Animal Agriculture's Impact On The Environment

Introduction (Attention Step): What do you think is the greatest cause of emission pollution? What do you believe is harming our planet? Well if you guessed that fossil fuel emissions are the biggest emission polluters, then you are completely wrong (attention getter). Animal Agriculture is actually the number one Greenhouse Gas emitter in the planet. Yes, cow farts are destroying the environment. It sounds crazy, but ever since the mid 60’s, agriculture associations have been spreading across the Americas and dominated the industry. The most destructive of all Ag corps are Livestock Corporation. These associations include IBP, Conagra, Perdue, Farmland National Beef, Cargill, etc … Animal Agriculture is effecting every single person in this room because we all breathe in the same air, drink the same water, and eat the same (credibility). The buildup of Animal Agriculture is a great destruction to our planet and our species because it is creating

After learning about the statistics of how much agriculture consumes our planet, I was appalled to see how destructive it is. Jonathan Foley put into perspective the increase and rapid demand for food. Agriculture alone consumes 40% of our land surface, 70% of our irrigation system, and

As the human population continues to grow exponentially, researchers like David Jenkins, are looking into other possible food production. Jenkins proposes that eating plants would not only be beneficial for the body, since it lowers cholesterol and blood pressure, but it would also be more sustainable than raising meat. Jenkins’ research highlights three dietary methods and he explains how these dietary methods (especially Simian) can help us feed 9 billion in 2050. With the exponential growth in human population, there must be an increase in livestock (meat) to support the rapid growth. Jenkins’ data show that already livestock feed processing and production heavily contributes in the emission of greenhouse gases. Jenkins’ proposal is that

Cowspircay delves into the interesting but alarming trend in the rise of carbon emissions and negative environmental effects of the food production industry, specifically cattle. Some staggering figures offer are alarming, including that animal agriculture produces 65% of the worlds nitrous oxide, which 296x greater in damage to our environment then co2. The massive increase in emissions from the cattle industry is scary, mostly because of its lack of focus from environmental groups. Some other alarming facts brought to lights, and I feel are the more important factors, farming uses 30% of the worlds water and 45% of the earths land. These numbers are startling and scary in a world that is massively growing but running out of water and places

Animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors to climate change; however, this fact goes unacknowledged by most people. Livestock and their byproducts produce monstrous amounts

In a study conducted by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition in 2003, it was estimated that there are approximately 2 billion people that live primarily on a meat-based diet while approximately 4 billion people live primarily on a plant-based diet (Pimentel, 2003). With this information we can deduce just how much of a difference in environmental effects there are between a vegetarian diet and a diet that consumes meat. For example, in this study it was found that the average amount of fossil fuel energy used for 1 kilocalorie of animal-based protein was 11 times more than that for 1 kilocalorie of grain protein. This statistic shows that the mass production of animal meat-based foods requires a much larger amount of the already limited amount of fossil fuels that are on Earth than plant-based food. By examining this fact, it is not a broad leap to assume that in reducing the worlds extravagant use of animal meat for consumption we could not only preserve the natural resources we have but also assist in reducing factors that add to climate change. Although the argument could be made that because both the vegetarian diet and a diet with meat in it use a large amount of resources there would be no difference in reducing the effects that the agriculture industry has on climate change but that is simply not true. While it is true that both diets use a large amount of resources, across the board the meat-based diet uses a much larger amount of resources. In fact, in the study conducted by The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition it states, “The meat-based diet requires more energy, land, and water resources than the lactoovovegetarian [vegetarian] diet.” Although both are considered unsustainable, this study provides very valid evidence that the vegetarian diet is more sustainable than that of a meat-based

While all of us relatively understand how driving cars, leaving the lights on, or using too much water can affect the environment, there is one massive human activity that is frequently overlooked—eating. From growing, to processing, to distributing, and finally consuming, our agricultural system uses an immense portion of our planet’s limited resources and emits large amounts of greenhouse gases that have drastic effects on the environment. Because of this, it is imperative to understand the environmental impacts of the type of foods that we choose to include in our diets. While much of today’s population is heavily reliant on animal products, it is evident that a meat-based diet is not environmentally sustainable; on the other hand, a plant-based diet is much more environmentally friendly in terms of the amount of grain, water, and

The hog farming industry has always been one of controversy when it comes to its effects on the environment, and with the green house gas emissions a pig farm produces and the spread of disease through swine this is with good reason. Although the truth is that the industry has come a very long way in the past 50 years in regards to its sustainability. The pig farming industry as a whole has been able to reduce its overall environmental impact and natural resources use by 50% in the past 50 years according to a study done by Garth Boyd a well known researcher on environmental footprints (Boyd). Even with the improvements made by the pig farming industry there is still a need for change and major improvement in sustainable practices.

