"Hell! let's just call it a concentration camp...for after today these horses will never see each other again. They will be packaged and sent to various parts of the world to be consumed."
The Climate Crisis
There is evidence that human activities like using emissions, deforestation, and land-use are responsible for climate change. Greenhouse gases have therefore been affecting Earth’s climate intensely. Recent 2019 Climate Change Summit takes note of different sectors to take action on.
The Meat Industry: Background
1800's- In America, Early settlers relied on elk and buffalo Cattle, pigs, and sheep were introduced by Europe and the British Isles which led to most people depending on farms.
1865- The meat-packing industry developed in states such as Philadelphia, Cincinnati, Chicago, Kansas City, and Omaha. Chicagos stock yard was the nation’s leading livestock market at this time. The railway system was a main contributor to the success of it.
1940's- After World War II, there was expansions of grocery stores and refrigeration. Grocery stores were able to be their meat from a single source, instead of receiving the animals themselves.
1945- Stockyards in big cities like Chicago moved to small towns close to cattle ranches, ex: Iowa, Nebraska and Colorado, etc.
According to the U.N. Food and Agriculture Organization, in 1961 the world's total meat supply was up to 71 million tons. By 2007, it was 284 million tons, now 336.4 million tons, as of 2018. There are still many people in the world, meaning there's a high demand for it.
The biggest environmental consequence of the meat industry...
...the carbon footprint that meat leaves.
The science behind the 5th biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions
The digestive system of cattle involves a process called enteric fermentation which produces the greenhouse gasses that make up almost 1/3 of emissions from the agricultural sector.
What is factory farming?
Factory farming is the practice of breeding and raising livestock animals in unnatural and objectionable conditions in order to harvest them for their products.
The goal is to get as much product from the animal as possible while continually breeding the animals to continue the cycle.
Animals are subjected to...
Overcrowding
Constant breeding
Bad diets
Stress and anxiety
Deforestation/Land Erosion
Toxins and pollutants seep into the environment surrounding factory farms which either drive out or kill the surrounding animal and plant life, creating what is known as dead zones.
Improper waste practices
The waste from factory farms(three times the waste of the human population), is shoveled into an open-air lagoon. When the lagoon reaches capacity, manure is shoveled onto the surrounding land.
What's the problem with this practice?
- Carbon emissions and harmful gasses are released into the air
- Water supplies are prone to contamination by manure in lagoons and on land
- Threatens the transfer of antibiotics, pesticides, diseases, hormones, and other contaminants to nearby communities
Waste disposal is estimated to make up 14% of carbon emissions in the Agricultural sector, but it varies on how that waste is handled.
The meat industry's "water footprint"
A water footprint is the total volume of water used to produce goods or services. In this case, it is the amount of water used for production in the meat industry.
"Producing one pound of beef takes an estimated 1,581 gallons of water, which is roughly as much as the average American uses in 100 showers"(Factory Farming and the Environment).
How the meat industry negatively influences people
Meat packers and what they have to endure:
- 14 to 16 hour days with only 1 day off
- Unsanitary and dangerous conditions
- Workers take short or no breaks at all
- The mental toll of having to kill an animal for hours
Health risks of a meat inclusive diet
Consumption of red meat and processed meat is associated with increased risk of certain types of cancer, coronary heart disease, and diabetes.
"Recent evidence...indicates that the long-term consumption of increasing amounts of red meat and particularly of processed meat is associated with an increased risk of total mortality, cardiovascular disease, colorectal cancer and type 2 diabetes, in both men and women"(Health Risks Associated with Meat Consumption).
The pros of the meat industry
"It's a conflict I don't grapple with too deeply,
my only excuse...a busy life,
but it sucks to be aware,
is ignorance a bliss?"
There are unhealthy ways to eat plant-based. Without proper planning and education around foods, plant-based diets may pose the following health concerns:
- Low protein intake; Not consuming enough protein can also cause muscle cramping, weakness, and soreness.
- Iron deficiency; For vegetarians who eliminate meat, anemia can be due to an iron deficiency.
