STOP EATING ANIMALS

1. STOP GLOBAL WARMING . . . STOP EATING ANIMALS

2. STRONGLY TIED TO THE PRACTICES OF ANIMAL-AGRICULTURE ARE ISSUES RELATING TO air and water pollution/contamination SPECIES EXTINCTION public health and disease world hunger over-use Of fossil fuels Water Land resources WASTE GENERATION AND ITS IMPROPER DISPOSAL over-fishing DEFORESTATION

3. Taking control of one’s eating habits is a direct way to stop one’s contribution to the great environmental injustices that are occurring.

4. The demand for meat contributes to most of the deforestation that occurs in the world, and animal agriculture is the single largest anthropocentric use of land. It accounts for 2/3 of all agricultural land, with grazing lands alone, comprising 35% of the total U.S. land area (Lubowski 2009). In the United States, livestock consumes more than 7 times as much grain as the entire population of America (Pimentel 2003). The amount of grains U.S. livestock consumes is enough to feed a plant-based diet to 840million people (Pimentel 2003).

5. The lack of property rights to the rightful owner, i.e. the animal, is the first injustice that allows for the multitude of environmental problems to transpire. The exploitation of animals will almost always lead to the exploitation of the environment Animal products’ price does not reflect it true cost. The negative externalities that are borne by the environment, animals, and human health are not incorporated into the price, and therefore make animal products seemingly cheap.

6. The US EPA states that runoff of chemicals, silts, and animals’ wastes from farming practices pollute nearly 70% of America’s rivers and streams (Horrigan 2002). The US Federal Register found that 85% of threatened/endangered species in the US is because of habitat loss (Cafaro 2006). The leading cause of habitat loss in America is from agriculture. Agriculture entails largely livestock operations and feed crops; very little in relation is used to supply humans with plant-based foods “It is estimated that due to industrialized fishing, large predatory fish biomass today is only about 10% of pre-industrial levels” (York 2004).

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8. The United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) estimates, that 18% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions are attributable to livestock. This estimate however is even believed to be as much as 51% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, mainly due to the overlooked respiration of livestock, overlooked land use contributions, uncounted methane, and other misallocations (Goodland 2009) of the FAO findings. This places the livestock sector as a higher contributor to greenhouse gas emissions than the total transportation sector (Steinfeld 2006). Animal agriculture accounts for 2/3 of all water use worldwide (Horrigan 2002).

9. Beef production requires large volumes of water, as much as 100 times that required to produce equivalent amounts of protein energy from grains” (Horrigan 2002). One of the greatest environmental injustices is the placement of animal-agricultural facilities, especially confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs). The location of CAFOs are largely near populations with the lowest political influence, lowest income, and those who are institutionally discriminated against based on race (Donham 2007). For most animals, they are unable to breathe fresh air, feel the soil beneath their feet, or engage in healthy social interaction with members of its own species. These animals are treated with an unsettling disregard, viewed solely as objects to be disposed of once their marginalized purpose is fulfilled.

10. The high saturated fat content and cholesterol found in animal-sourced food, including its lack of fiber, antioxidants, vitamins, and minerals, is causing many people to fall prey to cardiovascular disease, obesity, diabetes, and cancer Chronic diseases and illnesses are becoming ever more prevalent as people eat more animal-derived foods. In 2005, the U.S. Government Accountability Office issued a report on the effectiveness of US EPA efforts in meeting its obligations to regulate CAFOs (Donham 2007). EPA allowed an estimated 60% of CAFOs to go unregulated (Donham 2007).

11. Strangely, there are actually laws enacted that restrict citizens from speaking freely about animal agriculture if it has a negative connotation; 13 sates passed laws of this sort (Donham 2007). Throughout the world, the creation of grazing lands for cattle is responsible for most deforestation. Case examples include the highly diverse tropical ecosystems of Colombia, Brazilian Amazon, and Queensland, Australia. In the Brazilian Amazon, 80% of deforestation is attributable to the cattle sector. Over half of the world’s plant and animal species are found in forests, and the destruction of the forests critically endangers the preservation of biodiversity. Deforestation is causing many endemic species to go extinct for their habitat is completely destroyed.

16. In the Brazilian Amazon, the recent years’ average is a loss of one hectare of rainforests every 18 seconds to cattle ranchers (Greenpeace International 2009) In Queensland, Australia and other regions of Australia, there is growing evidence that deforestation is impacting the regional climate (McAlpine 2009). Warmer and drier conditions are the result, and it is seen that “the clearing of native forests for cattle pastures is exacerbating the impact of drought on Australia’s natural resources and ecosystems” (McAlpine 2009). Animal waste, by-catch, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used to spray feed crops are the chief causes of pollution in bodies of water (Walker 2005).

17. “For instance, since a pig produces about four times as much solid waste as an average person, a typical CAFO of 5000 pigs is equivalent to a small city of 20,000 people with nosewage treatment plant” (Walker 2005). “These wastes, most of which go untreated, contain high concentrations of nitrogen, phosphorous, and potassium compounds and traces of metal and antibiotics; these represent a serious public health concern” (Marlow 2009). Organic animal wastes, feed, feathers, heavy metals, hormones, antibiotics, pathogens, and ammonia are the main pollutants dispensed into the environment from these operations (Walker 2005). These have been associated with the evolution of antibiotic-resistant pathogens, growth restriction of desirable aquatic plant life that protects against disease-causing microorganisms, hormone-related changes in fish, and outbreaks of microbes such as Pfiesteria piscidia. These operations also reduce oxygen levels in some waters—killing fish and other marine life, place unbearable conditions and disease upon the animals confined, and impair some of the human utilized sources of water—threatening human health (Walker 2005).

