Factory farming pollutes and wastes natural resources. Runoff and effluents from confined animal feeding operations (CAFOs) pollute the land and the water. At the same time, meat, dairy, and egg production consume excessive amounts of water and energy. All told, animal agriculture is the top cause of water pollution worldwide and uses more water than all other human purposes combines. Because cycling plants through animals rather than eating them directly is an inherently inefficient way to produce food, even small-scale “organic” animal agriculture operations waste land and water resources while causing unnecessary pollution. We all pay the price.
This has always been true. Now, we also know that animal agriculture contributes more to global warming than any other industrial sector, even transportation!
At the same time, water pollution, desertification, and, increasingly, climate change menace animals as individuals and species. From frogs born with extra legs due to water pollution to migrating birds who can’t find food because of climate change, free animals suffer due to the effects of our abuse of captive animals.
If you care about animals, go green; if you care about the environment, go vegan.
Readings
- Nuggets and Hummers and Fish Sticks, Oh My! — Bruce Freidrich explains why vegetarianism is the best way to help the environment
- So, You’re an Environmentalist — Then why are you still eating meat? asks E Magazine
- Hawk! — The roosters at the sanctuary are warning you: This is an emergency! Here’s what you can do about global warming
- Beyond Despair — Sanctuary co-founder pattrice jones on what you can do to break through inaction on climate change
- The Inconvenient Truth About What We Eat — Steve Leckie breaks it down and challenges Al Gore to face the facts
- Hard to Swallow — Jonathon Porritt tackles the geopolitics of eating on a warming planet
Reports
- Livestock’s Long Shadow (pdf) — UN-FAO report on the environmental impact of animal agriculture
- Global Warming (pdf) — Earthsave International report and strategic analysis
- Heat and Meat — Report from the European Vegetarian Union
- Commotion in the Ocean — SuperWeed aggregates maps and facts
- Assessing the the Full Cost of the Federal Grazing Program (pdf) — Comprehensive report from the Center for Biological Diversity
- Factory Farming and the Environment (pdf) — 53 page report from Compassion in World Farming
- Geoscientists Follow Arsenic from Chicken Feed to Streambeds — Brief report on shocking finding
- Environmental Impacts of the Poultry Industry — From Salisbury University, in the heart of poultry country
- Animal Manure Fouling Chesapeake Bay — Dairy and poultry are the culprits
