Meat Production And Consumption And The Effect It Has On The Environment

While the majority of Australians live with food security, the long term forecast shows our current food resources will be insufficient to feed the increased population, especially with alarming climate change forecasts, nor is the demand sustainable for the environment, particularly in the beef industry. The real cost of beef is not understood by most consumers, which could be because this country has not experienced shortages sufficient to demand radical diet changes. Beef has been a staple part of the Australian diet and landscape for many

Chicken, lamb, turkey, milk, pork, eggs, fish, etc., all contribute to the environmental problems facing the planet. The fossil-fuel energy consumption to protein output for these livestock are as follows: chicken has a 4:1 ration, lamb 50:1, turkey 13:1, milk protein 14:1, pork 17:1, and eggs at a 26:1 ratio. This averages out to almost eight-times more “fossil-fuel energy than production of plant protein” (Pimentel). In addition, each animal has its own benefits and downfalls. Pigs propose a lower carbon footprint but if raised in ideal free-range environments they can pollute the soil with nitrogen (Goffman 5). Chickens pose the threat of spreading bacteria through rivers and streams and spurring algal growth which create “dead zones”,

Meat has been a staple food in the diet of mankind since the early ages of civilization. In the article “Is Any Meat Good to Eat?” by Sarah Boesveld, she interviews author Jonathan Safran to share his opinion on eating meat and factory farming. He believes that “...if [people] just ate according to the values they already have, then factory farming would disappear.” Whether or not people realize the sources from which meat in modern day society comes from, they cannot deny the fact that meat is delectable. Sadly, many people who are aware of where their meat comes from will argue that it is unethical to eat meat that is grown purely to satisfy the hunger of people. The ethics of eating meat should not be considered because of the extreme

Western diet and culture are responsible for the increase of global meat consumption, over the last few decades. This is why the global trend of moving “towards concentrated animal feeding operations is expected

The world has a need for meat, and it is almost obsessive. Most cultures typically consume some sort of domesticated animal in agriculture. Whether it is cows, chicken, lamb, deer, turkey, or fish, many people are not educated to the fact that the alternative diets are better for their health. There are different animal products for breakfast, lunch, and dinner. Hundreds if not thousands of diverse chain restaurants dedicated to meat consumption.There are also many different holidays around the world such as Thanksgiving and Christmas where meat is consumed. With affordable prices and an acquired taste, it is likely to be a lifelong habit. There are vast miles of subsidized agricultural land dedicated to the cultivation of animals. According to Amir Khan, staff writer for U.S.News, reporting on the American Meat Institute, Americans consume, “57 pounds more meat than they were in the 1950s”(Khan).

It won’t come as a surprise to anyone that Americans like their meat. In fact, America produced 93 billion pounds of meat and poultry in 2012, which included some 32 million cattle. As many of us already know, agriculture has a significant impact on our environment in a variety of ways. In order to successfully rear livestock, slaughterhouses require large quantities of water, and emit plenty of greenhouse gases – methane and CO2 specially – during production.

Good Morning Ms Lewis and students, today I will be talking to you about Australia and how America is over powering our national identity and Australia is slowly becoming Americanised and has been for many years. Australian culture and identity has been significantly affected and dominated by America through movies, tv shows, music and food. In my opinion the Americanisation of Australia's culture is a sad and terrible thing. It is a process where ordinary Australians are bombarded every day with images of American lifestyle, so much that it merges almost unnoticed into our own lifestyle.

Whole chickens are very successful in Canadian culture and that is why, with the surplus of chickens, Canada should export whole chickens to Australia. The first reason is for why Canada should export chickens is because Australians love meat with a passion. For example, in 2014, an Australian census was conducted based on the annual consumption of meat. Australians, per person, on average consumed 90.21 kg worth of meat. In comparison, the U.S. consumed 90.04 kg of meat per person, See graph “An appetite for meat.”

Vegetarianism and vegansim have been generally accepted by more and more people in Australia food culture. It is agreed that vegetables carry the the important role in Asian and India, thereby promoting multi-food culture in Australia. For another, in recent years, the fast food culture is more and more popular and abundant. However, there are various local and international restaurants in the centre of Australia. People's daily diet also tend to diversification, whatever they choose cooking at home or having a dinner in a

Australia being a major exporter of high quality beef is viewed by many as an ideal investment for investors to take advantage of the opportunity of the rise in future demand for beef and the limited grazing lands available for beef production. There has been demand in Australia’s agricultural farming lands by investors who view farming lands as a long-term investment, with the view of a high returns in the Australia’s agricultural sector as the growth in middle class of Asia materializes pushing for a greater demand of beef. The current dilemma which the Australian beef sector faces is the decline in herd numbers to 40-year low, the increase in the cattle slaughter rate and the growth in demand for beef exports. External competition in the beef market from international players aim at establishing a hold on foreign exports and aim for a greater share in the beef export

Following the Heckscher–Ohlin Model, Australia is a competitive market due to suitable conditions for beef manufacturing. Land is one such advantage. Australia has both a large quantity and the appropriate quality of land for having livestock and

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.

     It also needs to be pointed out that meat production industry is highly unfriendly to the environment. It has been proved that the results of this mindless actions are extremely harmful to the whole planet: trees are lost in creating farms for animal food, land is taken away from wildlife, additional erosion is caused, topsoil is lost, groundwater is wasted, and pesticide is excessively used. In fact, one chicken farm uses as much water as a little city. Few may know that this industry, compared to others, causes the biggest pollution at all.

“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.

Global meat production rose to a new peak of 308.5 million tons in 2013, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), a more than fourfold increase over the last five decades. Even more startlingly, meat production has grown 25-fold since 1800 (Horrigan, Lawerence &Walker, 2002). Globally, agriculture utilizes nearly 70 per cent of the world 's available freshwater. One-third of that percentage is used to grow grains to feed to livestock (ECOS, 2014). While the global meat industry provides food and a livelihood for billions of people, it also has significant environmental and health consequences for the planet. Over half of the water used in meat production