18. Livestock is fed roughly 40% of the world’s grain supply, and half of this would be enough to combatworld hunger (Leitzmann 2003). Meat production requires as much as 10 times the quantity of resources, land, energy, and water than what is needed to produce the protein equivalent in vegan foods (York 2004). “Depending on the type of animals raised, farmers have to feed them 3-16 lbs of plant food to get 1 lb of meat or other animal product” (Cafaro 2006)

19. Despite how overwhelming the environmental problems animal agriculture encompasses, there are solutions… Possibly the greatest effect one can have is reducing one’s intake of animal-derived foods. Demand is what fuelsthis industry and thus supports the environmentally destructive practices.

20. A vegan lifestyle tries, to the fullest extent possible, to reduce the consumption of animal-sourced foods and products, thus decreasing the suffering of sentient creatures. A plant-based diet is a solution that can satisfy all nutritional needs, as well as prevent and reverse many chronic diseases that face affluent countries, whose diets are largely dependent upon animal sources. These animals are extremely exploited, and by stopping to support the entities that exploit animals, it is stopping the crimes committed against the earth and all the earthlings that are highly vulnerable to animal agricultural practices.

21. Sustainable agriculture can play a crucial role in changing consumption patterns towards a more plant-based foundation. Sustainable agriculture is known to be “ecologically sound, economically viable, socially just, culturally appropriate, and based on a holistic scientific approach” (Horrigan 2002).

22. This translates directly to the continuity of stripping natural resources at an unsustainable rate,moredeforestation, moreenergy and water use towards a morally degrading, cruel practice that is destroying the environment. It is expected that the consumption of animal-derived foods is expected to double by 2050 (Ilea 2005). The U.S. government must take leadership over this matter in order toprotect the environment and to further create global agreements to protect climate, stop deforestation, and protect biodiversity (Greenpeace International 2009).

23. World hunger already exists, as 3 billion people are malnourished, with millions starving, because 2 billion people primarily live on an animal centered diet (Pimentel 2003) Animal agriculture is an unsustainable practice, it creates massive degradation to the environment, significantly contributes to global climate change, places increased stress on the global food supply, but is also outstripping resources faster than the environment can replenish them.

24. The unsettling reality of animal agriculture is real, and is a focus that needs attention, especially on a moral and environmental level. The act of eating holds more power than most understand. Transitioning towards a plant-based diet, propelled by sustainable, organic agricultural practices can have profound benefits to the ecological health of the earth, humanity’s vitality; in addition to, liberating animals from the preventable pain and suffering induced by humanity

25. REFERENCES: Cafaro, PJ, RB Primack, and RL Zimdahl "The Fat of the Land: Linking American Food Overconsumption, Obesity, and Biodiversity Loss." Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Ethics 19.6 (2006): 541-561. Print. Donham, Kelley et al "Community Health and Socioeconomic Issues Surrounding Concentrated Feeding Operations." Environmental Health Perspectives 115.2 (2007): 317-320. Print. Goodland, Robert & Jeff Anhang. Livestock and Climate Change. Worldwatch, Nov. 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 2009 <http://www.worldwatch.org/files/pdf/Livestock%20and%20Climate%20Change.pdf>. Greenpeace International, Slaughtering the Amazon. Greenpeace, 01 June 2009. Web. 23 Oct. 2009 <http://www.greenpeace.org/raw/content/international/press/reports/slaughtering-the- amazon.pdf>. Horrigan, Lawrence, and P. Walker "How Sustainable Agriculture Can Address the Environmental and Human Health Harms of Industrial Agriculture." Environmental Health Perspectives 110.5 (2002): 445-456. Print. Ilea, Ramona. "Intensive Livestock Farming: Global Trends, Increased Environmental Concerns, and Ethical Solutions." Journal of Agriculture & Environmental Ethics 22.2 (2009): 153-167. Print. Leitzmann, C.. "Nutrition Ecology: The Contribution of Vegetarian Diets." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 78.3 (2003): 657S-659S. Print. Lubowski, Ruben & Marlow Vesterby. Major Uses of Land in the United States, 2002. USDA Economic Information Bulletin, May 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2009 <http://www.ers.usda.gov/publications/EIB14/eib14.pdf>. Marlow, HJ et al "Diet and the Environment: Does What You Eat Matter?" American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 89.5 (2009): S1699-S1703. Print. McAlpine, CA et al "Increasing World Consumption of Beef as a Driver of Regional and Global Change: A Call for Policy Action Based on Evidence from Queensland (Australia), Colombia, and Brazil." Global Environmental Change-Human and Policy Dimensions 19.1 (2009): S1699-S1703. Pimentel, D., and M. Pimentel "Sustainability of Meat-based and Plant-based Diets and the Environment." American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 78.3 (2003): 660S-663S. Print. Steinfeld, Henning & Pierre Gerber. Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, 2006. Web. 23 Oct. 2009 <http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm>. Walker, P. et al "Public Health Implications of Meat Production and Consumption." Public Health Nutrition 8.4 (2005): 348-356. Print. York, R., and MH Gossard "Cross-national Meat and Fish Consumption: Exploring the Effects of Modernization and Ecological Context." Ecological Economics 48.3 (2004): 293-302. Print.