Climate Change and the Contribution of Agribusiness

Agriculture contributes to global greenhouse gas emissions. The “agriculture connection” is any direct impacts agriculture has on climatic change. “Carbon dioxide is the

cutting down forests in Brazil, as well as setting wildfires in places like west Texas cause “carbons stored in trees” to escape. Individuals don't understand that in places like “Brazil,” deforestation causes more emissions than “all of the world's cars.” There are other forms of greenhouse gases as well; like “Methane” released from “Rice Farming, Petroleum drilling, and even cattle bleaching” (Friedman 35). Over “10 Billion” animals are raised for Factory Farms in the United states. Burning Fossil Fuels for fertilizer creates up to “41 million metric tons” of Carbon Dioxide. The Factory Farm industry contributes to air pollution by emitting Greenhouse Gases such as “Hydrogen Sulfide, Ammonia and Methane” (DoSomething Web). Factory Farms is something that can easily be changed by switching to smaller meat establishments, where the common public already expects the meat to come from.

Animal agriculture is one of the largest contributors to climate change; however, this fact goes unacknowledged by most people. Livestock and their byproducts produce monstrous amounts

Introduction (Attention Step): What do you think is the greatest cause of emission pollution? What do you believe is harming our planet? Well if you guessed that fossil fuel emissions are the biggest emission polluters, then you are completely wrong (attention getter). Animal Agriculture is actually the number one Greenhouse Gas emitter in the planet. Yes, cow farts are destroying the environment. It sounds crazy, but ever since the mid 60’s, agriculture associations have been spreading across the Americas and dominated the industry. The most destructive of all Ag corps are Livestock Corporation. These associations include IBP, Conagra, Perdue, Farmland National Beef, Cargill, etc … Animal Agriculture is effecting every single person in this room because we all breathe in the same air, drink the same water, and eat the same (credibility). The buildup of Animal Agriculture is a great destruction to our planet and our species because it is creating

The excess of carbon in the atmosphere is the cause of global climate change. To reverse global warming we must balance the carbon cycle by removing carbon from the atmosphere and returning it to the plants and to the soil (4). Though in the end, carbon exists in everything and the carbon cycle is much more complex because it includes every plant, animal, microbe, fallen tree, body of water, bit of soil, breath of air, plume of smoke, combustion of fossil fuel, decaying particle, and bubble popping to the surface of a swamp (5). Industrial farming has disrupted this cycle. If we completely halted the burning of fossil fuels today, which we can not by any means, climate change would still continue through modern agriculture. The key to reversing global warming is not solely through solar panels and ethanol fuel, but in proper symbiotic farming

What most people will find surprising is the fact that the industrialized agricultural and food systems is a great contributor to global warming, as its carbon emission are increasing year after year. This is something that the general public is unaware of. There are several statistics that shows the grand scale of damage that this

The “agricultural connection” is defined by direct effects agriculture has on climatic change. The article states that 13.5 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions are due to food production (particularly in the livestock industry), and approximately seventy percent of the world’s available freshwater is used for irrigation purposes in agriculture. The third “connection” between global warming and the food industry in the article deals with how food is distributed throughout the world and how the byproducts of agriculture are disposed of. The “waste and transportation connection” emerges from the idea of more conventional global warming thinking: the burning of fossil fuels as well as garbage disposal.

For over forty years now, scientists and researchers have been tirelessly searching for an alternative to fossil fuels. Biofuels have become an interesting contender in the search for the replacement of the non-renewable energy source. Biofuels have been used throughout history for over thousands of years. There is a large debate over biofuels and its true impact on the environment. Those involved in the discussion debating whether biofuels have any real overwhelming benefits compared to fossil fuels could argue for its usage. According to recent research performed by the University of Michigan, biofuels may not be the best alternative for fossil fuels. Regardless of its impact on the environment, biofuels are becoming more popular particularly when the price of oil rises.

The world is at a point in history where it is time to make or break. The earth is slowly dying due to rising global temperatures, pollution, and most importantly animal agriculture. The evidence is so blatant, correlating animal agriculture with global warming, that it nearly hits us humans right in the face, yet we continue to act as if this problem is miniscule. The actual term global warming is defined as a gradual increase in the overall temperature of the earth 's atmosphere generally attributed to the greenhouse effect caused by increased levels of carbon dioxide, chlorofluorocarbons, and other pollutants. Not only is animal agriculture the

Global Warming is a rising issue for all the creatures on the Earth. Scientists haven been discovering the reasons and solutions for the global environmental changes for decades. Also, because of the effort of the scientists and media, people got aware of the great impacts of green house effect. However, most people only know that global warming is caused by the industries, manufactures or transportations, and neglect another huge factor of the environment, the food industry, and to be specific, the livestock production. In this proposal, I will mainly introduce my topic which is “Food industry, livestock production, and global warming, develop the questions for my future assignments, discuss the importance of this topic, state the reasons why the topic is interesting, and share my personal experience related to the topic.

