The Environmental Impacts Of Food Production

The articles “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork” by Anna Lappe and “Why Bother?” by Michael Pollan urge us to see the connections between food and the environment. In the article “The Climate Crisis at the End of Our Fork”, Lappe insists the methods used in food production and distribution have a massive impact on the planet. In the article “Why Bother”, Pollan provides us reasons why people should bother to help stop global warming. There are three main causes between food production and food distribution that play a big role in global warming. Changing the way food is produced and distributed could diminish the dangerous effects of global warming. However, in order to stop global warming everyone has to assist as a group instead of individuals.

An urgent issue, climate change is undoubtedly a sweeping global dilemma of paramount importance. Though most people are aware of this fact, many either choose to ignore it, or acknowledge it, but take no action against it. Those who do choose to take action usually attempt to combat climate change by using the methods that are most commonly discussed: becoming more energy efficient, recycling, and reducing emissions through using more sustainable transportation. Though these actions are helpful, they are not the most efficient way to counter climate change.

The article “Why Bother” written by Michael Pollan explains how bad climate change has become; he uses cheap energy and specialization to slow the phenomenon. He proclaims that people are all waiting around on each other to make the first move but no one is moving. He understands how critical the world has become and suggests people now have to start going green. He says that to modify the way climate change has taken charge, the best ways to slow it down is laws and a massive amount of money. Pollan suggests having a personal garden or even a community garden will help reduce the carbon footprint.

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

Over the next forty years, global population is expected to reach nine billion people. This increase in population, combined with expected economic growth, will cause an increase in food demanded and inevitably drain the resources we use for food production. So far, agriculture has been able to respond positively to the rising demand for crop and livestock products. However, farmers are already faced with many new challenges associated with feeding an expanding global population. Farmers must now meet strict new emissions requirements and produce more food on fewer acres while minimizing their environmental footprint. The demand for food is expected to grow substantially in the next couple decades. Some of the factors affecting an increase in food demands are population growth, rising incomes of individuals, food supply factors, and biofuels.

We can involve climate change in our daily activities, like living in energy-efficient homes and energy-efficient places, Minimizing polluting transportation and eating less meat. According to Professor Jonathan Taylor, Southern California is one of the energy-efficient places in the U.S. Living in energy-efficient places would lead to less carbon emissions and minimizing transportation which does not cause a lot of pollution. Pollution leads to climate change. Buses and cars are major causes of pollution. Walking and cycling are healthier, does not cause pollution and good for your health. We should eat less meat because it leads to less greenhouse emissions (Taylor, 25th February).

Industrial agriculture is currently the predominant food production system in the United States. It is distinguished by large-scale monoculture, abundant use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, and meat production in CAFOs. CAFOs are ‘Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations’, otherwise known as factory farms, which aim to cram as many animals in one space to boost efficiency and profit at the expense of animal suffering and environmental hazards.

Food is necessary for humans to be able to survive, but food nowaday is not being sustainable. There are too many harmful chemicals in them and some foods now are not even made out of real foods. Food is something that needs to be sustainable because humans have to consume it, and when it is not properly treated the harm goes to those who consume it. Food is being hindered by soil erosion, water pollution, the use of pesticides and herbicides, etc. The use of herbicide and pesticide is damaging to crops because these chemicals stay on crops and go to the bodies of those which consume them, and they don’t even know about these chemicals. There is a lot of propaganda in the pro side of the argument because they give a positive view but that

“If we’re serious about the climate crisis, say’s Lappe, we have to talk about food.” Food processes and consumptions are being overlooked. The only thing that we do know when we shop at our local food markets is that we do not know what is exactly in the food, where it came from, and what route it took to get on to the shelf in our towns. Lappe addresses these questions within her book that sets the scene for many different products, corporations, and the effects that are taking place because of these methods that are helping the global warming crisis. The corporations are not assessing the risk and rewards of food production; they are sucking up the rewards and looking the other way. Taking responsibility is the first step to solving a problem and as you can see in the movie Cowspirarcy no one is willing to admit that food and productions are apart of the global warming event. The long view of our existence means we must take care of our habitat and build today for our children tomorrow instead of thinking about only today. To do this Lappe provides a list of seven principals of a climate friendly diet; “Reach for real food, Put plants on your plate, Don’t panic, go organic, Lean towards local, Finish your peas…the ice caps are melting, Send packaging packing, and Do it yourself

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.

For years vegetarian and vegan diets have been gaining popularity. This rise in popularity is due largely to the belief that a vegetarian diet has numerous health benefits and the animals being raised to be slaughtered are not being treated humanely. These are both good reasons for adopting a meat-free lifestyle, but there is an even more pressing reason. The current rate of meat consumptions, especially in developed nations, is consuming natural resources at a rate that is not sustainable. The amount of resources such as land, water, and crops consumed to support meat production is staggering. In addition to the resource consumption, meat production is also contributing to critical global environmental issues such as deforestation and ozone depletion.

The environmental impacts of a diet based in animal products is well documented and is the source of much debate. According to a report from the United Nations ' Livestock 's Long Shadow (2006),“[t]he livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” For those committed to reducing their negative impact on the environment, one solution would be to transition to a vegetarian or vegan/plant-based diet. Its not ethical to prescribe one way of being for environmentalists all over the world, especially when considering potential cultural differences. However, most committed environmentalists should attempt to adopt a vegetarian or vegan diet. This is because (1) animal products are an inefficient source of protein in terms of environmental impact, (2) the greenhouse gas emissions from an animal product-based diet is significantly higher than a plant-based diet and (3) animals are part of the environment and their treatment is as important as the treatment of the planet as a whole.

I’m going to give you some options in things that you can implement or change in your way of living that can help with the issue of climate change. These things will help cut carbon in the atmosphere.

The everyday American on average wastes an astonishing twenty pounds of food each month (Gunders). Food waste is defined, as food that was intended for human consumption but was never eaten. Food waste in America is a massive problem; perfectly edible food is spoiled and discarded at every section of the food supply chain, which causes severe consequences for the environment and the economy. If Americans wasted 5% less food, the country as a whole would save fifty million dollars yearly (Hall). Not only would reducing food waste help save money but also it would immensely help climate change, as decomposing food in landfills creates methane gas. CO2 is known as the main culprit of climate change however; although methane gas is less talked

Climate change is a worldwide issue. Not only is firm action and leadership critical in the United States, but also international efforts need to work toward reducing emissions. Strong public demand for climate change is crucial to enact effective global warming solutions for the future. Unless immediate action is taken, climate change will continue to escalate and continue to affect the entire planet. Ways nations and individuals can help repair the earth's atmosphere is reduce air pollution, use green energy, stop deforestation. Reducing air pollution could have a dramatic effect on climate change. Humans could impact this reduction by simple things such as conserving