Would You Like Global Warming With That Steak?

Author: Danielle Taylor

 Essay topic: Environmental Impacts of Cattle Production

Would You Like Global Warming With That Steak?

Livestock production helps feed a vastly small part of the human consumption, yet the land that is used for this covers for about 30% of the usable surface, and its being used to grow grains, and other perishable foods. Shockingly, all of this is not for human beings but for the cattle, pigs, and chickens, and yes after them eating all that food; which could be used for human consumption, is going to waste because we don’t want that; we want the flesh of those animals. And it will eventually end up on our plates. Livestock production has a bigger environmental impact than anything else and we can change that by going towards a more sustainable lifestyle. In my honest opinion after knowing all the horrific impacts this production is doing to our lives, I will never go back to the “all american diet/ lifestyle”, and hopefully some of you will too.

Why does raising farm animals such a big deal, why does it even matter? Well, what matters is, the amount of energy that gets put into producing cattle is astounding and harshly destructive and we can easily change this by putting all of that energy into growing sustainable crops. In the article on Peta called “Meat and the Environment”, it states; “ According to the U.N. Convention to Combat Desertification, it takes up to 10 pounds of grain to produce just 1 pound of meat, and in the United States alone, 56 million acres of land are used to grow feed for animals, while only 4 million acres are producing plants for humans to eat.” Astounding as this is, this statistic is happening today at maybe a larger scale. And this issue isn’t just affecting our land, but the amount of pesticides and antibiotics that are put into production of the land and animals is creating health threats to our future children and wildlife. I believe that it’s emotionally disturbing that we as the future children of tomorrow are contributing to this when some or maybe even most of us, know what's actually happening. It's affecting everything now.

The future is now, and we as human beings can change it for the better. In the article on Science Time called “The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production” states that; “Livestock production contributes to more than 40% of the income to people, but it takes up about 1/3 the world's water supply and the amount of grain and food that is fed to the animals can cure our hunger famine in every country.” We can basically cure most of the world's hunger problem could  be changed by simply turning our cattle production fields into lush produce gardens. Also in an article on Peta, called “New Study: Go Vegan and Help End World Hunger” states, “It takes about 13 pounds of grain to produce a single pound of meat. All that grain would go a long way toward feeding the hundreds of millions of people—many of them children—who don’t have enough to eat. In fact, malnutrition currently affects about 870 million people worldwide and accounts for the deaths of more than 2.5 million children under the age of 5 alone every year.” We as earthlings can change our lives for the better. The movement to a sustainable lifestyle is what we need! Livestock farming is expanding every year while our billion year old habitats continue to shrink because of our human actions. In the facts section of the award winning documentary, Cowspiracy, states that; “Animal production takes up about 18% of the greenhouse gas emissions that more than all transportation emissions. And it takes up about 51% of the CO2 emissions that are being put out. The water and grain consumption is so huge that we wouldn't need to worry about being fed. And half of our land is for the use of agricultural production, that land could be used for open land conservation and the positive production of rainforests.” Wholesale changes is what we need to save our globe in a big picture. Anyone that buys or puts their money to a meat industry or production, in any way is contributing to the destruction of our planet, and putting world hunger as a bigger crisis.

The importance of getting this information out to the public is critical not just for us as young students, but for those who have the power to make a difference. The destrumental happenings of a production, just so we can eat that steak; is a horrible excuse for ruining our one and only planet. So many studies and statistics have been made to share information that can push us to bettering our environment. Like this report from the UN and posted in the Scientific American,“Yet according to a 2006 report by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), our diets and, specifically, the meat in them cause more greenhouse gases carbon dioxide (CO2), methane, nitrous oxide, and the like to spew into the atmosphere than either transportation or industry” Big companies and industries are starting to realize that what we are ordering on the dollar menu is literally killing us and our planet. Hopefully we can change for the better and stop this madness of cattle production. Therefore, it's not just our cars that are a topic of worry for us, it's what we are eating; we can change this by sustaining our ecosystem by going plant based or lowering our consumption of this prodigious corporation that is cattle production.

The big picture is not for sake of animals and the moral of what we eat matters. The big picture is us, and the impact of cattle production and the damage that is a leading factor of global warming and overall destruction of our planet.Us as everyday people can have an impact on this issue. We can limit ourselves to cattle production and regrow those rainforests that we have demolished for the cattle fields. We can start to grow sustainable gardens and pastures where cattle farms used to be. We can flourish and inform others of the repairing of our planet, just by not letting cattle production go on. We can all do this!

Work Cited:

"Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options." Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options. Agriculture and Consumer Protection, 2006. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Christopher Matthews. "Livestock a Major Threat to Environment." Livestock a Major Threat to Environment. Christopher Matthews, 29 Nov. 2006. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Thornton, Philip, Mario Herrero, and Polly Erickson. Informing an Effective Response to Climate Change. Washington, D.C.: National Academies, 2010. Livestock Change. International Livestock Research Institute. Web.

Walsh, Bryan. "The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production | TIME.com." Science Space The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production Comments. Ecocentric, n.d. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.

Taksel, Joe. "PETA Prime: New Study: Go Vegan and Help End World Hunger." PETA Prime New Study Go Vegan and Help End World Hunger Comments. N.p., 20 Aug. 2013. Web. 15 Oct. 2015.