What is one major cause of global climate change? One major cause of global climate change is the emission of greenhouse gases into the atmosphere, which causes the warming of the Earth. These greenhouse gases are a result of human activities. Animal agriculture directly and indirectly contributes to the human activities that cause hazardous amounts of methane and carbon dioxide emissions. The impacts of livestock on global climate change are often underestimated and ignored; hence, these greenhouse gases are being emitted into the atmosphere at an increasing rate with population increase. The impacts of livestock on global climate change needs to be addressed to undermine its negative effects globally.

Climate change has the potential to transform food production, especially the patterns and productivity of crops, livestock, and fishery systems; and to reconfigure food distribution, markets, and access (Nelson et al., 2009). Chen et al. (2012) observed that climate change has already had a negative impact on Asia through extreme temperatures, frequent flooding and droughts, sea level rise, and increased salinity of water supplies for rainfed agricultural areas. Most Asian countries are quite dependent on their domestic supplies of rice. The International Rice Commission (2003) indicates that Bangladesh, China, India, Indonesia, and Vietnam are the major producers of rice, producing more than 70% of the world’s volume. The Asian rice-producing countries tend to consume most of their domestic rice production. Nevertheless, Thailand and Vietnam are able to export some rice to neighboring countries such as Bangladesh, Indonesia, and the Philippines. Dasgupta et al. (2009) identified ten developing countries whose land areas are most exposed to the potential threat of a one-meter rise in sea level. Among the countries most affected by sea level rise are Bangladesh, China, Taiwan, and Vietnam and these are all rice-growing and rice-consuming countries. Using a partial equilibrium global rice trade model, Chen et al. (2012) investigated the potential impact of sea level rise combined with climate-induced crop yield change on global rice

Climate change is one of the major issues surfacing earth over the past century. The earth’s temperature has increased over the years leading to detrimental effects on the economic and life sources of people, especially that of agricultural production and livestock. The Merriam-Webster online dictionary (2014), defined climate change as a change in global climate patterns apparent from the mid late 20th century. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, IPCC, (2007) predicts that by 2100 the increase in global average surface temperature may be between 1.8° C and 4.0° C. With increases of 1.5° C to 2.5° C, approximately 20 to 30 percent of plant and animal species are expected to be at risk of extinction. Moreover, the IPCC (2007)

Intro: This report will aim to define responsible business, in relation to the vast range of topics such as Corporate social Responsibility/Corporate Citizenship, sustainability, whilst comparing these through academia and their different meanings relating to Responsible Business. Furthermore, this report will also aim to critically analyse climate change and its effect in relation to making Business more responsible as well as the drawbacks/opportunities this holds for business. Finally, this report will exploit the relation between government and Business; identify possible barriers for businesses through government via academic views and evidential impacts on businesses and how government supports business to create a more sustainable world, through incentives such as the climate change Act 2008.

Climate change otherwise known as global warming has been an ongoing issue for decades. Beginning in the 19th century, climate change has increasingly affected Earth and its atmosphere. Rising levels of carbon dioxide are warming the Earth’s atmosphere, causing rising sea-levels, melting snow and ice, extreme fires and droughts, and intense rainfall and floods. Climate change has and will continue to affect food production, availability of water, and can add to many health risks in humans and animals. In fact, in an article by Justin Gillis titled, “Scientists Warn of Perilous Climate Shift Within Decades, Not Centuries” he focuses on a paper written by a former NASA climate scientist, James E. Hansen, explaining the effects of climate change on Earth today. Although many believe Hansen’s theories in the paper are quite far-fetched, the author mentions, “Despite any reservations they might have about the new paper, virtually all climate scientists agree with Dr. Hansen’s group that society is not moving fast enough to reduce emissions of greenhouse gases, posing grave risks” (Gillis). Gillis validates the fact that climate change has been rapidly expanding throughout Earth and society has not been able to reduce it fast enough. Many negative risks are being posed and will continue to mount if the issue of climate change is not taken seriously. Although climate change negatively affects nearly all aspects of Earth, it poses a big