Environmental Impact of Animal Products
Meat, Dairy and Eggs
Animal agriculture significantly impacts the environment through various channels, including greenhouse gas emissions, water consumption, land use, waste production, and deforestation. Here's a detailed explanation of how:
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Major Contributor: Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, surpassing the combined exhaust from all transportation (13%). Livestock and their byproducts account for 32,000 million tons of CO2 annually, which is 51% of all worldwide emissions.
Methane and Nitrous Oxide: Methane, produced by livestock, is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 over 20 years, with a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2. Livestock emits 65% of human-related nitrous oxide, which has 296 times the global warming potential of CO2 and remains in the atmosphere for 150 years.
Projections and Impact: Emissions from agriculture are projected to increase by 80% by 2050. Even if fossil fuels were eliminated, the greenhouse gas emissions from animal agriculture alone would exceed the sustainable limit by 2030.
Water Consumption
High Usage: Animal agriculture consumes between 34-76 trillion gallons of water annually. Producing 1 pound of beef requires 2,500 gallons of water, while 1 pound of eggs needs 477 gallons, and 1 pound of cheese requires 900 gallons. Producing 1 gallon of milk needs 1,000 gallons of water.
Global Impact: This sector is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption worldwide.
Land Use
Extensive Occupation: Livestock or livestock feed occupies one-third of the Earth’s ice-free land.
Habitat Destruction: It is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction due to land clearing for feed crops and grazing.
Desertification and Deforestation: Livestock operations contribute significantly to land degradation and desertification, with one-third of the planet desertified primarily due to livestock. They also drive massive deforestation, particularly in the Amazon, where animal agriculture accounts for up to 91% of destruction.
Waste Production
Pollution: A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces waste equivalent to a city of 411,000 people, contributing significantly to pollution and environmental degradation.
Ocean and Rain-forest Impact
Ocean Dead Zones: Livestock operations have created over 500 nitrogen-flooded dead zones in oceans, severely impacting marine life.
Rainforest Destruction: Animal agriculture is the primary driver of rainforest destruction, responsible for clearing 136 million acres. This deforestation leads to the loss of up to 137 plant, animal, and insect species every day.
Humanity and Resource Allocation
Inefficient Food Production: Although enough food is produced to feed 10 billion people, over 50% of grain is fed to livestock. This misallocation contributes to global hunger, with 82% of starving children living in countries where food is fed to animals that are consumed in wealthier nations.
Land Use Efficiency: Feeding a person on a vegan diet requires significantly less land by comparison. One and a half acres can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food or just 375 pounds of beef.
Environmental Benefits of a Vegan Diet
Reduced Footprint: A vegan diet can reduce a person's carbon dioxide emissions by 50%, oil consumption by 1/11th, water use by 1/13th, and land use by 1/18th compared to a meat eater. Daily savings for a vegan include 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forested land, 20 pounds of CO2 equivalent, and one animal’s life.
Fish
The oceans are a major carbon sink, absorbing a staggering four times more CO2 than the Amazon rainforest, making them critical in mitigating climate change. Yet, current marine protection efforts are grossly inadequate. While researchers recommend protecting 30% of our oceans, only 5% are designated as marine protected areas (MPAs), and within these MPAs, 90% still permit fishing activities. This insufficient protection allows the continued decline of marine biodiversity. The fishing industry is having a catastrophic impact on our world.
Globally, there are 4.6 million commercial fishing vessels, laying enough longline fishing gear daily to encircle the planet 500 times. This intensive fishing effort devastates marine ecosystems. Scientists predict that 90% of the world’s coral reefs will die by 2050 due to climate change, pollution, and overfishing. Coral reefs rely on fish populations for nutrients provided through their excretions, but declining fish populations threaten the survival of these critical habitats.
Commercial fishing practices, particularly bottom trawling, are highly destructive. These trawlers drag nets the size of football fields across the ocean floor, obliterating everything in their path and causing irreversible damage to marine habitats. Farmed fish, which now make up 50% of the world’s seafood, suffer from various health issues, including anemia, lice infestations, infectious diseases, and heart disease. The environmental impact of fish farming is significant, with each salmon farm in Scotland producing waste equivalent to a town of 10,000 to 20,000 people annually. Additionally, up to 50% of farmed salmon die before reaching the plate, and their flesh is artificially colored to appeal to consumers.
