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Essays on the concerns with eating meat
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Meat is an essential part of everyday meals for millions of people worldwide and one of the most controversial foods consumed till date. It is estimated that the average American consumes 270 pounds of meat a year, which is double the average globally. Many climate experts say that food production (especially meat) is an important contributor to climate change. Albert Einstein said “Nothing will benefit human health and increase the chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.” Eating meat is not only a personal choice but also a moral and ethical decision. Eating meat is bad because of the negative effects it has on our environment. The raising of livestock for meat affects our environment …show more content…
The production process of meat requires huge amount of pesticides, fuel, feeds and fertilizers, which leads to the release of greenhouse gases, manure and a lot of toxic chemicals to our air and water. According to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), animals on U.S. factory farms produce about 500 million tons of manure each year. Because there is no animal sewage processing plants, it is most frequently stored in massive open-air waste lagoons and are prone to leaks. Runoff from factory farms is one of the leading causes of pollution in our rivers and lakes. The EPA notes that bacteria and viruses can be carried by the runoff and that leads to contamination of …show more content…
It’s true that non-industrialized and traditional farming reduces greenhouse gases when compared to factory farming. According to Nicolette Niman “Livestock grazing has other noteworthy environmental benefits compared to cropland, perennial pastures used for grazing can decrease soil erosion by 80 percent and markedly improve water quality, Minnesota’s Land Stewardship Project Research has found.” As a result, many believe that meat eating is more protective of our environment because it prevents erosion and the greenhouse gases produced is from the fuel burned to operate vehicles and equipment not the livestock farming itself. For this reason, opponents argue that meat eating has more positive effects on our
People can be classified into two categories, meat eaters and non meat eaters. Meat eaters or carnivores are common in society so there has to be a tremendous amount of meat production to meet these needs. But has anyone ever thought about the amount of fuel and energy it takes to make it and how it would ultimately destroy the Earth? Many have and it revealed to them that the cost of being a vegan or vegetarian is far less than continuing their carnivorous ways. Two authors have their opinions to offer, even if they are on the same side of the argument and want to convert people to being a vegan. In “Eating Green” Margaret Lundberg states why becoming a vegan is healthy, not only for the person, but also the environment. John Vidal’s “10 Ways Vegetarianism Can Help Save the Planet”
On the other hand, meat is easy to digest and therefore, eating meat is also a way of converting energy that we actually can't eat, such as the energy from grass, even though there is not much energy left. A recent report released by vegetarians stated; "Growing crops is at least five times more energy efficient than crazing cattle, twenty times more efficient than raising chickens, and over fifty times more efficient than raising feedlot cattle! In this way, eating animal products clearly wastes energy resources that were naturally formed over millions of years, and in the process spews pollution into the environment we live in." Vegetarians maybe biased because they are already against eating meat, but these results do back up the point that this essay is based upon. Another point of view of vegetarians and animal rights supporters is that grazing cattle just for food is inhumane as the animals then have to be killed.
This statement is a myth and can be backed up by Meat Mythcrushers. According to the video, Myth: Going Meatless One Day a Week Can Have a Significant Environmental Impact, “reducing meat consumption one day per week as recommended by the Meatless Monday campaign has a negligible impact on greenhouse gas emissions.” This means that of the 3.4 percent of the gas emissions that are from animal agriculture, beef only contribute 1.4 percent. Even if the whole world were to reduce their beef consumption for one week, their carbon footprint would be just a meager .2 percent (2013). This misconception comes from people believing that livestock production is causing large emissions of greenhouse gas emissions when it is more so the transportation and energy production causing the problem. Meat is both economically and nutritionally efficient. Today, livestock farms require less land, water and energy than was required in the past
A United Nations report states that land used for animal agriculture, both for grazing and production of crops fed to livestock, takes up an astounding 30% of land on Earth. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") To meet the industry’s demands, over 260 million acres of forest in the U.S. have been cleared to grow grain fed to farm animals. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") With that in mind, the meat industry also dumps disease-causing pathogens through animal waste that pollutes water and forces the need for waste lagoons to be constructed, which are susceptible to leaking and flooding. ("Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms”) Scientists say that about 14% of the world’s greenhouse gases are released by said agriculture industries, which is a growing concern for climate change and global warming. (Silverman) The meat industry uses one-third of all the fossil fuels consumed in the United States. (Moore) There is no question that farming animals has a negative effect on the environment and steps should be taken to mitigate air and water pollution risks and future deforestation. If animal agriculture was phased out, land used for animal grazing could be returned to forest land and some of it converted into fields for cultivating crops for humans. A global shift toward veganism, resulting in the elimination of the meat and animal agriculture industries, would protect the environment from various detrimental effects.
There is much to be said about how exactly meat is being produced. In the present day, there are hardly any farms out there that still practice the traditional and environmental - friendly way. Animal agriculture is widely used all over the world and greatly contributes to climate change. Meat production leads to global warming because of the combination of carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. The process of raising animal is the major source to these harmful gases. It is vital to save the world from the worst impacts of climate change by reducing meat consumption. However stopping this meat eating system is extremely difficult, given that we had been consuming meat ever since our ancestors domesticated animals for that purpose. Over the decade Animal agriculture has been getting worse and worse. In 1973 when the Secretary of Agriculture Earl Butz announced ‘’ what we want out of agriculture is plenty of food’’, overproduction was encouraged and lowering the price of meat was carried out; this originally started when there was a massive increase in corn (Wolfson). In order to keep up this mass production of meat, multiple pounds of grains are fed to livestock. Livestock industries depended on corn and soy based food and used over half of the artificial fertilizer used in the United States (McWilliams).
