Environment
Our lifestyle choices have a significant impact on the environment - from the food we eat to the products we use to the modes of transportation we prefer. By making more sustainable choices such as reducing meat and dairy consumption, using reusable products, and taking public transportation or biking, we can reduce our environmental impact and help create a more sustainable future.
Climate Change
Labeled as humankind’s greatest challenge and the world’s gravest environmental threat by the UN in their Climate Change Report of 2014, you will be astonished to read how your daily choices are making a major impact on our planet's deteriorating health everyday! Learn how this is happening in this video by Earthling Ed.
Carbon Emissions
Soil Degradation
Impact on Biodiversity
Livestock alone generates at least 16.5% of total global greenhouse gas emissions, and as much as 28% if livestock land use is taken into account. Livestock-based emissions include comprising powerful climate warming gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and more. Cattle (with a global population of around 1.5 billion) are a primary emitter of methane, which is created in their digestive tracts and emerges in their 'burps'. Methane is also emitted from the enormous volumes of manure produced by farm animals. Nitrous oxide is emitted from the vast amount of fertilizers used on agricultural lands, 75% of which are used to grow food for livestock. Methane and nitrous oxide are two of the most significant climate warming gases, with a relative warming potential of 86x (methane) and 296x (nitrous oxide) as compared to CO2. Learn more in this Science.org article here.
Water Footprint
Soil is a vital resource, enabling healthy food production and mitigating the impacts of climate change. However, in the process of clearing land for animal agriculture, deforestation occurs, resulting in the extinction of species that maintain soil balance. As this soil degrades, it releases stored carbon dioxide and methane into the atmosphere, worsening the climate crisis. Livestock farming is responsible for more than 55% of soil degradation and every year more than 24 billion tons of fertile soil is lost. To learn more, check out the Save Soil movement here.
Wildlife population has declined by 69% in the last 50 years. Preserving biodiversity is crucial, as every animal, plant, and microorganism contributes to the sustainability and balance of ecosystems and ultimately the biosphere which includes and affects us - humans! There are symbiotic relations between species where the extinction of one will impact others in a chain reaction. Globally, around 75% of farmlands are used for animal agriculture, to produce only 18% of human-consumed calories only. Animal agriculture is - by far - the leading cause of global deforestation, biodiversity loss, and species extinction. Clearing forests for animal agriculture, unethical tourism, and hunting cause biodiversity loss. Stopping and reversing this trend is in our hands. Please watch this video by Our Changing Climate to learn more.
Global Warming
Water is an extremely scarce resource and sadly more than a billion people have no access to clean water! One of the leading causes of water scarcity is animal agriculture. Meat and other animal products have a massive water footprint. It's extremely wasteful to grow crops to feed animals, only to later slaughter them for their meat. For example, it takes more than 2400 gallons of water to produce a pound of beef but only 244 gallons to produce a pound of tofu! Water scarcity will only worsen unless our dependence on animal agriculture is reduced. Watch this video by REALWorldwideInc to learn more about this important topic.
Global warming is an immediate existential threat to the future of humanity we are dealing with globally. Its effects include glacier melting of glaciers and icecaps, sea level rise, ozone depletion, unexpected droughts and floods, natural calamities like storms, and immense biodiversity loss, trickling downstream to cause widespread social, health, and economical distress to humans. Methane is 86x and nitrogen oxide is 300x more powerful than carbon dioxide in trapping heat. 44% methane is produced by the dairy industry alone while 65% of nitrogen oxide is produced by the meat, egg, and dairy industry. We are burning through 11 times more fossil fuel for animal agriculture. Exchanging regular cars with hybrids reduces carbon emission by 1 ton per year, and opting for plant-based food reduces it by 1.5 times per year. Every individual has an impact - so you can be the impactful change!
Ocean Depletion
Ocean depletion is concerning because it not only affects the health of marine ecosystems but also has a significant impacts on human societies and the planet as a whole.
Overfishing
Shocking but true: By 2050, there will be more plastic than fish in the ocean as a result of overfishing and pollution. Commercial fishing involves miles of fishing lines in which not just fish, but other unintended marine species such as dolphins, turtles, and sharks are entangled and killed. One of the most damaging practices is ‘bottom trawling 'which involves dragging weighted nets across the ocean floor, destroying habitat and killing thousands of marine creatures. This is severely damaging to the marine ecosystem, driving many species to extinction and depleting our biodiversity. Please watch this video by Our Changing Climate to learn about the impact of overfishing.
Ocean Pollution
Ocean pollution is a serious problem resulting in the destruction of marine habitats, extinction of marine species, and the creation of dead zones caused by manmade impacts on ocean chemistry, which few species can survive. Ocean pollution is primarily caused by the dumping of chemicals, untreated sewage and runoffs from animal farms into the ocean. Plastics, oil spills, agricultural runoffs, and other waste products disposed of into the ocean are also significant contributors. All of this sadly decimates marine populations. In fact, the Great Pacific Garbage Patch in the Pacific Ocean is twice the size of Texas! Watch this video by National Geographic on ocean pollution.
