Global Greenhouse Emissions Are Caused By Animal Agriculture

Instead of dieting, people should look to maintain a healthy lifestyle. In an effort to do so, I have turned to a plant based diet. With new studies informing the public about the dangers of red meat as a carcinogen and its link to heart disease, I felt it was best to leave the burgers behind. While not wholly vegan, I no longer consume eggs, dairy, honey, and red meat and instead have replaced these animal products with leafy greens, fiber rich berries, and whole wheat pasta. This transition has not been solely about health, however, as, after taking an Environmental Science course, I learned about the damaging environmental impacts of the meat and dairy industries. In the United States, agriculture accounts for 80% of our water usage -- and bovine meat is the largest offender, using 48x more water than vegetables. Land usage for livestock is another massive problem and as the consumer demands for animal products increases, our available land is slowly eaten away at.

It was a summer night. I was comfortably laying in my bed, a computer in front of me and headphones playing music in my ears. That's when I stumbled upon a video named '101 Reasons to go vegan'. A presentation by Animal rights foundation of Florida. One hour long, and since that hour I haven't consumed animal products. And it hasn't felt like a restriction, not at all. Sure, I could no longer eat my favorite milk chocolate, but though I sometimes missed the taste I didn't crave anything that's not vegan. first of all because of the many vegan options in a grocery store, the new recipes you discover and the food in general but also because of the process behind closed doors. It wasn't worth it. I no longer wanted the

Brought up in the southern of China, I often heard about that people from there “eat anything with four limbs except tables, anything that flies except aero planes, and anything that swims except ships”. Nevertheless, I eat more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains but less meat to make careful choices for environmental protection. Similarly, Kathy Freston argues that animal agriculture is one of the top contributors to global warming. In her Huffington Post selection “Vegetarian Is the New Prius,” Freston lists how many emissions of greenhouse gases people make when they eat meat and illustrates the consumption of tree in animal agriculture. She effectively convinces her audiences that the livestock results in the most serious environmental problems and encourages people to lead a greener diet to protect our environment. However, ardent craving, poor health, and perpetual hassle and cost prevent all Americans from being vegetarian.

“Meats, Dairies, and Eggs, Oh Why” (2014) is an argumentative essay written by Rebecca Dent that explains the benefits of eating a plant-based diet and advocates for the better treatment of the animals affected by the meat industry. Dent supports her assertions by discussing the negative health effects of an omnivorous diet, addressing reasons some might be hesitant to convert to a plant-based diet, describing the advantages of substituting meat for vegetables for both the consumers and the animals, and finally, by including expert opinions and statistical facts. Dent’s purpose for this essay is to highlight the benefits of vegetarianism in order to convince readers to convert to a plant-based diet. The intended audience for this argument is those who currently eat an omnivorous diet so that they would assess and change their eating habits.

I've been vegan since June 24th, 2014 for the animals, environment and my health. It wasn't until after becoming vegan that I really thought about my health. I had tried many different diets before for weight loss, but never

Since the beginning of mankind, we have become dependent on animal products as a food source. As population increased, so did the production of animal agriculture and its profitability. Unfortunately, it has grown into an industry that is unsustainable for this planet and is demolishing our environment at an astonishing rate. In the academic article, ‘Cowspiracy’ Strips the Meat Industry Down to the Bone, Ford reports the shocking statistic that “even if all utilities were turned off and every fossil-fuel-guzzling system of transportation ceased immediately, environmental damage that results from greenhouse gases would be irreversible…even with humanity’s greatest efforts, the dairy and meat industries will still eventually destroy life on Earth”. As the environment is at its most crucial and devastating point, the major contribution that animal agriculture has on rainforest deforestation, pollution of our water, and global warming becomes undeniable.

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.