Shrimp farming is responsible for 38% of global mangrove deforestation. Mangroves are critical for coastal protection and carbon storage, and their destruction further exacerbates climate change and habitat loss. Fish, which are often contaminated with heavy metals, mercury, plastic compounds, hexachlorobenzenes, and PCBs, pose health risks that often outweigh the benefits of their omega-3 fatty acids. It is also worth noting fish do not actually produce omega-3 fatty acids; algae do.
Fish carbon plays a role in climate stabilization by absorbing almost all of the earth’s excess heat. However, the continued depletion of fish populations and the resulting toxic, fishless oceans will render this function impossible. Runoff from animal agriculture contributes to oceanic dead zones—areas with low oxygen levels that cannot support marine life. The loss of just 1% of the ocean’s carbon stores is equivalent to the emissions from 97 million cars.
Up to 50% of ocean plastic pollution is attributed to discarded fishing nets. The fishing industry receives substantial financial support, with $35 billion in subsidies, promoting unsustainable practices.
The oceans, which are home to up to 80% of all life on Earth, are under severe threat. The combined impacts of overfishing, destructive fishing practices, pollution, climate change, and habitat destruction are driving marine species to extinction and degrading the health of marine ecosystems. Addressing these issues is critical for preserving marine biodiversity and maintaining the environmental services that oceans provide, such as oxygen production, carbon storage, and climate regulation.
So What’s The Alternative?
By choosing not to buy meat or any kind of animal product, you actively reduce your environmental impact. It's a powerful demonstration of your commitment to the planet. Not only that, but you significantly lower your carbon footprint and contribute to a more sustainable future.
You might say, "What difference does it make if I stop buying them? I’m just one person, that won’t make a difference." This scepticism isn’t uncommon, but remember, social change is driven by individuals. It always has been. Each time you choose a plant-based alternative over an animal product, you contribute to a growing movement that pressures industries to adopt more sustainable practices. The prevalence of vegan options in supermarkets, fast food chains, cafés, and restaurants is proof that this shift is happening. Eventually, we will see a society where plant-based foods are the norm, and animal products are few and far between. And you can play a very real part in making that happen even sooner.
Moreover, you’re not even missing out because everything you enjoy eating can be made vegan. Yes, really. Everything, from your Full English fry up, to Shepherd’s Pie, to your Sunday roast (complete with Yorkshires) - all can be made without animal products. You might be daunted at the thought of change at first. It’s natural. We all are, and it can be hard to know where to start. You might even think this is all well and good, but you can’t devote the time to it. The truth is, with so many resources and alternatives available now, transitioning to a vegan lifestyle has never been easier, or quicker.
Challenge 22 is just one of the many free, online challenges that will help you transition to a vegan lifestyle. What’s special about them is you’ll have over a dozen vegan mentors available to help you at any given time, suggest recipes and alternatives, and there’s even a nutritionist on hand to give expert advice (not that nutrition is a concern, but sadly a lot of people think it is, due to all the misinformation out there about veganism) - it’s completely FREE. So give it a go!
Common Environmental Objections,
Answered
“Animal agriculture is necessary for food production."
Answer: Plant-based agriculture is more efficient and can produce more food per acre. It requires fewer resources, such as water and land, and produces fewer greenhouse gases. Shifting to plant-based diets can feed more people with the same amount of land.
"Livestock farming helps manage land and prevent overgrowth."
Answer: Natural ecosystems, like forests and grasslands, manage themselves better without livestock. Sustainable farming practices and rewilding can restore biodiversity and natural land management without the need for grazing animals.
"Organic animal farming is environmentally friendly."
Answer: While organic farming may be better than conventional methods, it still uses more resources and land than plant-based farming. The environmental impact of organic meat production is still significant compared to growing plants for food.
"Vegan diets rely heavily on soy, which leads to deforestation."
Answer: Most soy is grown to feed livestock, not humans. By reducing meat consumption, the demand for soy feed decreases, which can help reduce deforestation. Human consumption of soy for direct food use is much lower and more sustainable.
"Manure from livestock is necessary for fertilizing crops."
