Recent research has shown that reducing or eradicating meat and dairy consumption could have a profoundly positive impact on the planet.

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, the livestock industry contributes more to global greenhouse gas emissions than even the transportation industry. Livestock manure releases methane into the atmosphere, rapidly contributing to the greenhouse effect that is leading to climate change around the world.

Livestock husbandry also contributes immensely to the pollution of waterways by means of sewage waste and pesticides, which can be toxic to humans and other animal species. The Natural Resources Defense Council claims that each concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO), otherwise known as a factory farm, produces as much sewage waste as a small city.

Deforestation is yet another harmful consequence of the livestock industry. Currently, around 80% of the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest can be attributed to cattle farming. Deforestation is having a huge impact on the survival of numerous species of flora and fauna, around four-fifths of whom live in forests, thus contributing to the major loss of biodiversity on the planet. Beyond the reduction of biodiversity, deforestation is also having a negative impact on the health of the planet and the humans who inhabit it. Forests play perhaps the most important role in absorbing greenhouse gases produced by human and animal activity, and converting these gases back into usable elements such as oxygen and nitrogen gases. If the amount of forested land is greatly reduced by cattle farming, and the production of greenhouse gases is greatly increased by the same industry, it follows that cattle farming has a profoundly negative impact on the planet in terms of its contributions to global climate change.

If humans reduced or ended their consumption of meat, what would this look like for already vulnerable and food insecure populations? Ecologist David Pimentel of Cornell University’s College of Agriculture and Life Sciences stated that “If all the grain currently fed to livestock in the United States were consumed directly by people, the number of people who could be fed would be nearly 800 million.” In fact, there are approximately 800 million people worldwide who suffer from chronic undernourishment, so redirecting the massive amounts of grains–up to 35% percent of grains worldwide–from livestock to people could have an incredible impact on eradicating world hunger, at least in a theoretical world in which resources would be distributed evenly.

As the world population and its appetite continue to grow, the meat industry is becoming a less and less effective means of feeding the world. Greenhouse gas emissions from the production of beef and lamb are 250 times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions produced by an equal amount (in terms of protein content) of legumes, such as beans, lentils, and chickpeas. Meat production is inefficient in terms of water use as well; the production of one pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water, while the production of one pound of soybeans requires 216 gallons of water.

While it would be nearly impossible, and not necessarily recommended, to cease global meat production entirely, decreasing human consumption of beef, pork, and poultry could create a major positive impact on the health of the planet. A simple way to decrease one’s meat footprint on the planet is to choose one day a week to consume a plant-based diet; for example, meatless Mondays. Here on Penn State’s campus, it is ultimately quite easy to consume a meatless diet for three meals a day, between legume-rich soups, large salad bars with many protein options, and warm plant-based entrees.

Yet another way to decrease one’s footprint, while continuing to eat meat, is to consume little to no cattle beef, and consume poultry or pork instead. The production of one pound of chicken requires 468 gallons of water, and one pound of pork requires 576; both of these amounts of water combined are still less than the amount of water required to produce one pound of beef. Pork and poultry produce approximately 40 times the amount of greenhouse gas emissions than an equal amount of legumes (in terms of protein content), which is significantly less than the emissions produced by beef production.

It is important to be mindful of where food comes from, how it is made, and how it could impact the future health of the planet and its inhabitants. Even taking one small step in reducing global meat consumption by simply choosing a veggie burger over a beef burger once a week could have a positive impact on the world.

Sources:

https://www.cnn.com/2017/04/08/opinions/go-vegan-save-the-planet-wang/index.html

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/meat-and-environment/

The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production

https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/global-warming/deforestation/

http://www.latimes.com/food/dailydish/la-dd-gallons-of-water-to-make-a-burger-20140124-story.html

3 thoughts on “

  1. All of these facts about the meat industry and food production in general are very interesting to me. Since the reason that I am a vegetarian is due to the negative contribution that consuming meat has on the environment, I find this post very relatable and full of useful information that others will find surprising. Eating meat may seem affordable and create maybe a “balanced” diet, but many people are not informed about the “behind the scenes” work of food industries and the lack of sustainability that is enforced. Water conservation is something that I am very passionate about, and the facts that you included about the many gallons of water needed to produce meat is unfortunate and more people should take these facts into consideration. Love how much you care about our planet 🙂 yay!

  2. This a very good piece. People don’t know how much pigs or cattle consume food ,that man should consume. We should be able to weigh the benefits of meat or pork and compare with deforestation, pollution etc and see if it’s really worth it.

  3. I previously was aware that the livestock industry contributed largely to the the greenhouse gas emission totals and I was also aware of the effects of deforestation but I never had even thought about it or linked the two together. It really illustrates how so many processes are intertwined and the negative effects can carry down the line and quickly add up.
    I feel like so many people are unaware that the ways that they eat are incredibly influential on our environment and the way in which our world is being changed and if they were aware of this as well as the way in which malnourished communities could benefit from decreasing meat production and increasing other more sustainable productions, more people would change their eating habits. We emphasize so many other ways in which we can be conscious of actions in our lives to help reduce our personal impact on the environment but I personally feel like the way we eat is not one of those.

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