Why is animal farming bad for the environment?
For profitability, the meat, egg, and dairy industries crowd the largest number of animals into the smallest space possible, leading to massive water pollution, soil erosion from the massive number of crops needed to feed these animals, and other ecological disasters.
What are the causes of animal agriculture?
Activists protesting against animal agriculture. Animal agriculture involves the production of livestock and animal by-products for human consumption. Huge tracts of land and millions of gallons of water are needed to grow, feed, and raise these animals.
Why is animal waste bad for the environment?
The animal waste that runs off these livestock lots pollutes local waterways with pesticides, herbicides, hormones, antibiotics, phosphate-rich fertilizer, and bacteria. This waste is reducing clean water availability around the world and reduces the availability of the uncontaminated fish supply.
Why is the agricultural industry so good at destroying the environment?
This would force the industry to slow down production to more natural levels that are much less harmful to the environment. The agricultural industry has been incredibly successful at convincing legislatures and agencies to exempt farmers from regulation.
How does animal agriculture affect the environment?
Animal agriculture is the second largest contributor to human-made greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions after fossil fuels and is a leading cause of deforestation, water and air pollution and biodiversity loss.
Is animal agriculture destroying the planet?
Animal agriculture impacts land destruction and species loss This destruction of land also displaces wild animals, resulting in loss of habitat and species. On a global scale, 60 percent of animal populations have been wiped out since 1970.
Does animal agriculture help the environment?
Scientific consensus shows that animal agriculture is responsible for 14.5-16.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions and causes significant environmental degradation, from biodiversity loss to deforestation.
What are disadvantages of animal agriculture?
Disadvantages of Factory FarmingAnimals are treated quite poorly.Animals might bully each other.Low-quality meat.Animals are raised to unnatural sizes.Fast family separation.Some animals are killed solely due to their gender.Unnatural form of animal raising.Genetic engineering might be used for factory farming.More items…
Why is animal agriculture killing the planet?
Deforestation is another problem directly caused by the expanding animal agriculture industry. In fact, about 6.7 million acres of forests are destroyed each year for livestock farming. These forests are burned on a large-scale, shattering ecosystems worldwide.
How much pollution does animal agriculture cause?
Specifically, livestock accounts for an estimated nine percent of global carbon dioxide emissions, 35 to 40 percent of global methane emissions, and 65 percent of nitrous oxide emissions.
Why is animal agriculture bad for climate change?
Animal agriculture produces 65% of the world’s nitrous oxide emissions which has a global warming impact 296 times greater than carbon dioxide. Raising livestock for human consumption generates nearly 15% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, which is greater than all the transportation emissions combined.
Why is animal agriculture unsustainable?
Meat production contributes heavily to the increases in greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, soil degradation, water stress and coastal “dead” zones, the report said.
How much waste does animal agriculture produce?
The US Department of Agriculture estimates that confined farm animals generate more than 450 million tonnes of manure annually, 3 times more raw waste than generated by Americans. The waste lagoons on Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs) not only pollute our groundwater, but deplete it as well.
How do animals affect the environment?
Summary. All animals influence the environment to varying extents. The production of livestock and poultry has marked impacts on the environment influencing water, air, and soil. Manure or animal waste is the predominant source of concern particularly with intensive animal agriculture.
How killing animals affect the environment?
It contributes to land and water degradation, biodiversity loss, acid rain, coral reef degeneration and deforestation. Nowhere is this impact more apparent than climate change – livestock farming contributes 18% of human produced greenhouse gas emissions worldwide.
Why is livestock farming bad for the environment?
The livestock industry is responsible for around 14.5 % of global greenhouse gas emissions. The magnitude of this percentage is due to the emission of large amounts of methane and nitrous oxide, which both result in greater global warming than carbon dioxide per gram of gas released.
What are the effects of animals on small areas of land?
In addition, the massive amount of animals produced on small areas of land is unsustainable and leads to reduced soil fertility and desertification, a loss of plants and the inability to regrow lost flora.
What are the protests against animal agriculture?