Veganism has grown into a widespread trend in the last 70 years; in fact, in the United States approximately 3% of the population reports that they do not eat meat and about a third of this group declare themselves as vegan (Singer and Mason 187). Factory farming is an intensive method of farming that results in inexpensive meat products at the expense of one’s health, the environment, and animals (“Factory Farms”) . Moreover, this form of farming has led to the slow destruction of the planet, the mistreatment of animals, and the increase of various health diseases. Veganism is increasing due to the exposure of the secondary effects caused by industrialized

Bill McKibben, as environmentalist and widely published author observes, that the more livestock produced in unethical ways, the more green gases emitted into the atmosphere. In McKibben view, “Going vegan is fifty percent more effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions than switching to a hybrid car according to a University of Chicago study.(201)” McKibben claims that becoming a vegan is one of the only choices someone can make that can actually help the environment. Livestock produces most of the world’s greenhouse gases, when they belch and because the livestock is stuck in one place, all the manure is in one place just emitting gases. Vegans want people to stop eating meat, because the more people eat, the more meat needs to be produced, producing more greenhouse

Cows are destroying our planet?! According to Margaret Lundberg they are. In Lundberg’s essay “Eating Green” the author states her belief “that our personal and global health [are] tightly interconnected, and what benefits one will benefit the other” (Lundberg 570). Lundberg than goes on to explain why a vegetarian diet will restore the environment. She lacks a realistic solution for her American meat-obsessed audience. Lundberg also used unreliable sources to over emphasize the effects that the meat industry has on the environment as well as shows no evidence that a vegetarian diet is actually good for the environment.

These situations uniquely affect each person’s human behavior, and their different reactions in various environments. Readers can gain improved understanding of economic and behavioral microanalysis, and why laws and actions sometimes bring unintended consequences. The authors’ thinking and ability to approach our complex world is the way of the future. The book mentioned how we can help global warming is by cutting back on meat portions or just by eating one meal a day. Reducing the world’s never ending and increasing appetite for meat is essential to avoid devastating climate change. Preventing global warming is reliant on tackling meat and dairy usage. Having an imbalanced diet that include low in fruits and vegetables and high in red and processed meat is responsible for the health burden globally. A poor food system is responsible for major climate change. By linking health and climate change in our eating habits may have more effect than focusing on each issues. Getting the government involved could help improve food education to encourage a healthy eating lifestyle habits and environmental

Initially, I experienced shock, grief, and anger after being enlightened to these astounding statistical approximations. Even if the scientists estimating these statistics were slightly inaccurate, humanity would be doomed without a significant reduction of animal product consumption, and the information rattled my soul. I spent weeks attempting to accept this new knowledge and sought to debunk the estimates provided in the documentary. All I discovered was more evidence to support the claims and realized that I must change to a plant based diet. Next, my grief hit me, for I had been consuming animal products for almost thirty-three years, and had contributed to the problem. Additionally, diet is part of one’s identity and culture, so significant alterations can be similar to accepting a new identity. Subsequently, the anger and frustration flooded my mind for a while. I was angry for all the misinformation circulation around every media outlet in America. The monarchs of the animal industry control a majority of our media and government and will overcome any obstacle to protect their assets. Finally, acceptance of being a vegan became my new and proud identity. Many more obstacles awaited, to include informing family and friends.

As different crazes and fads are appearing each day, we have come to expect them to simply fade away as the hype passes. However, veganism has stood the test of time in our fad society and is still increasing in popularity. Originally only thought to be a religious lifestyle, many people from different walks of life are becoming vegans. However, this poses many questions and sparks heated debates, mainly from omnivorous people who believe that veganism is against life’s natural order. Vegans, then, argue against an omnivorous lifestyle by bringing up facts about humans’ biological makeup and how humans are, contrary to popular belief, herbivorous by nature, not omnivorous. While both sides present good arguments to some, the veganism lifestyle contains more benefits and less harmful cons than an omnivorous lifestyle.

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.

Consumption of meat by humans creates several problems. First and foremost, raising animals for food compromises the environment. For example, it takes a large amount of natural resources to sustain the meat industry. The use of water, land, and food to raise animals for human consumption is not an efficient use of our limited resources. In contrast, it is more efficient to feed humans directly than to use land, food, and water to feed animals to be used as food. There are shortages of fertile land, clean water, and food in several third world countries. Many of these countries’ resources are allocated to produce feed for animals in developed countries around the world. As a result, the citizens of these countries are stricken with water and food shortages, while their crops are feeding cattle from across the globe. However, this problem can be solved by adopting a vegan diet. The vegan diet will allow a more efficient use of resources that in turn can be used to feed starving men, women, and children throughout the world. Consequently, more people in the world could be fed if the land used to grow feed for animals was used to grow food for humans.