The whole livestock production chain contributes to 9 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, primarily due to land use changes for feed and animal production and fossil fuel use during animal, feed and fertiliser production (FAO 2006). Overall, the greenhouse gases produced by the livestock sector account for about 80 percent of the emissions from agriculture and nearly one fifth (18 percent) of total greenhouse gas emissions from human activities (FAO 2006). This is calculated over a 100-year period and the figure does not take into account transportation, refrigeration in transport or the amount of energy used at home for storing meat. One research comprehensively evaluated the effect of greenhouse gas emissions of three types of diet: an omnivorous diet including meat, dairy and plant foods, a vegetarian diet containing dairy and plant foods, and a vegan diet containing only plant-based foods (Foodwatch 2008).
Energy consumption:
Meat production is very energy intensive. It is estimated that producing one calorie of animal protein requires more than 10 times as much fossil fuel input as does one calorie of plant protein (Pimentel and Pimentel 2003). The production of just 1 kg of beef consumes 40 mega calories of energy, and emits greenhouse gases with a warming potential of 36.4 kg of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the amount of CO2 emitted by an average European car running every 250 km. Over two-thirds of the energy goes towards producing and transporting the animals’ feed (Ogino et al 2007).
Deforestation:
Every year, 17 million hectares of tropical rainforest is destroyed (RIC). Seventy percent of the Amazon’s deforestation is due to making pasture land for cattle, and a large part of the remainder is used for feed crops (FAO 2006). Forests play a key role in mitigating climate change. Apart from storing carbon, they store water, generate rainfall, act as a climate buffer, stabilise the soil, maintain biodiversity and much more (GCP). Decimating them for pasture has a very high environmental cost. Every year about 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere as a result of deforestation for the purpose of livestock maintenance (FAO 2006). And it doesn’t stop there, by year 2010 cattle are projected to be grazing on some 24 million hectares of neo-tropical land that was forest in 2000 (FAO 2006). Hence, the declaration signed by 300 climate experts at the 2007 United Nations Conference in Bali says: “If we lose the forests, we lose the fight against climate change.”
Land and Water Use:
Much of the world is running out of water. Over 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water. More than 2 billion people do not have proper sanitation. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that by 2025 there will be 1.8 billion people living with absolute water scarcity and 2/3 of the world’s population could be living under water-stressed conditions (FAO 2006). Meat production, particularly the production of feed, consumes large amounts of critically important water resources (FAO 2006). A report presented to the UN in May 2008, ‘Saving Water: From Field to Fork’ shows that 70 percent of global fresh water is used in agriculture, and the rest is split between household (10 percent) and industry (20 percent) (SIWI and IWHI 2008).
Meat production uses about 20 times more land than would be required to produce the same amount of grains and vegetables. It has been estimated that one hectare of land could produce enough potatoes to feed 22 people for a year, or enough rice to support 19 people for a year. But if used to produce lamb, the same area of land can only support 2 people for a year, or can only feed 1 person for the same period if used to produce beef (WHO and FAO 2003).
The livestock industry is also the largest sectoral water polluter. The main polluting agents are animal waste, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals from tanneries and pesticides used on feed crops. Animal waste plays a major role in polluting rivers and streams. More than 2 billion tons of animal manure was produced in the late 1990s. Assuming an average nitrogen content of around 5 percent, this allows 100 million tons of nitrogen finding its way into our water systems. The Livestock industry is unquestionably “among the most damaging sectors to the Earth’s scarce water resources” (FAO 2006).
World Hunger:
According to the UN FAO, there are more than 963 million people in the world who do not have enough to eat. Hunger claims 25,000 lives every day, among them, over 17,000 children (WFP Hunger Stats). On the other hand, 760 million tons of grain are fed to animals every year (FAO Food Outlook). During 2007-2008, 36 percent of the global grain utilised was to feed animals, whilst 47 percent was used for feeding humans, and 5 percent used on bio-fuel (FAO Crop 2008). During the same period about 70 percent of the global soya consumption was in the form of animal feed whilst only 16 percent was used for humans (USDA Review 2008).
Health:
Meat consumption is related to fatal diseases such as Mad Cow Disease, Blue Tongue Disease, Bird flu, Pig’s Disease (PMWS), Listeriosis, E Coli and Salmonella have been a cause of increased concern, questioning the safety of eating meat. Meat recalls around the world are becoming more frequent with millions of pounds of meat found to be contaminated. The Cabinet paper, Food Matters, states that deaths due to Listeria are rising and meat contamination is a continuing challenge as is the threat of diseases transferring to humans from animals. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in the USA estimated that between $29 billion and $61 billion spent in healthcare in 1992 can be linked to meat consumption.
Looking at the above facts, we should stop supporting the livestock industry!
