Informative Speech : Animal Agriculture

Although many researchers believe that our planet’s environment and ecosystems are facing many challenges due to livestock production, proponents of livestock production believe that the reason why the our environmental condition has worsened is not that we eat more meat — but because we eat less of it. Niman argues that instead of decreasing production, we should focus on producing meat that is more environmentally sound. She also argues that “Feed production—with all its attendant problems of fossil fuel consumption, soil erosion, greenhouse gases, and chemical pollution—can be avoided altogether” (Niman, 79). In “Defending Beef”, she explicitly criticises the FAO’s “Livestock’s Long Shadow” and questions certain statements

Another Ted Talk video “What’s Wrong with What We Eat” is a speech video by Mark Bittman discussing “what’s wrong with the way we eat now, and why it’s putting the entire planet at risk”. This video discusses the way we eat is a Holocaust of it’s time. Bittman discusses how energy production, livestock is the second highest contributor to atmosphere altering gases. With one-fifth of those greenhouses gasses coming from livestock production, more than transportation. Bittman also talks about how livestock is one of the largest problems with land degradation, air and water pollution, water shortage, and biodiversity.

Specific Purpose: I want to educate my audience on the various animal rights organizations and what they stand for.

What if cows in actuality are the leading cause of pollution? According to the film, "Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. " This means planes, trains, cars, and boats collectively

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.

Meat production in modern conditions and scope can negatively affect the environment. Unfortunately, the entire global transportation of cars, planes, and ships allocates a large amount of interest and disposing of all greenhouse gases. Because in the world, many people who like to eat meat, countries allocate a huge swath of land to make more room for animals. Also scattered land to feed these animals. According to the article “Vegetarianism” by Ramsey. P, “Animals not confined to feedlots pose different problems for the environment. Overgrazing and disagreements about land use in the western United States have become major battleground issues between ranchers and environmentalists.” I believe that this is a big problem for our environment.

Last week, Shawn Archibeque spoke to the class and presented an optimistic perspective of the meat industry. I learned about the meat industry in the past, but this was the first time that I had heard someone defending the meat industry. It was very refreshing to hear about the different perspectives in the meat industry. Listening to Shawn in class and writing this paper, I realized that this is a very controversial topic and that there is no easy solution to feed everyone and limit the damages to the planet. Concentrated animal feeding operations, also known as CAFOs, a large scale & high density animal raising facility with the purpose of obtaining produce (Hribar & Schultz, 2010). Shawn, the guest speaker explained that the toxicity of everything depends on its concentration. If there was a lot of animals contained in a confined space, there would be a chance that the environment would become toxic.

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.

MP1- Compared to recent years fewer individuals are returning to or going into the agricultural industry.

How Would You Like It? Your sitting down to dinner; it’s a home cooked meal. There are sides of mashed potatoes, green beans, yams, and macaroni and cheese. Your drink of choice being soda, and for dessert ice cream.

Attention getter: According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United States, animal agriculture is a leading source of carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane emissions, the top three greenhouse gasses (FAO, 2006).

The United States prides itself on being an advanced society and helping both its citizens and foreign nations. However, some of the biggest problems facing the world today stem from sources often overlooked or even purposefully neglected by the American government. One of these sources is animal agriculture. Animal industries such as those which produce meat, dairy, seafood, and eggs are some of the main contributors to environmental decay, health epidemics, and even world hunger issues. Although proof of this is abundant, it continues to be ignored. Instead, we continue to go around the main problem and struggle to find alternate solutions only to arrive at inefficient and costly attempts. If we want our nation to truly represent its values, however, something must be done. In order to help solve issues regarding health, hunger, and the environment not only in America but in the world, the mass production of animal products should be outlawed.

One of the biggest controversies with livestock production is that the amount of greenhouse gas emissions that get released into the atmosphere. Its assumed that cars produce most if not all the greenhouse gas emissions however livestock has a big say in air pollution. According to Cassandra Brooks, writer for the Stanford Woods Institute for the Environment, 18 percent of all global greenhouse gas emissions are due to livestock production. This is nearly 20% and can be greatly reduced if people reduced their demand for meat. The Environmental Working Group used a tangible variable for Americans stating “if everyone in the U.S. ate no meat or cheese just one day a week, it would be like not driving 91 billion miles – or taking 7.6 million

Purpose Formula: To persuade my fellow classmates, who are consumers of animal based products and supporters of zoos and wildlife conservation efforts, that animals deserve the same rights as humans and should not be used for profit.

“The UN along with other agencies reported that not only did livestock play a major role in global warming, it is also the leading cause of resource consumption and environmental degradation destroying the planet today.” (Andersen & Kuhn, 2014). It is important, then, to consider the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. This essay will argue that animal agriculture is harmful to the environment in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, water- and land use, and that policies in the form of subsidizing plant foods, altering the Canada Food Guide, and creating plant based nutrition coaching and support groups should be enacted to solve these problems. The first section of this paper will outline scholarly literature on the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. This paper will then discuss why a plant based diet is also suitable for optimal health. Finally, this essay will conclude with an overview of the various social policies that must be executed to solve these environmental issues.