Furthermore, factory farming can also be very dangerous for the environment. Gale (2013) states, “...the livestock industry accounts for 80% of the greenhouse gas emission, while the methane produced by cattle and their manure has a global warming effect equivalent to that of 33 million automobiles.” By working together to stop factory farming, people can save their environment. They will also have a cleaner air to breath ...
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 cars off the road” (Goffman 9). Instead of taking the bus to work, switching your diet around could make just as much of an impact on the environment.
People love to eat meat. For over two million years, humans have relied on eating meat in order to survive or simply just because they enjoy the taste. Early humans had more powerful jaws and larger teeth and relied on meat as one of their main sources of food. As evolution took place and humans evolved, they developed smaller teeth and were only able to eat the meat if it was cooked. With humans evolving and being able to survive on foods other than meat, meat does not have to necessarily be a part of human diet anymore. Although many people have opted for a vegetarian lifestyle, most people still continue to eat meat and do not consider it a cruel act. Many have also stopped eating meat due health risks and environmental concern. Whether
Ethical eating is currently an international trending topic. Many people from around the globe are considering their options regarding food sources, humane foods and ethical preparation of food and its origins. After learning how to prepare meatless meals in their kitchens, new vegetarians find cooking to be easier and more enjoyable than when they prepared meat in their respective kitchens. For example, new vegetarians can appreciate the cleanliness of their kitchens due to the lack of blood, grease and animal fat that may be left behind from preparing flesh. There are many studies that reveal the positive attributes of vegetarianism. What about ethical eating options? What does ethical eating really mean? Several nutritionists and scientists
This is a much bigger deal than people think. In fact, according to an article by Peta, How Does Eating Meat Harm the Environment, it has such an effect on the environment that the Union of Concerned Scientist list meat eaters as the second biggest environmental hazard facing the earth. The number one affect being fossil fuels produced by cars. It was also found in a report published by the Worldwatch Institute that nearly 51 percent of all greenhouse gasses are produced from animal agriculture. This is a very staggering number when a lot of research is being done to make vehicles more environmentally friendly when we could make a huge impact just by changing the way we eat. It is even more astounding that it takes the same number of fossil fuels to produce one hamburger as it takes to dive one car 20 miles (Peta How Does Eating Meat Harm the Environment). The production of this meat is also a big cost. It takes more than 80 percent of the corn we grow and more than 95 percent of oat are feed to livestock. The world’s cattle alone are feed the equal amount that would be needed to feed 8.7 billion people. That’s more than the entire world population. If we cut back on our consumption of meat we could take corn and oats that we produce and feed the world. When producing meat many of our natural resources are used. We use water, fossil fuels and top soil, and we are
...ming I will be willing to contribute in any way that I can, and becoming a vegetarian will help the environment a great deal. Becoming a vegetarian can also lead to becoming a healthier person and living a healthy lifestyle. And lastly, the way animals are killed and treated in factory farms are unethical and they should not be treated the way they are just to create a meal for the next person.Consider that the animal you are eating was a vegetarian and the meat contains all the minerals and vitamins of the plant foods it ate when you eat it. Along with fats yourbody needs in substantial amounts to stay healthy.....more on the fats later. Meat is as close to a complete meal as you can get because of this.
When these agricultural resources are given to the animals involved in meat production, these resources are lost. Besides the loss of land, the process of animal production is contributing to pollution and other greenhouse gases that are doing irreplaceable damage to the environment and contribute to untold negative health
People have used the argument that eating meat plays an important role in the overall health of a human and it is the way the cycle of life is meant to be, but this is not the case. Eating meat is unnecessary. Becoming a vegetarian could save countless animals from unnecessary suffering, improve human health, and help preserve numerous natural resources.
However, many people still refuse to be a vegetarian for different reasons. Some people prefer the taste of meat, and some people believe that they are born to eat meat. Despite that about 2 billion people in the world live basically on the meat diet, around 4 billion people live mainly on a plant-based diet because of food shortage(Pimentel & Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). As everyone knows, the number of population is growing. For example, the total U.S. population doubled in the previous 60 years, and it may double again in the next 70 years (Pimentel & Pimentel, 2003, pp660S). People won’t have enough meat to eat in the future. On the other hand, a well-planned vegetarian diet offers many health benefits. Therefore, people should become vegetarian because it benefits to huma...
Vegetarians tend to be healthier than those who consume meat. This is due to the prevalent unnatural chemicals used in the processing of meats, and eating these are unsuitable for the body. Meats already contain harmful amounts of cholesterol, and over-consumption of red meat can lead to early heart disease. Animals that are raised on farms for their meat are not treated well, and this mistreatment can lead to harm in the meat they are producing. Although one life choice cannot change one’s environmental