Animal agriculture is an action for mankind older than civilization itself, but it has always been damaging for Earth and the Atmosphere for so very long. This damage is more apparent now than ever as cattle produce methane confounding amounts of methane on a daily level the cattle release 150 billion gallons of methane a day. This is only scratching the surface just the atmospheric damage on one side not even all the damage done by animal agriculture. Grasslands trampled, forests cut, more exhausts emitted to transport things and on and on and on. These things add up rapidly to show just how damaging animal agriculture is on the environment. But the cattle are truly the most damaging stomping down grasslands ruining the grass and much more. …show more content…
Well feeding the millions of cattle across the U.S. is enormous. “ Growing food for livestock consumes 56% of water in the U.S.” This is a gargantuan amount of water in a such populous country as the average per capita water use is 80-100 gallons of water a day per person a destructive number in comparison. This is just to feed the food, little alone prepare the food to be eaten as it takes 2,500 gallons of water to make a simple one pound of beef. The monstrosity of that number is dumbfounding as prior it was stated that the american per capita average water use is 80-100 gallons, mind you this that is the showering, toilet flushing, hand washing, and laundry and americans only use this little per capita, Americans the most consumption hungry populous on earth only use 80-100 gallons of water a day and one pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons. This a truly staggering difference in the numbers so damaging is the amount of water needed to feed the beef then 2500 gallons to prepare and make the
Pollan, however, believes that animal welfare should be espoused by allowing animals to live free-range and follow their natural instincts. Pollan and Hurst are also concerned with protecting the environment, but disagree on what the best avenue of protection is. Pollan believes that the environment would be better protected if animals were put back on farms and raised organically (370). Hurst believes that industrial farming practitioners are sufficient in their efforts to protect the environment because they are conscious of the effects industrial farming has on the environment, and they take steps to reduce the harm it could have on the environment, such as monitoring nitrogen levels. The authors, despite their differing views on the best way to accomplish their beliefs, successfully convey their
The fast food industry also hurts environments around farms in general. It has created an unsustainable cycle that farmers cannot escape. In order to feed themselves and their family, farmers play it safe and buy more fertilizer than needed. When the farmers do not use all of it, they must dispose of it, because that fertilizer will not be as effective next year, so they dump the fertilizer in the areas surrounding their farms. But what this causes is too much nitrogen in the environment because too much nitrogen can kill plants and throw the nitrogen cycle out of balance, in turn hurting the environment.
Grazing and growing feed for livestock now occupy 70% of all agricultural land and 30% of the ice-free terrestrial surface of the planet. If these current events continue, meat production is predicted to double between the turn of the 21st century and 2050. Yet already, the Earth is being overpowered by livestock that consume massive quantities of energy and resources, whose wastes contaminate waterways and farmlands, and when eaten excessively, degrade our health. Pollan makes a considerable point when discussing concentrated animal feedlot operations, “The economic logic of gathering so many animals together to feed them cheap corn in CAFOs is hard to argue with; it has made meat, which used to be a special occasion in most American homes” (pg. 67, An Omnivore's Dilemma).
Is eating meat a detrimental threat to the environment? This debate over meat’s involvement in the global warming crisis was what inspired Nicolette Hahn Niman to write, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma.” Niman hoped writing, “The Carnivore’s Dilemma,” would cause her audience to understand that eating meat, raised on traditional farms, was a superior alternative to vegetarianism. Niman supported her claim by explaining how industrialized farms and vegetarians produce more of the three greenhouse gases that caused global warming, than that produced by traditional farms. Niman’s article fell short of being effective due to flaws in her supporting evidence and conclusion.
I know a lot of people don 't know how to farm nor do they want to. But a lot of people forget on caring about where and how they got their produce as long as it is on the market for them to feed themselves or their families. What they don 't know is more and more these days the animals are living in horrible factories their whole lives. Which means they aren 't being treated wrong. They are neglected with the proper food and are being drugged with medications like steroids.
