Animal Agriculture Damages The Environment

Our nation’s industrial farming has become more than just feeding people; it has become a way for the food industry to make more money as human population continues to grow. Jonathan Safran Foer in his book Eating Animals, illustrates the effects factory farming has had on animals meant for human consumption. Furthermore, Foer asks many questions to the reader on what will it take for us to change our ways before we say enough is enough. The questions individuals need to be asking themselves are: how do we deal with the problem of factory farming, and what can people do to help solve these issues? Eric Schlosser in Fast Food Nation, also illustrates the animal abuse that goes unseen within the food industry as well as Bernard Rollin and Robert Desch in their article “Farm Factories”, both demonstrate what is wrong today with factory farming. Foer gives such examples of employees who work in slaughterhouses giving accounts of what goes on in the kill floors, and stories of employees who have witnessed thousands and thousands of cows going through the slaughter process alive (Animals 231). Namit Arora in the article “On Eating Animals”, as well as Michael Pollan in his book The Omnivore’s Dilemma, both address some of the issues that animals face once they hit the kill floor. The food industry has transformed not only how people eat, but also the negative effects our climate endures as a result of factory farming as illustrated by Anna Lappe in “The Climate Crisis at the End

The quantity of meat Americans consume and the way the animals are farmed in the U.S. has changed over the last half century resulting in major impacts on the environment. These effects are largely a result of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations which are also known as “CAFOs” or “factory farms” in abbreviated terms (McCorkell 2009). Animal agriculture is responsible for much of the damage to land, biodiversity, consumption of drinkable water, and contributions to global warming in the United States. For years, its impacts have only become more extreme. Over the years, a few options for solutions have been brought to light involving efforts of reducing the demand for animal products, grass-feeding livestock, and passing stricter

The profound effects of the livestock sector are amongst the top contributors to serious environmental problems at both a local and global scale (Bourgeois, 2012).

There are many different practises and methods available for livestock production, and ultimately it is the choices that farmers make that determines the production’s level of sustainability. The practices of industrial large-scale operations like CAFOs result in both environmental damage as well as health concerns for humans and animals. Depletion, pollution and contamination are the biggest obstacles we face when trying to move toward a more sustainable planet. But when livestock is handled responsibly, with consideration for the environment and potential consequences, it is indeed possible to produce livestock that is beneficial for our planet. Organic and grass-based farming systems such as silvopastoral systems have been proven to increase biodiversity, reverse soil erosion and counteract water depletion. By encouraging farmers to move towards more sustainable methods like these, we can help curb today’s more urgent issues regarding our environment. While there are disagreements between researchers on how to do this, they all agree that we have to take some kind of action to save our planet. Possible ways to achieve this include not consuming meat, or buying meat from local, organic and grass-based farmers to ensure the livestock was raised in a responsible way. If more consumers demanded this type of meat,

Animal Agriculture accounts for much of the issues in our environment today. Most would not think of animal agriculture being the main reason for pollution or greenhouse gasses. The majority of people would agree that the fossil fuels that come from cars are the number one producer for greenhouse gasses. Well think again. I am going to tell you how animal agriculture has affected our atmosphere in a negative way by emitting a large amount of GHGs, and in turn effecting our climate and speeding up the global warming process. Animal agriculture refers to an industrial livestock production, the management of farm animals such as cattle, poultry, and in some cases fish, are bred, fed and cared for in a way that is advantageous to humans, also known as factory farming. Animals behavior, genetic qualities and are altered to fit the mold of a human. This process requires a lot of energy, land and water.

Working at a zoo with wild animals might sound like the dream job. But I wanted to get to the source of the problem, which led me down the environmental path. As it so happens, livestock production is one of the major causes of many of our environmental problems, as well as a business which rarely takes proper animal welfare into consideration. This contributes to my value that the consumption of livestock produce must largely

The world’s most pressing climate change issues could also be resolved by reducing large-scale factory farming. The greatest source of pollution of air and water systems, biodiversity loss, deforestation, water depletion, and global warming is industrialized animal agriculture. Concentrated animal feeding operations generate millions of tons of manure annually and release methane and nitrous oxides into the air and antibiotics, pesticides, hormones, and fertilizers into water systems. Tyson Foods Meat and Poultry Business ranks as the second largest polluter of US waterways, above ExxonMobil, Dow Chemical, and the US Department of Defense (Environment America Research & Policy Center). Animal agriculture constitutes 30% of freshwater consumption in the world (PNAS), generates 51% of greenhouse gas emissions (Worldwatch Institute), and is responsible for 91% of Amazon rainforest destruction (World Bank Working Papers). Along with the destruction of rainforests comes the loss of approximately 137 species every 24 hours

The cattle industry produces vast amounts of strain in the environment. It is energy inefficient, pollutes water, occupies many acres of land, and deteriorates the health of the people who abuse its consumption. The government subsidizes this industry. Therefore, the price paid for meat doesn’t reflect the environmental hazards involved in the process. In order to protect our health and the health of the environment we should pay close attention to our food choices and make sure we don’t support industries that degrade it.

