairy, from alternative sources. Soy, tofu, and broccoli are all good sources of calcium. For protein, quinoa, tofu, and beans are good options. If you are still lacking certain nutrients, there is always the possibility of taking supplements to compensate for this. Re-evaluating ones diet, can go a long way in bettering the environment, caring for our species, and the future generations that will inhabit our beautiful planet Earth. So before you stock up your grocery basket with several packages of meat, consider the difference you could be making on a large scale if you put one less meat source in your basket. It’s never too late to start making a change!