Environmental Impacts Of The Meat Industry Essay

If that isn’t enough, the Amazon rainforest is being affected by beef production; four-fifths of the deforestation is due to cattle ranching (Scheer). This is because there needs to be room for the livestock to roam and crops to feed the animals. There isn’t enough space for humans and our livestock since reported by Suzanne Rice, writer for the Journal of Thought, “30 percent of the earth’s ice-free land is... involved in livestock production” (Rice 118). 30 percent doesn’t leave us with much and it is no wonder we are deforesting these rainforests. However, although cattle seems to be the most detrimental livestock factor to the environmental problem, they are not alone.

The movie “Food Inc.” is a documentary created to shed light on the topic of industrialized farming of crops and animals. The video shows many scenes that display the poor methods of industrialized farming as well as the harsh conditions the animals have to endure while they are being farmed. This video however also takes a political standpoint on the topic and expresses many opinions on the matter. The movie is also filled with recent facts and statistics on the industry and compares them to how the food business used to be. “Food Inc.” also provides first-hand accounts of how farmers are affected and the types of techniques that giant corporations are imposing.

In the article published on The New York Times, "The Myth of Sustainable Meat," by James E. McWilliams, a history professor who specializes in environmental history at Texas State University--San Marcos, tries to prove the alternatives to factory farms that practice natural ways of raising animals for food production isn’t such a satisfying alternative than what we perceive it to be (par. 2). McWilliams presents excellent examples and reasons to support his thesis. He appropriately used important societal issues in regards to animal production to broaden his audience and provide strong support towards his claim. Even though McWilliams provides strong reasons to establish his claim, the use of expert opinions and dishonest statistics and facts

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.

For the past two decades animal farming has developed into an industrial operation of raising animals for human consumption (Rise of Factory Farms, 2015 Edition). Factory farming confines livestock (cows, hogs, and chickens) in tightly packed facilities with the focus on maximizing economic return. Today there are four meat packers that monopolize the industry. These four companies, Tyson, Smitfield Foods, JBS, and Cargill, control about 85 percent of the American beef industry (How 4 companies control almost all the meat you eat, 2014). This dominance in the industry affects the pricing, production, laws, and quality of the meat that is consumed. Also, majority of small and medium farms are disappearing due to the dominance of these major corporations.

No industry has seen the level of dramatic, exponential growth and change over the past three decades as animal agriculture. The present day global society and its accompanying hunger for flesh and other animal derived products has forced the production and husbandry of animals to adapt in order to satisfy this high demand. Modern farming practices are far from the idealized, picturesque image that is frequently portrayed in American media and advertising. Animal production in the United States has been industrialized, and consequently the adverse effects of large scale production and industry are taking their toll in new and devastating ways. A nation which was once saturated with small farms and farmers who supplied to the local

Working at a zoo with wild animals might sound like the dream job. But I wanted to get to the source of the problem, which led me down the environmental path. As it so happens, livestock production is one of the major causes of many of our environmental problems, as well as a business which rarely takes proper animal welfare into consideration. This contributes to my value that the consumption of livestock produce must largely

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.

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.

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.

Million of pounds of meat are consumed by Americans each year. Yet not a lot of people give a thought about where this meat actually comes from. In contrast to time before industrialize farm and big grocery stores; everyone knew their produce came from a local farm. Industrialize farming is a big industry that affect a wide range of aspects in today’s world. The big three aspects that are affected by Industrialize farm are health, economic, and environmental. Industrialize meat farm is a necessary institution, but we must implement changes and reforms to ensure the produce is safe and ethical.

Protein that we find in the meat that we consume is an essential part of our everyday diets, but when people think about how we get our meat, farming is the first to come to mind. Most people associate farming with an image of animals outside on a farm living a happy life. People assume that the animals are properly raised and killed in a peaceful manner, but this is not the case. In today’s farming, factory farms play a major role in producing the meat that we buy from our local grocery stores. The system that factory farms use to produce our meat is corrupt. They abuse their animals, diseases are frequently spread, and the environment is being damaged. Factory farms should modify the way that they operate to end abuse of the animals, stop the spread of disease, and inhibit the damage to our environment.

How much do you know about the meat industry? The meat industry has a huge environmental footprint, and it’s not a sustainable business. The meat industry is an enormous business with a lot of problems. The meat industry is a large scale business that a lot of the time produces unhealthy meat. It is ruining the environment with its need for too many resources. After discovering the horrific details about the industry, you’ll know quite a bit about the meat industry.

United Nations Global Environmental Alert Service claims, “Livestock emissions makeup nearly 80 percent of emissions from agriculture and agricultural emissions make up an estimated 10 to 35 percent of total global emissions.” Although livestock produce a lot of emissions, their impact on the soil and people outweigh the negative effects of the emissions.

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