For many people, fertilizing the soil is a key part of farming as it helps the crops to develop like they should. The use of fertilization could mean the different in feeding more people than you can feed without the use of fertilizer. Fertilizing the soil will allow for the ground to take in nutrients that are present in the animal’s manure. As the manure is slowly decomposing by microorganisms, it allows for the nutrients to be released. The nutrients that are then released will help the crops to grow better during that specific season. As stated in Environmental Implications of Animal Wastes Pollution on Agricultural Soil and Water Quality, agriculture alone is the leading cause of poor water quality in our bodies of water such as lakes and rivers. It is also the third contributor to estuarine habitat degradation. The reason behind this is because of the over flow of water. Water picks up the nutrients, sediments, pesticides, and animal waste which is then all carried downstream polluting the water. Livestock operators have to try to dispose of the manure that is produced and different methods have arisen over time, none of them being safe for other people around.

Ever wonder where your food comes from? Does your chicken actually live on a farm with a red barn and gets to roam freely? This may be what people picture of when they think about a farm, and sometimes it is only reinforced when the products labels has a red barn with rolling green hills. Well the reality is that most Americans don’t find the time to think about where their food comes from. The reality is that most animals do not get to roam freely, or are greeted by a friendly farmer. Concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFO), intensive farming, and factory farming are all names for how most animals are kept in before being shipped off to the slaughterhouses. These animals are not only dangerous for human consumption but they are also cause harm to the environment. There are several damaging factors that these farming methods hurt the environment such as pollution to the water and air but also have a bigger carbon footprint than most other foods. Currently there is a shortage in drinking water and polluting what we have left will only harm everyone, not just the people that live in the surrounding areas. Such problems can be avoided, the first thing that comes to mind is refrain from eating meat but there are other methods that are just as effective. Another helpful tip could be researching where and how your food is treated and making the smart choice of where to buy your meat and other food products. Overall animal farming in large quantities and in a small

Have you ever wanted to conserve natural resources such as water? You possibly looked into ways to do so online and clicked on what was shown as a government authorized conservation website.These websites may have recomended to use less water or take shorter showers.Maybe told you that you should think about not driving a car to work everyday to reduce pollution.Yet these “government authorized” websites refuse to shine a light on the main cause of growth to our ecological footprint, animal agriculture.Fossil fuels are not the leading contender for use of greenhouse gas emissions as you might think. Animal agriculture is.Animal agriculture is intensive animal farming or the industrial livestock production,which has been proven to be the leading cause of environmental impact. It is the leading cause of species extinction,ocean dead zones,habitat destruction,and water pollution.Animal agriculture should not have such a huge impact on the environment.Considering the amount of resources used or destroyed,such as water, the impact of the release of methane and other gases into the atmosphere,and the rate of deforestation to make agricultural farms, these farms should not be causing the environment this much harm.

The environmental impact of meat in hand with agricultural production is often hidden by the cheap prices of meat in grocery stores across the U.S. What these prices do not show us is the hidden toll that meat production is taking on our environment. Pollution from livestock and agricultural production, such as runoff and greenhouse gas emissions have increased and peaked, reaching numbers higher than ever before. Our food choices have the potential to massively influence environmental changes, which is why the pollution from meat production is such a prominent and argued topic today. Our planet's water, soil, air and other species all suffer from the industrialized production of beef. The most important aspect is the acknowledgment and lack-there-of of to the negative aspects and environmental impacts that meat production has on our environment, and how it will likely pan out in the future if important strides are not made in attempts to preserve our world as we know it.

“According to the Environmental Protection Agency, hog, chicken and cattle waste has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states” (Organic Consumers). This statistic alone should make you want to choose to buy your meat from small family farms around you. The report of the 2012 Census of Agriculture Farm Typology shows that small family farms make up about 88% of United States farms (must cite). However with the continued growth of the United States population, factory farms now slaughter about ten billion animals a year too keep up with demands of low prices on meats (Driscoll & Morley). Factory farming should be abolished because of the many ethical issues about animal treatment that have been brought up when discussing factory farming including the issues on human and animal health and the environmental problems occurring from this revolutionized farming.

Commercial farming today produces over 250 million pounds of the meat that is eaten. While some see that industrial farming has its benefits such as less man power with technology, large scale production, and lower prices, (Fredrick, Advantages of Industrial Agriculture) the industrial food institutions have also had bad effects. These effects concern agriculture, the environment, human health, and animals. Industrial farming can lead to environmental degradation, air and water contamination, loss of biodiversity, loss of marine life, and even poor treatment of animals kept inside these industrial farms (Horrigan, How sustainable Agriculture can Address the Environmental…). Because industrial farming is tied to these bad effects more sustainable approaches can be made to lessen the severity of this occurring issue.

The livestock production industry has experienced a significant transformation within the past few decades. Production systems have shifted from small, family-owned farms to larger farms that may only raise a single species. While this industry shift has allowed us to become more efficient, it has also threatened the health of the environment.