I do believe that the more we produce meat, the more we degrade our planet and lessen the prospect of having a sustainable future for our planet and our future generations. However, However, I know that I cannot stop eating meat even if I try to and I know that only a few of us have the willingness and motivation to abstain from eating meat and become a vegetarian but I think that if meat-eaters make a small change in our diets and eat more vegetables, fruits and grains, they will not only be healthier but they can also help in their own little

“The UN along with other agencies reported that not only did livestock play a major role in global warming, it is also the leading cause of resource consumption and environmental degradation destroying the planet today.” (Andersen & Kuhn, 2014). It is important, then, to consider the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. This essay will argue that animal agriculture is harmful to the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, water- and land use, and that policies in the form of subsidizing plant foods, altering the Canada Food Guide, and creating plant based nutrition coaching and support groups should be enacted to solve these problems. The first section of this paper will outline scholarly literature on the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. This paper will then discuss why a plant based diet is also suitable for optimal health. Finally, this essay will conclude with an overview of the various social policies that must be executed to solve these environmental issues.

Environmentalist view animal agriculture as a major threat to the Earth and the population that fills it. Animal agriculture has caused mass extinction of species, the melting of Arctic sea, and the collapse of the world fisheries. According to many environmentalist, the earth is currently facing the greatest mass extinction of all in history roughly a thousand times greater than ever before. For example, the Earth has lost more plant and animal species in today's time compared to the period of the dinosaur extinction. Due to the constant increase of animal agriculture causing desertification and deforestation is leading to the increase of greenhouse gases in the Earth’s atmosphere and predominantly the unnatural change in the climate. In the

To live in this world we need something to eat in order to survive. People wants to become for variety of reasons. some people abstain from animal products because they find factory farming cruel and inhumane. Other ones thought that animal agriculture destroys the environment. And many of them want to be veganism because they want to choose healthy diet or such in which is inherently low in fats, calories and cholesterol and high in vitamins and fibers.

Consumption of meat by humans creates several problems. First and foremost, raising animals for food compromises the environment. For example, it takes a large amount of natural resources to sustain the meat industry. The use of water, land, and food to raise animals for human consumption is not an efficient use of our limited resources. In contrast, it is more efficient to feed humans directly than to use land, food, and water to feed animals to be used as food. There are shortages of fertile land, clean water, and food in several third world countries. Many of these countries’ resources are allocated to produce feed for animals in developed countries around the world. As a result, the citizens of these countries are stricken with water and food shortages, while their crops are feeding cattle from across the globe. However, this problem can be solved by adopting a vegan diet. The vegan diet will allow a more efficient use of resources that in turn can be used to feed starving men, women, and children throughout the world. Consequently, more people in the world could be fed if the land used to grow feed for animals was used to grow food for humans.

Global meat production rose to a new peak of 308.5 million tons in 2013, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a more than fourfold increase over the last five decades. Even more startlingly, meat production has grown 25-fold since 1800 (Horrigan, Lawerence &Walker, 2002). Globally, agriculture utilizes nearly 70 per cent of the world 's available freshwater. One-third of that percentage is used to grow grains to feed to livestock (ECOS, 2014). While the global meat industry provides food and a livelihood for billions of people, it also has significant environmental and health consequences for the planet. Over half of the water used in meat production

Increasing human population and industrial agriculture go hand and hand. Currently, there are 7.4 billion people in the world and it continues to grow rapidly and the demand to meet the needs for our growing population remains to be an overwhelming task. Agriculture is the practice of farming, including cultivation of the soil for the growing of crops and the rearing of animals to provide food, wool, and other products. Deforestation is by-product of agriculture in which we must cut down trees for agriculture. We are losing our natural resources to meet the demands of the population. The pressure to meet the needs is contributing to global warming, animal extinctions and uprooting indigenous people from their homes.