The article was written in response to the statement farming and food production is leading to climate change. Niman, being a rancher who raises cattle, goats, and turkeys, effectively frames the situation logically by providing credible statistics and examples to help the reader better understand the impacts of different methods of food production. She does this by providing specific information regarding the greenhouse gases involved, being carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides. Niman, the rhetor, has written this article to try and inform the readers about the differences between traditional style and industrial style methods of food production. She has directed the article towards those concerned about the carbon footprint, we as individuals, are leaving
By using reason to back up his thoughts and statements as he did throughout his essay, McWilliams encourages the audience to replace meats on their plates with vegetables. He urges the audience to make this change to their meals because of the amount of energy that is used to produce meat in comparison to plants. A pound of chicken can be produced by 6 pounds of grain while one pound of beef can be produced using 10 to 16 pounds of grain. To grow a tomato, 13 liters of water are required while creating a burger requires 2,400 liters of water. Since the average American consumers 273 pounds of meat each week, McWilliams says to ditch the read meat at least once a week.
This spittoon encompasses ideas that keeps energy and animals in mind while also mimicking the natural symbiotic relationships in nature. These relationships are utilized on Joel Salatins farm, and has shown to yield a much better product that produces little ..… Richard Manning’s article brushes over different aspects of farming and is centralized towards examining the agricultural downfall relating to energy and sustainability. While Manning is not opposed to the food producing industry necessarily, he is completely concerned with the amount of energy this commercialized industry wastes and weighs if the effects are worth it. One major concern that is explained is the concept of energy.
While they can waste more water than anyone else on their livestock we get screwed because there is less water for us. Obviously they don’t care as long as they have water for their needs, we suffer more with out no water.
Although the issues of race, wage equality, and abortion are topics that have been addressed during this presidential election one of the most important issues in America is flying under the radar. Animal Production is the systematic production of animals for milk, eggs, and meat produced to the highest level which is used to lower the cost and mass distributed to the public for consumption. Advocates of mass animal production such as the blog greengarageblog.org, have argued that animal production is inexpensive due to the food being produced and processed at a faster rate, can offer jobs as it is one of the biggest industries in the United States, can allow for greater variety and availability as the food is so cheap and the biotechnological
In Mark Bittman’s talk, entitled What’s wrong with what we eat, he discusses all the food we waste and how to reduce our food waste. Due to all the meat we eat, “livestock is the second-highest contributor to atmosphere-altering gases and produces more greenhouse gases than transportation” (Bittman). Livestock also contributes to land degradation, air and water pollution, water shortages, and loss of biodiversity. However, Bittman is quick to point out that the problem isn’t the cattle, but how we use them. We are producing cattle simply to eat and much of the meat they produce is simply thrown away if it is not purchased by a certain date.
Furthermore, 51% of total greenhouse gas emissions is derived from animal agriculture. Moreover, red meat is a very inefficient means to produce food because of the amount of
Alisha Torres Kathy Patterson English H 103 9 March, 2023 The Persuasion Behind Cowspiracy Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn, producers of the documentary film Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret, are on a mission to reveal the truth about animal agriculture's impact on the atmosphere and the industry's lack of action toward its contribution to climate change. The filmmakers create a compelling argument to cut back on meat products, addressing the world's sustainability issues. They use many statistics, interviews, and visual imagery to persuade the audience to act on farming and agriculture.
This documentary unfairly stated that cattle is the sole factor of our world’s environmental issues because they emit greenhouse gases and over-consume water. However, in reality they are not the only ones who are using water, creating greenhouse gas, and affecting the land and ocean. Our planet is facing a lack of water, and according to the documentary, the cows are one of the major causes of this. If the problem is water waste, then look at how we, the people, are using it. Almost everybody uses water to shower, wash dishes, and flush toilets everyday.
I read that methane is an even worse greenhouse gas than carbon dioxide, and cattle are a big source of methane emissions. How are they going to regulate that? Not just cattle, but dairy cows as well! That doubles the worry.