- Decreased bone mineralization and increased risk of fractures from lower intake of calcium and vitamin D.
- Vitamin B12 deficiency;It can also happen if your body can't absorb enough of it from the foods you eat.
- Lower essential fatty acid intake;These help reduce the risk of heart failure, coronary heart disease, cardiac.
Vegetarian Liers
The California-based husband and wife founders of celebrity-endorsed vegan restaurant group Cafe Gratitude are under huge fire
Why? The owners decided to introduce meat to their menu claiming, “We started to observe nature and what we saw is that nature doesn’t exist without animals.”
Meat is apart of nature and is a very cheap product. Do we ignore the slaughter of these animals and accept nature? ...is ignorance a bliss?"
Call to action
What can you do?
The obvious is to reduce your meat inclusive diet, but here is how:
- Replace an animal-based protein dish with a plant-based protein dish
- Draw attention to local legislators, and promote to place taxes on meat products
- Vote to promote taxes on meat products
Conclusion
Overall, we can agree that there are positive and negative effects to not eating meat
- No meat can lead to environmental positives
- Eating meat can increase vitamin and protein intake
Together, there are more positive effects physically, emotionally, and environmentally when human consumption of meat is absent or fairly low
- Gibb, Robina. “Famous California Vegan Restaurateurs under Fire over Revelation They Eat Meat.” The Guardian, Guardian News and Media, 3 May 2016,
- “Plant-Based Diets: Pros and Cons According to NUNM.” National University of Natural Medicine, 3 May 2019, nunm.edu/2019/04/plant-based-diets/.
- Curry, Lynne. “The ‘Eat Less Meat’ Movement Is Growing. Does It Distort Science?” New Food Economy, 10 Sept. 2019, newfoodeconomy.org/climate-change-eat-less-meat-plant-based-impossible-burger-regenerative-ranching/.
- Webster, John. “The Meat Crisis: Developing More Sustainable and Ethical Production and Consumption.” CRC Press, Taylor & Francis Group, 2010. Web. 30 Oct. 2019.
- Worsnop, Richard L. "Waste Disposal: Coming Crisis." Editorial Research Reports 1969, vol. I, CQ Press, 1969, pp. 183-201. CQ Researcher. 31 Oct. 2019.
- Eck, Allison. “Going Vegan Isn't the Most Sustainable Option for Humanity.” PBS, Public Broadcasting Service, 2016. Web. 30, Oct. 2019.
- California Health and Longevity Institute. “Eat Less Meat!” California Health & Longevity Institute, 2019, www.chli.com/2019/03/26/eat-less-meat/.
- Brody, Jane E. “Good Vegan, Bad Vegan.” The New York Times. The New York Times, 2 Oct. 2017. Web. 29 June 2019.
- Le, Lap Tai, and Joan Sabaté. “Beyond Meatless, the Health Effects of Vegan Diets: Findings from the Adventist Cohorts.” Nutrients, MDPI, 27 May 2014, www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4073139/.
- “The Meat Crisis: Developing More Sustainable and Ethical Production and Consumption.” CRC Press, www.crcpress.com/The-Meat-Crisis-Developing-more-Sustainable-and-Ethical-Production-and/DSilva-Webster/p/book/9781138673298.
Credits:
Created with images by Stijn te Strake - "untitled image" • Dan Meyers - "This shot makes me thirsty! I love how this shot turned out. I was about 10 meters above the ground with my Mavic Pro. This is a small winery in the mid-Willamette Valley outside Salem, Oregon. This is one of the biggest wine-producing areas in the country and it makes for some wonderful evening drone flights. " • Clark Young - "untitled image" • Tammy Strot - "For the Love of Cows" • Markus Spiske - "untitled image" • Hush Naidoo - "This was captured well waiting for the doctor who was busy at the time" • happy_lark - "Burger ingredients over rustic wooden table. Top view" • silviarita - "salad fruits berries" • Francesco Gallarotti - "untitled image" • Karina Vorozheeva - "wheat" • Ales Krivec - "untitled image"