Before I studied the environment, I used to eat meat. I never loved it but I didn’t know about all of the environmental issues caused by the animal agriculture industry. It wasn’t until I watched the documentary “Cowspiracy” that I decided to become a vegetarian and I have never looked back.

 

If everyone on the planet was vegetarian, we would have plenty of food to feed every single person on the planet but we are not using our resources wisely. The production of meat requires a lot of water, land for the animals, and land to grow food to feed the animals. These resources could be used to grow food to feed people, provide critical habitat for wildlife.

 

Did you know that cows are a major contributor to climate change? Cows fart a lot due to digestion issues with the food they consume. This releases copious amounts of methane into the air which is a greenhouse gas that is stronger than carbon dioxide. With less cows present on the planet, there would be less methane produced and therefore less greenhouse gasses in the atmosphere.

 

 

Check out these infographics that I created for a class project on this topic:

Meat Industry Infographics 1

Meat Industry Infographics 2

 

What can you do about this?

  • The best thing you can do is limit your consumption of meat. It is the #1 thing you can do to reduce your environmental footprint
  • Become vegetarian, pescatarian, or vegan
    • If that is too intimidating for you, try practicing “meatless Mondays” where you just go one day a week without eating meat
  • Try to change negative attitudes about veganism and vegetarianism and teach people the many benefits of limiting their meat intake
  • Eat white meat instead of red meat because it has a smaller environmental impact
  • Eat locally sourced meats that did not have to travel far to get to you

 

For more information