Animal Agriculture and The Environment

     Here is a paper that I wrote about the negative impact animal agriculture has on the environment. This is something I am passionate about because it is important for people to be aware of! After watching Cowspiracy, I decided to eat as little meat and animal products as possible. I have gone almost three months without eating meat and I hope to try being vegan eventually. I am taking one step at a time but you do not have to cut animal products out completely to make a difference. Every effort to decrease how much animal product you eat makes a difference! I still allow myself to splurge sometimes but I have found that I do not even really want to eat meat as much anymore. I hope you read my blog and watch Cowspiracy to find out more!

     Animal agriculture is  one of the most significant cause of deforestation, water use, and pollution, and it is responsible for more greenhouse gases than transportation. It is a  one of the main forces behind rainforest destruction, species extinction, habitat loss, topsoil erosion, ocean ‘dead zones,’ and almost every other environment issue (Kip Anderson, 2014). Yet, the impacts that animal agriculture has on the environment are not well-known.  But I think this needs to change because it could help improve this planet.  People need to know how huge of an impact animal agriculture has on the environment. Animal agriculture, as a science and social enterprise, can be impacted by, and impacts, many different aspects of the environment. People need to become aware of these, including the economic, business, societal, health, legal, and political aspects involved.

     The reason the environmental impacts of the animal agriculture are largely unknown is related to economic and business components. All scientific information points to animal agriculture as being the number one problem and contributor to climate change, but none of the big environmental organizations (e.g., Greenpeace, Rainforest Action Network, Sierra Club, Climate Reality, 350.org, Amazon Watch) will admit that or make animal agriculture one of their primary campaigns (Kip Anderson, 2014). This is because the animal agriculture industry does not want society to know about its damaging effects. The externalized cost of the animal agriculture industry is four hundred and fourteen billion dollars, including health care, fish production, animal cruelty, environmental impact, and subsidies (Friedrich, 2013). There are some people who have known about the cost of animal agriculture, especially in regards to the environment, but unfortunate consequences have happened to them when they tried to speak out. Animal agriculture industries have gone as far as to threaten, sue, and even kill those who speak up about these issues, in order to keep the impacts a secret from society. For example, “speaking out against the destruction of the rainforest in Brazil, for cattle grazing, got the US born nun Sister Dorothy Stang killed by hired gunmen from the cattle industry” (Kip Anderson, 2014). She is not the only one, as many others who have spoken up had similar tragedies occur.

      Another part of animal agriculture that people must be aware of is the social aspect. For instance, people do not realize “we are currently growing enough food to feed 10 billion people” (Holt-Giménez, 2012), but “82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by other countries in the west” (UNCF, 2013). Although this food is subsidized for animals to eat and would need to change for people to get the same nutrients out of it. People must be aware of the fact that the world population grows approximately 228,000 people every day (World Population Data Sheet 2014, 2010), and the average human eats about 209 pounds of meat each year (Kip Anderson, 2014). This is too much meat to be sustainable for how fast the population is growing. Children should not starve if we have enough food to feed ten billion people and eating two hundred and nine pounds of meat is not sustainable for how over populated this world is.

     It is important to also examine the health aspect of animal agriculture, because an animal-based diet may not be as essential nor nutritious as commonly believed. Meat does provide nutrients that you need for a healthy diet, mainly protein; however, protein can also be found in food such as eggs, beans, and whole wheat products (Mayo Clinic, 2014). Vegetarians and vegans tend to be healthier from not eating meat, as long as they get the protein they need from other sources (Mayo Clinic, 2014). This may be hard to do in some places but improving the access to healthy food in less developed nations and people in need would be worth the effort. The components of meat that make it so unhealthy include its high fat content, high calorie content, and its tendency to be highly processed (BBC, 2014). Eating a lot of highly processed food leads to high blood pressure and high cholesterol (BBC, 2014). The health risks of eating too much meat can include cardiovascular disease, cancer, and a 13% higher mortality rate (BBC, 2014).

     Some ecological consequences of animal include deforestation, overuse of water, and pollution. Animal agriculture is a cause of more greenhouse gases than transportation. Animal agriculture is the main cause for rainforest destruction, endangered species, loss of habitat, erosion of topsoil, ocean “dead zones” and almost every other environmental problem (Kip Anderson, 2014). Consuming “a vegan diet produces about 50% less carbon dioxide, 1/11th oil, 1/13th water, and 1/18th land compared to someone who eats meat” (Kip Anderson, 2014). In one day, “a person who consumes a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forested land, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent, and one animal’s life” (Kip Anderson, 2014). Eating less meat and other animal products can reduce humans’ impact on the environment, which may slow the effects of climate change and help save the planet. But I'm not saying this is the only solution, to help the environment making effort in many ways is the best. Transitioning to a vegan, or at least a vegetarian, diet can make a huge difference in one’s ecological footprint.

     Meat producers and distributors are very rich and powerful. They are in lobbying organizations in the US, like the American Meat Institute, the National Meat Association, and the National Cattlemen’s Beef Association (Johnson, n.d.). The Meat Disparagement Laws were “designed to make it easier for food producers to hold individuals liable for criticizing their products” (Kimberly, 2012). The food disparagement laws are also known as veggie libel laws because they have often been used against animal rights and vegetarian activists working to expose the harmful consequences of meat consumption (Kimberly, 2012). But these laws are not constitutional because they go against First Amendment rights.

     The animal agriculture industry is one of the most significant cause of many environmental issues, including pollution, immense water consumption, deforestation, greenhouse gases, extinction of animal habitats and endangerment of animals, erosion of topsoil and dead zones in oceans. Animal agriculture affects many different areas such as social, economic and business, health, legal, and political arenas. It is important to preventing the harms being done to people who speak out about this topic. People deserve to be informed of the significant negative impacts that animal agriculture has on the environment. It is not the only cause of environmental problems but it is a significant one. I hope people put effort in many different aspects of their lives to help the environment , and effort in decreasing your animal agriculture consumption can help a lot.