With over
nine billion animals raised and slaughtered for human consumption each year in
the U.S. alone, animal agriculture and factory farming puts an incredible strain on natural
resources like land, water, and fossil fuel. Factory farms produce staggering
quantities of waste and greenhouse gases, polluting our land, air, and water
and contributing to climate change.
Please take a moment to read about at the negative effects that animal agriculture has on our planet. Make yourself aware of the issues that we face so that you can make conscientious, well-informed decisions about your diet and what you can do to take steps in helping to alleviate some of these issues.
SPECIES
Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in
many ways:
-Habitat destruction caused by clearing forests
-Converting land to grow feed crops and for killed because of a perceived threat to
livestock profits.
-The widespread use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical
fertilizers used in the production of feed crops often interferes with the
reproductive systems of animals and poison waterways.
-Because of commercial fishing, scientists believe we will have fishless
oceans by 2030.
-The animal agricultures' impact on climate change and global warming robs animals of their habitats and resources.
MANURE AND WATER POLLUTION
Chemical fertilizers and pesticides have turned agriculture into a
leading source of water pollution in the United
States. Runoff from factory farms kills fish, degrades aquatic habitats and
threatens drinking water supplies.
-In the U.S. alone, animals raised on factory farms
generate more than 1 million tons of manure per day — three times
the amount generated by the country’s human population.
-A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount
of waste as a city of 411,000 people.
-Factory
farms store animal waste in huge football field sized, open-air lagoons, to
ultimately be used as fertilizer. The animals produce so much waste in one place that
in order to keep up, the farmers over-apply manure to their fields which allows
manure and other wastes to seep into local streams and groundwater. Residential
drinking wells can be contaminated with dangerous bacteria that can make humans
very ill and the runoff can damage the ecological balance of streams and
rivers.
AIR POLLUTION
-Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of all greenhouse gas
emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation.
-It accounts for 37% of methane emissions, which has a global
warming potential 20 times higher than carbon dioxide
-Animals and their byproducts account for 32,000 million tons of carbon
dioxide per year- 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
-Factory
farms are a leading producer of ammonia, which causes respiratory health
problems even at very low levels
DEFORESTATION
-Animal
agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction
-In the U.S.
alone, over 260 million acres of forest have been cleared to make room for crop
fields, most of which are used only to grow food for livestock.
-Land
clearing in Brazil to grow chicken feed in responsible for the destruction of 3
million acres of rainforest.
-136 million
rainforest acres have been cleared for animal agriculture
WATER
Between watering the crops that farm animals eat,
providing drinking water for billions of animals each year, and cleaning away
the filth in factory farms, transport trucks, and slaughterhouses, the animal
agriculture industry has a huge impact on the water supply.
-Animal
agriculture uses 70% of the world’s fresh water supply.
-Animal
agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually
-Growing
feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US
-Non-vegetarian/vegan
Californians use 750 gallons of water per person per day.
-1,500
gallons of water is used by humans per 100 showers. Take a look at the amount
of water needed to produce 1 pound of animal meat and animal byproducts:
2,500
gallons= 1 pound of beef, 477 gallons of water = 1 pound of eggs, 900 gallons
=1 pound of cheese, 1000 gallons= 1 gallon of milk
-Animal Agriculture
is responsible for 20% -33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today
OVERFISHING
-3/4 of the
world’s fisheries are exploited
-90 million
tons of fish and 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from our oceans each year
-For every 1
pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are
caught and discarded as by-kill
-Scientists
estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by
fishing vessels and 40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets.
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