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Greenhouse Gas Emissions:
The whole livestock production chain contributes to 9 percent of anthropogenic carbon dioxide emissions, primarily due to land use changes for feed and animal production and fossil fuel use during animal, feed and fertiliser production (FAO 2006). Overall, the greenhouse gases produced by the livestock sector account for about 80 percent of the emissions from agriculture and nearly one fifth (18 percent) of total greenhouse gas emissions from human activities (FAO 2006). This is calculated over a 100-year period and the figure does not take into account transportation, refrigeration in transport or the amount of energy used at home for storing meat. One research comprehensively evaluated the effect of greenhouse gas emissions of three types of diet: an omnivorous diet including meat, dairy and plant foods, a vegetarian diet containing dairy and plant foods, and a vegan diet containing only plant-based foods (Foodwatch 2008).
Energy consumption:
Meat production is very energy intensive. It is estimated that producing one calorie of animal protein requires more than 10 times as much fossil fuel input as does one calorie of plant protein (Pimentel and Pimentel 2003). The production of just 1 kg of beef consumes 40 mega calories of energy, and emits greenhouse gases with a warming potential of 36.4 kg of carbon dioxide, equivalent to the amount of CO2 emitted by an average European car running every 250 km. Over two-thirds of the energy goes towards producing and transporting the animals’ feed (Ogino et al 2007).
Deforestation:
Every year, 17 million hectares of tropical rainforest is destroyed (RIC). Seventy percent of the Amazon’s deforestation is due to making pasture land for cattle, and a large part of the remainder is used for feed crops (FAO 2006). Forests play a key role in mitigating climate change. Apart from storing carbon, they store water, generate rainfall, act as a climate buffer, stabilise the soil, maintain biodiversity and much more (GCP). Decimating them for pasture has a very high environmental cost. Every year about 2.4 billion tons of carbon dioxide is released into the atmosphere as a result of deforestation for the purpose of livestock maintenance (FAO 2006). And it doesn’t stop there, by year 2010 cattle are projected to be grazing on some 24 million hectares of neo-tropical land that was forest in 2000 (FAO 2006). Hence, the declaration signed by 300 climate experts at the 2007 United Nations Conference in Bali says: “If we lose the forests, we lose the fight against climate change.”
Land and Water Use:
Much of the world is running out of water. Over 1 billion people worldwide do not have access to clean water. More than 2 billion people do not have proper sanitation. The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates that by 2025 there will be 1.8 billion people living with absolute water scarcity and 2/3 of the world’s population could be living under water-stressed conditions (FAO 2006). Meat production, particularly the production of feed, consumes large amounts of critically important water resources (FAO 2006). A report presented to the UN in May 2008, ‘Saving Water: From Field to Fork’ shows that 70 percent of global fresh water is used in agriculture, and the rest is split between household (10 percent) and industry (20 percent) (SIWI and IWHI 2008).
Meat production uses about 20 times more land than would be required to produce the same amount of grains and vegetables. It has been estimated that one hectare of land could produce enough potatoes to feed 22 people for a year, or enough rice to support 19 people for a year. But if used to produce lamb, the same area of land can only support 2 people for a year, or can only feed 1 person for the same period if used to produce beef (WHO and FAO 2003).
The livestock industry is also the largest sectoral water polluter. The main polluting agents are animal waste, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals from tanneries and pesticides used on feed crops. Animal waste plays a major role in polluting rivers and streams. More than 2 billion tons of animal manure was produced in the late 1990s. Assuming an average nitrogen content of around 5 percent, this allows 100 million tons of nitrogen finding its way into our water systems. The Livestock industry is unquestionably “among the most damaging sectors to the Earth’s scarce water resources” (FAO 2006).
World Hunger:
According to the UN FAO, there are more than 963 million people in the world who do not have enough to eat. Hunger claims 25,000 lives every day, among them, over 17,000 children (WFP Hunger Stats). On the other hand, 760 million tons of grain are fed to animals every year (FAO Food Outlook). During 2007-2008, 36 percent of the global grain utilised was to feed animals, whilst 47 percent was used for feeding humans, and 5 percent used on bio-fuel (FAO Crop 2008). During the same period about 70 percent of the global soya consumption was in the form of animal feed whilst only 16 percent was used for humans (USDA Review 2008).
Health:
Meat consumption is related to fatal diseases such as Mad Cow Disease, Blue Tongue Disease, Bird flu, Pig’s Disease (PMWS), Listeriosis, E Coli and Salmonella have been a cause of increased concern, questioning the safety of eating meat. Meat recalls around the world are becoming more frequent with millions of pounds of meat found to be contaminated. The Cabinet paper, Food Matters, states that deaths due to Listeria are rising and meat contamination is a continuing challenge as is the threat of diseases transferring to humans from animals. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in the USA estimated that between $29 billion and $61 billion spent in healthcare in 1992 can be linked to meat consumption.
Looking at the above facts, we should stop supporting the livestock industry!