How can we live more sustainably? How can we preserve our environment? When we think of sustainability, we often think of saving electricity, using less water, recycling, or switching to reusable items. However, our food choices also play a major part in living sustainably. Reducing our consumption of animal products can reduce our environmental footprint. Animal agriculture is linked to major global issues, including global warming, deforestation, depletion of natural resources, and pollution.
Global Warming
According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, livestock is responsible for 14.5 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions. This includes the production and processing of feed, the production of methane through the digestive process of animals such as cattle, sheep, and goats, the processing and storage of manure, and processing and transporting the animal products. Carbon dioxide and methane gather in the atmosphere and absorb sunlight and solar radiation, which traps heat, causes our planet to become hotter, and can cause natural disasters, like hurricanes and wildfires.
Generally, plant-based foods have a lower climate footprint per gram of protein compared to meat, eggs, and dairy products.
2. Deforestation
Animal agriculture is linked to 75% of historic deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest. Trees are being cut down for pasture land and land used to grow feed crops, to support the increasing demand for animal products. The loss of trees and other vegetations can cause climate change, loss of natural habitat, and flooding. It is especially important to reduce our meat consumption, as many meat products are imported from Latin America.
According to a study published in the journal Science, “meat, aquaculture, eggs, and dairy use ~83% of the world’s farmland and contribute 56 to 58% of food’s different emissions, despite providing only 37% of our protein and 18% of our calories.” Producing animal products not only requires raising the livestock, but also growing the grains to feed livestock. With the global population increasing by 1.1% each year, growing vegetable substitutes instead would help us better utilize natural resources and farm land.
3. Depletion of Natural Resources
Water
Cereals and starchy root vegetables have on average a lower water footprint per calories than animal products. Using less water to obtain more calories through crop products than animal products.
Fossil Fuels
According to American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the production of one calorie of animal protein requires more than ten times the fossil fuel input than a calorie of plant protein. Fossil energy is used for producing, transporting, storing, and processing livestock feed, as well as controlling the thermal environment, collecting and treating animal waste, and processing the animal products. Fossil fuels are nonrenewable energy sources, which when burned, release nitrogen oxide, which can contribute to the formation of smog, acid rain, and significant damages to our ecosystem.
4. Pollution
According to Climatenexus, “Global livestock produce seven to nine times more sewage than humans, most of which is left untreated.” Pollution of waterways from fertilizers, chemicals, animal waste, and pesticides can harm coral reefs, and damage natural habitat.
Reducing our consumption of animal products can help us live more sustainably. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has predicted that there will be a +70% increase in livestock between 2005 and 2050, to support the growing world population and urbanization. Already, approximately 70 billion animals are farmed for food every year worldwide. The predicted increase in livestock and the environmental damages of animal agriculture will compromise the potential of our future generations. We as individuals, and as a community, can make a difference by our daily food choices by moving towards plant-based eating.
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