Animal Agriculture
One of the leading causes of environmental pollution is often left in the dark, Animal Agriculture is responsible for environmental degradation across the globe.
ANIMAL AGRICULTURE STATS
“Animal agriculture is unsustainable. Animal agriculture is one of the worst industries for impacts on the environment. Animal products have been linked to many health issues like multiple cancers, strokes, dementia, cardio-vascular disease and obesity, which are many of the health crises the Global North is struggling with currently.” - United Nations Environmental Programme written statement.
Raising animals for food requires more land and water many times over than growing food crops.
Manure is responsible for a staggering amount of the greenhouse gas emissions. Ammonia from manure is highly concentrated and is responsible for the death of fish, algae blooms, and smog.
Manure is also responsible for the air pollutants: carbon dioxide and methane. Methane produced from factory farming warms the earth 20 x faster than carbon dioxide.
It takes 100 X more water to produce a lb. of animal protein compared to producing a lb. of grain protein.
Waste from factory farms leaches into the soil and waterways and groundwater leading to the destruction of marine ecosystems.
Animal agriculture is the largest water pollutant, the runoff of manure and fertilizers into the water ways becomes a highly toxic pollutant and these areas in marine life become known as a “dead zone” where virtually all marine life is killed off.
Massive amounts of fertilizers that are toxic to the environment are used to produce to the feed used for factory farming.
Animal agriculture is the LARGEST contributor of deforestation; additionally grazed lands increases erosion and destroys native vegetation.
The Wageningen University and Research Centre reports that, “Agriculture is estimated to be the direct driver for around 80% of deforestation worldwide.”
Roughly 80% of agriculture land is used for grazing and producing feed for the animal industry.
Eliminate the needless suffering of countless animals both directly and indirectly killed in the animal agricultural industry.
ARTICLES
How Plant Based Diets Can Benefit the Earth | Sophie Hirsh | Green Matters | May 2019
Change your diet to combat climate change in 2019 | Lisa Drayer | CNN | January 2nd, 2019
This is How Animal Agriculture Causes Deforestation | Ariel Garlow | One Green Planet | 2014
Al Gore is a vegan now — and we think we know why | Ben Adler | The Grist | November 27th, 2013
Going undercover in the American factory farm | Caroline Abels | Grist | November 26th, 2012
Stop the environmental subsidy for factory farms | Tom Laskawy | Grist | 2009
CAUSES
RESOURCES
5 Ways Eating More Plant-Based Foods Benefits the Environment | Mariele Ventrice | 2015
Meat and the Environment | PETA
Tackling the world’s most urgent problem: meat | United Nations Environment Programme
The Case For Plant Based | Dana Hunes PhD, MPH, RD | UCLA Sustainability
The Facts | Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret
Where does our food come from | Sierra Club Michigan Chapter
FILMS
The Biggest Undercover Dairy Investigation in History - Fair Oaks Farms and Coca Cola