Answer: Plant-based compost and green manure can effectively fertilize crops without the need for animal waste. Sustainable farming techniques, such as crop rotation and cover cropping, can maintain soil fertility naturally.
"Avocado farming has a high environmental impact."
Answer: While it is true that avocado farming can have significant environmental impacts, such as high water usage and deforestation, it is important to consider the overall environmental footprint. The production of avocados still typically has a lower environmental impact compared to animal agriculture. Reducing consumption of resource-intensive animal products overall has a more significant positive impact on the environment. Additionally, consumers can make environmentally conscious choices by opting for sustainably sourced avocados and supporting farming practices that minimize environmental damage.
"Veganism will cause cows, pigs and chickens to go extinct."
Answer: Animal farming is by far and away the leading cause of habitat destruction, which is driving the largest mass extinction in hundreds of thousands of years. These animals would and can still exist, in their own right, or on sanctuaries.
"Transporting plant foods globally has a high carbon footprint."
Answer: The carbon footprint of transporting plant foods is generally lower than that of producing and transporting animal products. Locally sourced, seasonal plant foods can further reduce the environmental impact. Plant-based diets overall have a smaller carbon footprint compared to meat-based diets.
Our World in Data
“The most important insight from this study is that there are massive differences in the GHG emissions of different foods: producing a kilogram of beef emits 60 kilograms of greenhouse gases (CO2-equivalents). In contrast, peas emit just 1 kilogram per kg.
Overall, animal-based foods tend to have a higher footprint than plant-based. Lamb and cheese both emit more than 20 kilograms of CO2-equivalents per kilogram. Poultry and pork have lower footprints but are still higher than most plant-based foods, at 6 and 7 kg CO2-equivalents, respectively.”
What Vegan Environmentalists Have to Say
“A five year study from The University of Oxford, which is the most comprehensive study ever to analyse the relationship between farming and the environment, concluded that the single biggest thing that we can do as individuals to prevent the climate crisis is to be vegan.
I reference this study constantly because it’s so, so important. It analysed data from almost 40,000 farms in 119 countries, covering 40 food products that represent 90% of all that is eaten. It assessed the full impact of these foods, from farm to fork, on land use, climate change emissions, freshwater use and water pollution (eutrophication) and air pollution (acidification). It concluded that animal products are absolutely devastating and the solution therefore, is veganism.
The science is clear. If we care about the planet, the only home we’ve ever known, we have to act. Each moment that passes is a moment wasted. The planet cannot tolerate the complacency of our species. You have all the power as an individual - so feel empowered, and make it count today.”
Jane Goodall
"There are three main reasons why we should eat less – or preferably no – meat. Firstly, so that we may eliminate factory farms. Secondly, to reduce the shocking damage the meat production industry inflicts on the environment and its contribution to climate change. And finally, to improve human health."
Genesis Butler
"Not eating animal products will not only save animals, but it will help stop much of the damage we have done to the earth. According to many scientific studies, raising animals for food is the primary cause of global climate change, loss of biodiversity, pollution, and water shortage, just to name a few."
Greta Thunberg
"The climate crisis, the ecological crisis and the health crisis – they are all interlinked. The way we make food, raising animals to eat, clearing land to grow food to feed those animals… It just doesn’t make sense. If we keep making food the way we do, we will also destroy the habitats of most wild plants and animals, driving countless species to extinction."
A National Treasure:
David Attenborough
On The Environmental Impact of Animal Agriculture
“We rear 70 billion farm animals each year, and every one of them needs feeding,” Attenborough said. “Producing food for such numbers of domesticated animals is having a profound impact on the natural world.”
He added: “Year after year, we clear over two million hectares of the amazon rainforest – that’s the size of Wales. We use nearly all of it to make more space for cattle and to grow soya to feed livestock. Today, habitat destruction is the biggest problem we’ve created for wildlife around the world.”
Attenborough went on to describe raising livestock on agricultural land as ‘very inefficient’ – but went on to say we should reconsider our eating behaviours.
“If we shift away from eating meat and dairy and move towards a plant-based diet, then the sun’s energy goes directly into growing our food. And because that’s so much more efficient, we could still produce enough food to feed us, but using a quarter of the land. This could free up the land the size of the US, China, the European Union and Australia combined. Space that could then be given back to nature.”
Ed Winters