Impact from Tourism
In tourism, cruise ships are notorious for a large amount of ocean, sea, and beach pollution. Hundreds of thousands of gallons of human waste as well as general waste water are dumped into these water bodies with minimal - or in the worst case - no treatment. This dirties beaches, depletes our coral reefs, disrupts ocean biodiversity, and decimates our precious marine ecological balance. Please watch this video from Take Part here to learn more.
Unsustainable Lifestyle
Unsustainable lifestyles contribute to a wide range of environmental problems, from climate change and air pollution to deforestation and water scarcity. These issues not only harm the natural world but also pose significant risks to human health and well-being.
Fast Fashion
Fast fashion is destroying the planet with disastrous economic, social, and environmental impacts that the leading players in the industry don’t want you to know. This global phenomenon has been rapidly growing over the past 20 years but remains very damaging to people, animals, overall ecosystems, and the environment. Fast fashion is responsible for the overconsumption of cheap clothing that creates enormous amounts of landfill, waste pollution, and even greenhouse gas emissions. To learn more, please watch ‘The True Cost’ video by Alicia Firth.
Transportation
Particularly in countries around the world that lack adequate public transportation infrastructure, the carbon footprint due to transportation is massive. Transportation, especially via cars and smaller trucks, uses up petroleum that is derived from finite fossil fuel resources. Moreover, burning one gallon of gasoline creates about 20 pounds of carbon dioxide, meaning that the average vehicle creates roughly 6 to 9 tons of carbon dioxide every year! Please watch this video here by The ICCT to learn more.
Overconsumption of Products
Every decade in the past century has seen an exponential rise in mindless consumerism and a large number of products ending up in landfills. Technology has made processes efficient but also generated tremendous amounts of e-waste. Consumerism has increased the carbon footprint of every individual, especially those in developed countries. It has also resulted in depletion of natural resources and destruction of animal habitats. For example, palm oil, which is a common ingredient in many products, has resulted in 80% orangutan habitat loss and a 32% decline in their population. Read about how overconsumption is killing the planet.
Packaging
The production of packaging materials such as plastics, paper, and metals, requires the use of natural resources like oil, trees, and ores. The processing of these resources has a significant impact on the environment, causing deforestation, soil erosion, and water pollution. The manufacturing and transportation of packaging materials and products creates greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, packaging materials, particularly plastic, can take hundreds of years to degrade in the environment, leading to a build-up of waste in landfills and oceans which harms wildlife and contributes to environmental pollution. Watch this video by Plastic Packaging Waste Solutions to learn more.
Food Choices
All our actions have a carbon footprint represented by the amount of greenhouse gases released into the atmosphere. All these accumulated emissions trap heat in the atmosphere, causing global warming. When it comes to food, the carbon footprint for certain food products is sizable and overall food production is responsible for approximately one quarter of global greenhouse emissions! Animal products carry a higher carbon footprint than plant foods. The environmental impact of even the lowest-impact animal products far exceeds the average impact of plant foods. It goes without saying that a shift from animal-based foods towards a more plant-based diet will have a positive environmental impact! Here is an informative video by T. Colin Campbell Center for Nutrition Studies on impact of food choices.
Food Wastage
The United Nations estimates that one in three people in the world do not have access to sufficient food to lead a healthy life. Even so, food waste occurs in excess. This exacerbates the climate change crisis with its significant greenhouse gas footprint, releasing a large amount of methane – even more potent than carbon dioxide – into the atmosphere. This imbalance also represents a great waste of freshwater and groundwater resources. Please watch this video by Our Changing Climate on how food wastage is contributing to climate change.
Pollution
Soil Pollution
Soil pollution is caused by the presence of contaminants in soil from various sources. Industrial activities release heavy metals and chemicals, oil-drilling sites leak oil into the soil, and excessive use of pesticides and fertilizers in the agricultural industry also results in soil pollution. This all has disastrous consequences - damaged crops which in turn impacts food supply, and contaminants leach into groundwater, rendering drinking water unsafe. Exposure to polluted soil can cause health problems for humans and wildlife alike. Here is a video by Edupedia World on soil pollution.
Water Pollution
Raising livestock requires massive quantities of food – of the 330 million acres of agricultural land in the US, 260 million acres are used to produce feed for livestock and this is incredibly water-intensive. Runoff from fertilized- and pesticide-laden lands, as well as hundreds of millions of tons of animal urine and fecal matter, carry pollutants to streams, lakes, and even groundwater. The US EPA determined in the 2000 National Water Quality Inventory that about 40 percent of rivers and streams are polluted predominantly due to animal agriculture, a leading cause of these compromised water resources.
Air Pollution
Air pollutants from the production, processing, storage, and transportation of animal products can cause asthma, stroke, cancer, coughing, heart attack, allergies, mild-severe damage to the pulmonary/respiratory system and eyes, and even cause premature death. There are ~17,900 deaths per year in the US alone due to food production of which 80-90% is due to the production and processing of meat, eggs, dairy, leather, fur, and wool. The storage of animal products produces many harmful gases, compromising our ozone layer. Animal waste also produces dangerous levels of nitrous oxide, ammonia, methane, etc. which are associated with serious health issues. Please watch this video by the World Health Organization to learn more.