We are in the midst of the biggest environmental crisis ever. If we want our planet for future generations, we must do something about it. One of the greatest contributors to our problems is the animal agriculture industry. Raising animals for food requires massive amounts of resources (land, water, food, and energy). If more of the world became vegan, we could end world hunger because the amount of land being used for animals could be used for crops. The United Nations has advised that to fight against climate change and its worst effects, there must be a global change by the people to consumption of a vegan diet.

 

'Water

 

To produce 1 pound of beef, it takes more than 2,400 gallons of water, whereas 1 pound of tofu takes 244 gallons of water. Water is used to grow crops for the animals to eat, clean the dirty factory farms, provide water for the animals to drink. A cow used for milk can drink 50 gallons of water in one day, or double that in hot weather. To produce 1 gallon of milk, 683 gallons of water are needed. By going vegan, one can save 219,000 gallons in a year!

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Pollution

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On factory farms, animals produce 500 million tons of manure. Runoff from these factory farms is one of the biggest causes of pollution in our bodies of water, like lakes and rivers. Factory farms spray liquid manure into the air, which affect people living nearby because they have to breathe in this toxic air. It has been shown that in humans these fumes cause immune, neurochemical, inflammatory, and irritation problems. 

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Land Use

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When feeding someone a plant-based diet, the crops are eaten immediately rather than then having to be fed to animals, which means that a plant-based diet needs 20 times less land than an diet with meat. Currently 56 million acres are being used for growing feed for animals to consume, while 4 million acres are being used to grow plants for animals. In addition, to make 1 pound of beef, 10 pounds of grain is needed. Since 1970, 90% of the land that has been cleared in the Amazon rainforest is used for livestock. 

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Oceans

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We may see fishless oceans by 2050... Fishing clears ocean life and destroys coral reefs. When fishing, thousands of other animals are killed in the process (dolphins, sharks, sea turtles, etc.) because they get caught in the net. Fish farms on the coast release feces , parasites, antibiotics, and non-native fish into the water, disrupting the balance of our ecosystem. Most farmed fish are also usually carnivorous, so it to make 1 pound of salmon, 3 pounds of fish meal is needed. 

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Works Cited

PETA. "Meat and the Environment." PETA. Www.peta.org, n.d. Web. 12 Mar. 2017.