Activists protesting against animal agriculture. Animal agriculture involves the production of livestock and animal by-products for human consumption. Huge tracts of land and millions of gallons of water are needed to grow, feed, and raise these animals. The environmental impact of this practice is detrimental to the land, air, …
How many dairy cows are raised in the US?
In the US, farmers are raising around 9 million dairy cows, which means 1.08 billion pounds of waste daily. To put it into perspective, a farm with only 2,500 cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of around 400,000 people.
What animals are raised in the US?
Typical livestock includes pigs, beef cows, dairy cows, poultry (like chickens and turkeys), goats, and sheep. The following information identifies the environmental impact and waste production of the US-based factory farming of each …
How much waste does a pig produce?
Each pig produces, on average, 14 pounds of waste per day. Thus 938 million pounds of solid waste produced daily by pigs. While toxic fumes are a big problem for all livestock, ammonia is of particular concern on pig farms. Ammonia increases smog levels and causes respiratory illnesses like asthma and lung inflammation.
What are the animals that make up the US livestock?
Sheep and Goat. Not commonly considered as having a big role in US livestock production, the sheep and goat population is as big as the population of dairy cows. These animals also produce massive amounts of waste. Each sheep and goat create 5 pounds of waste daily. When multiplied by the 9 million animals in the country, …
Is animal agriculture a threat to the environment?
It is one of the biggest contributors to global climate change and deforestation around the world, presenting a great threat to the world’s biodiversity. Some of the facts are astounding. For example, animal agriculture is responsible for emitting 18% of all greenhouse gasses, and this is expected to increase 80% by the year 2050.
What is the affirmative argument for animal agriculture?
Affirmative Argument. Animal agriculture requires massive amounts of land, food, energy, and water; results in polluted land, water, and air; and causes immense animal suffering. Even the United Nations (U.N.) has acknowledged that raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to …
How much water does animal agriculture use?
Eating meat also wastes valuable resources. It takes up to 13 pounds of grain and 2,500 gallons of water to produce just a pound of meat. Growing water-intensive crops simply to feed animals who are raised for food consumes …
What are the consequences of the meat, egg, and dairy industries?
For profitability, the meat, egg, and dairy industries crowd the largest number of animals into the smallest space possible, leading to massive water pollution, soil erosion from the massive number of crops needed to feed these animals, and other ecological disasters.
Is agriculture a source of pollution?
According to the Environmental Protection Agency, agricultural runoff is the number one source of pollution in our waterways —and it can contaminate groundwater with viruses and bacteria. Reducing intensive meat production is simply not enough to save the environment. The sheer quantity of animals required to satisfy people’s desire …
What are the effects of animal abuse on agriculture?
When we exempt the agricultural industry from these laws, factory farms increase production to unnaturally high levels. This increased production causes devastating environmental effects, such as climate change, water shortages, and the loss of topsoil.
How does factory farming affect the environment?
The unnaturally high production rates of factory farms have devastating effects on the environment, including hastening climate change, creating water quality and quantity problems, and destroying topsoil.
What does Landis Marinello argue about animal abuse?
Summary: In his article, Landis-Marinello argues laws criminalizing animal abuse should apply to the agricultural industry. He further argues that when the agricultural industry is exempted from these laws, factory farms increase production to unnaturally high levels. This increased production causes devastating environmental effects, …
Why is regulation scaring factory farms?
Regulation scares factory farms because their practices undoubtedly violate any definition of cruelty to animals. It is impossible to treat animals humanely in a business that refuses to consider the interests of animals.
Why do factory farms hire lobbyists?
Factory farms hire lobbyists and participate in agency rulemaking because they have by far the most to gain from an unregulated industry. Unlike smalltime farmers, factory farms often fail to treat their animals with even minimal amounts of care.
How do factory farms contribute to the water crisis?
Factory farms are contributing to this water crisis in numerous ways. To begin, their contribution to climate change also contributes to the water crisis, since warmer global temperatures lead to lower lake and river levels.
