Impacts on Environment

As people across the globe will soon be celebrating yet another ‘day’- the world environment day in the next two to three days, let me share some of the important aspects and facts….

Our environment is one of the most important aspects to survive on this planet. Moreover, it is the only thing that can make life sustainable. Without it, we cannot survive even a single day. For instance, our skin will burn, the lungs will get ruptured, and our blood pressure would rise.

The purpose of World Environment Day is?to spread awareness about the threat to the environment due to rising pollution levels and climate change. The first World Environment Day was observed in 1974, giving a global platform for inspiring positive change in the environment

In 1972,?the United Nations General Assembly?established the World Environment Day on the first day of the Stockholm Conference on the Human Environment. Two years later, in 1974 the first WED was held with the theme "Only One Earth".

Though there are many impediments on the environment, in this article the focus is on environmental damages caused by the food industry.

The livestock industry has numerous and diverse impacts on the environment.

Production of food from animals has accelerated during the last 100 years, in response to growing demand.?Throughout the world approximately 70 billion animals are reared as domestic animals annually, with more than 6 million animals killed for food each year and approximately 56 billion mammals and birds slaughtered each year

According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, titled, “The Long Shadow of the Animal Industry”, global meat consumption doubled during the period 1980–2002.

According to future predictions, global meat production is increasing expected to double to 465 million tons by 2050 from 229 million tons in 1999

Milk production is expected to increase from 580 to 1043 million tons [1].

Besides the humane aspects associated with the rearing and slaughtering conditions of animals in the food industry, the great increase in the consumption of animal products has a most severe impact on the environment.

The FAO report states that “The meat industry has a marked impact on a general global scale on water, soils, extinction of plants and animals, and consumption of natural resources and it has a strong impact on global warming”

1.2. The Impact of Animal Product Consumption on the Environment

The livestock industry is the source of a broad spectrum of environmental impacts.

The first and most important is climate change

In the third chapter of the FAO report it is estimated that 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions are caused by the livestock industry.

The amount of carbon dioxide (CO2) released to the atmosphere is estimated at approximately 7516 million tons per year.

The global livestock industry is responsible for at least 51% of the greenhouse gases emitted to the atmosphere and the amount of carbon dioxide is estimated at 32,564 million tons.

This large difference stems partly from the FAO using outdated sources from the years 1964–2001.

Nevertheless, even if greenhouse gas emissions are estimated at only 18%, the livestock industry is still the second-largest polluter after the electricity industry, and more polluting than the transportation industry, which contributes approximately 13%.

Most emissions related to the livestock industry are in the form of carbon dioxide (CO2), nitrous oxide (N2O), methane (CH4), and ammonia (NH3). Domestic animals ‘naturally’ release carbon dioxide, which has been proven to be a significant contributor to global warming. ?Researchers warn that we will probably exceed the 565 gigaton carbon dioxide limit by the year 2030 due to livestock rearing. In addition, the livestock industry is responsible for 68% of enterogenic nitrous oxide emissions; this gas remains in the atmosphere for up to 150 years and has a 296-fold greater potential for global warming and deterioration of the ozone layer than carbon dioxide.

Livestock emit almost 64% of total ammonia emissions, contributing significantly to acid rain and to acidification of ecosystems. Livestock are also a highly significant source of methane emissions, contributing 35–40% of methane emissions worldwide. Methane has a 23-fold greater potential for global warming than carbon dioxide. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has shown that in the last 15 years methane emissions from pigs increased by 37% and emissions from cattle increased by 50%.

Secondly, while not all livestock impacts environment in the same way, production of animal products might require extensive land. Farms for rearing livestock already cover one-third of the world’s total land and more than two-thirds of its agricultural land. The increasing demand for animal products and the lack of land has caused the livestock industry to become the main cause for clearing forests and turning them into pasture. According to the International Center for Forest Research (CIFOR), during the years 1990–2000, an area twice the size of Portugal was lost in favor of pasture.

Another reason for forest clearing is production of food for animals. Approximately 40% of the harvested crops in the world are used as food for animals. Thus, if we took half of the crops used as feed for those same animals, we would be able to feed all the starving populations around the world and solve the problem of world hunger.

Massive forest clearing leads, among other things, to animal extinctions. Up to 137 species of plants, animals and unique insects are lost every day due to forest clearing. Ceballos et al.?claim that this is the greatest mass extinction in 65 million years. While it is well documented that the livestock industry and livestock production cause a host of environmental problems, livestock production in certain ecosystems, like arid and semi-arid lands, are the most well-adapted food production system. It is a more efficient and rational land use system (if animals are able to move) than cultivation, which has a poorer track record at feeding people and being sustainable, especially under conditions of increasing climatic variability. Farming some staple crops, like rice, also has extensive negative environmental impacts.

Production of animal food products is the greatest agricultural cause of water pollution. The trend of increasing consumption of animal products has a negative impact on ecosystems and on water sources, in particular in developing countries. The water pollution is caused by animal excreta, antibiotics and hormones, fertilizers and pesticides used in forage production, and rainfall runoff from pasture. The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) declared that animal parts and poultry manure are major sources of water pollution.

?The livestock industry also leads to great resource wastage, in particular wastage of water. In the U.S., for example, the amount of water consumed by private residences is approximately 5% of total consumption, while the amount of water consumed by animal agriculture is approximately 55%. A study that measured the amount of consumed resources (e.g., water, fertilizer, soil) and greenhouse gas emissions from food showed that "a vegan diet is better for reducing environmental impacts compared to a vegetarian or omnivorous diet."

In one day, a vegan person saves 4164 liters of water, 20 kg crops, 2.8 m2 forested land, 10 kg CO2 and the life of one animal

Moreover, the livestock industry produces copious quantities of waste. The livestock industry in the U.S. produces 116,000 pounds of waste per second. According to Haines and Staley a farm with 2500 milking cows produces the same amount of waste as a city with 411,000 residents. Thus, we must ask whether the general population is aware of these damages caused by the livestock industry to the environment.

As you ponder over this let me come back to you with the concluding part in the next two days.?

Have a great day.