Saving the Environment with Veganism

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Recommended: environmental problems of eating meat

A United Nations report states that land used for animal agriculture, both for grazing and production of crops fed to livestock, takes up an astounding 30% of land on Earth. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") To meet the industry’s demands, over 260 million acres of forest in the U.S. have been cleared to grow grain fed to farm animals. ("Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources") With that in mind, the meat industry also dumps disease-causing pathogens through animal waste that pollutes water and forces the need for waste lagoons to be constructed, which are susceptible to leaking and flooding. ("Facts about Pollution from Livestock Farms”) Scientists say that about 14% of the world’s greenhouse gases are released by said agriculture industries, which is a growing concern for climate change and global warming. (Silverman) The meat industry uses one-third of all the fossil fuels consumed in the United States. (Moore) There is no question that farming animals has a negative effect on the environment and steps should be taken to mitigate air and water pollution risks and future deforestation. If animal agriculture was phased out, land used for animal grazing could be returned to forest land and some of it converted into fields for cultivating crops for humans. A global shift toward veganism, resulting in the elimination of the meat and animal agriculture industries, would protect the environment from various detrimental effects.
Phasing out animal agriculture and replacing it with stronger, safer plant cultivation would greatly reduce pollution released into the environment as animal waste, burning fossil fuels, and contaminated water runoff. The animal waste produced in factory farms is dumped into immense open-air lago...

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Felsinger, Alex. "80% of Amazon Deforestation Stems from Cattle Ranching." PlanetSave.com. N.p., n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. .
"Meat Production Wastes Natural Resources." PETA.org. People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals, n.d. Web. 1 Dec. 2013. .
Moore, Heather. "New UN Report Says Vegan Diet Vital To Saving The Environment, Curbing Fossil Fuel Use." Care2.com. N.p., 03 June 2010. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. .
Silverman, Jacob. "Do Cows Pollute as Much as Cars?" HowStuffWorks.com. Discovery Communications, n.d. Web. 01 Dec. 2013. .

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