What is the biggest contributor to water quality impairment in the United States?
Agriculture is the leading contributor to water quality impairment in the United States, and the meat industry is often the worst of the worst. Raising unnaturally high numbers of animals in confined areas creates a large quantity of waste that is often not treated properly before it enters our nation’s waterways.
How many gases do animal farms emit?
Animal farms may produce food, but they also produce massive amounts of animal waste that emit around 400 different harmful gases into the atmosphere. Animal farms may produce food, but they also produce massive amounts of animal waste that emit around 400 different harmful gases into the atmosphere. Toggle navigation.
What happens when a factory farm decomposes?
Additionally, when factory farm waste decomposes, it releases airborne particulate matter along with harmful gases. These particulatescan include dry manure, feathers, bits of feed, and animal dander. They can travel through the air for miles and turn the sky hazy near the factory farm.
How many cows are raised on factory farms?
Nearly all farm animals — 99 percent— are raised on one of the 20,000 factory farmslocated in the United States. That includes an estimated 29 million cows that go through the factory farm system every single year. These “factory farms” or “CAFO”s (Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations) are minimally regulated due to ag-gag laws, …
What gases are produced in factory farms?
Some of these gases include nitrous oxide, ammonia, particulate matter, endotoxins, and hydrogen sulfide. Because thousands of animals are kept together in factory farms, the concentration of the gases produced can be extremely dangerous to the local community.
Why are antibiotics used in livestock?
The antibiotics that livestock are given to protect them while living in a high-stress , filthy environment are also potent airborne matter. In one experiment, researchers from Texas Tech placed air samplers 10 to 30 yardsboth upwind and downwind from beef and dairy feedlots throughout the fall and winter months.
What are the causes of air pollution?
1. Animal Waste Causes Harmful Air Pollution. Animal farms may produce food, but they also produce massive amounts of animal waste like urine and manure that emit around 400 different harmful gases into the atmosphere. Some of these gases include nitrous oxide, ammonia, particulate matter, endotoxins, and hydrogen sulfide.
What are the most damaging products to the environment?
When it comes to our environment, there are many factors scientists say can contribute to climate change. One of the most damaging is food .
Which food is the third most climate-damaging?
The third most climate-damaging food is butter. Experts say it has about half of CO2 emissions than beef, but still poses a huge threat to our environment. Ranked at number four is shellfish, then cheese at number five. Asparagus is ranked 6th due to air pollution.
Affirmative Argument
Become An ‘Expert’
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Use the following links to conduct research on general information about the impact of animal agriculture on the environment and prepare logical arguments: 1. 33 Facts That Show How Eating Meat Could Be Destroying the Environment 2. 5 Reasons Why You Can’t Be an Environmentalist and Eat Meat 3. Climate Change and Animal Agriculture, Explained 4. Cowspiracy: The Facts 5. F…
Finding Solutions
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Use the following resources to help build a proposal suggesting solutions to issues that could allegedly arise if humans stopped using animals for food: 1. 4 Consumer Trends Driving the Rapid Rise of Sustainable Plant-Based Foods in America 2. Center for Biological Diversity: Pledge to Take Extinction off Your Plate 3. Chris Darwin Would Really Love It if You’d Eat Less Meat 4. Me…
Anticipate Counterarguments and Prepare Rebuttals
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Analyze websites that support animal agriculture to determine their stated reasons for justifying the production of meat and other animal-derived “products,” given the industry’s environmental implications. Investigate what farmers, corporations, and government agencies gain by continuing to use animals for food, and think critically about their motivations. Also, examine which other e…
Additional Resources
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Websites 1. Water Footprint Network’s Product Gallery 2. Your Nitrogen Footprint Calculator 3. Food’s Carbon Footprint 4. Your Vegan Fallacy Is Infographics 1. The Truth About Eating Animals 2. Cowspiracy: The Facts Infographic Videos 1. How the Meat and Dairy Industries Destroy the Environment 2. You Don’t Have to Work That Hard to Save the Planet 3. Water Wasters: Guess W…