Don't get surprised or confused at the title, because this knowledge is not new!
We are living in a broken global food system. Scientists have spoken about how much hefty an impact we've caused on our environment from fueling climate change to polluting landscapes and waterways due to our large amount of meat consumption.
It's an unhealthy eating habit not only for our bodies but also for our environment when our demands for meat keep climbing up the ladder, outpace our food production; making farmers ignore sustainable methods and intentionally increase more levels of methane emission from cattle; just to meet the meat demand and in return, earn the profit from animal agriculture.
The title might appear unconvincing to some people because eating habits and ego are bigger than our ecosystem and hard to be moved or changed. Some people might close their eyes and ears to all the proofs and facts that scientists have mentioned and proved since 2011 until now because they think scientists are just a group of people or the UN is just an organisation among others. However, if it's not something important and happening right now, why would scientists keep talking about it and trying desperately to raise global awareness for a change?
The truth is here and it's not a choice to believe or not anymore. It urgently requires an act accordingly to the truth we are given. We need to educate ourselves with knowledge about the Earth we're living in and do whatever we can to help our environment in needs. Over-exploitation has been destroying our Earth - from land, forest, to sea and living creatures. It's time for a change and a positive impact to make our Earth a better place for us all and our next generations.
This blog will explain to you why eating less meat is the best thing you can do to reduce Earth's heat and save the planet.
How does animal agriculture affect the environment?
Animal agriculture has long left its mark on the Earth. Forests have been replaced with pastureland and 77% of agricultural land is used to raise livestock. But despite consuming the vast majority of farmland, meat and dairy account for just 18% of all food calories and around a third of protein.
Land used for any type of agriculture – either livestock or crops, either meant for people or animals – is cultivated by clearing forests and grasslands. It's called deforestation. While forests and grasslands absorb carbon dioxide into the ground and keep CO2 underneath the roots, we currently have destroyed them for more pastureland. Therefore, it has caused less chance for CO2 being absorbed into the ground but more up to the air, resulting in pollution and heat.
Deforestation to make way for livestock, along with methane emissions from cows and fertilizer use, creates as much greenhouse gas emissions as the world’s cars, trucks and aeroplanes. According to the latest study published by the Journal of Ecological Society, animal agriculture is responsible for 87% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Moreover, the meat and dairy industry use 1/3 of Earth's freshwater. Meat rearing practices risk mass extinctions of other animals and spawn significant pollution of streams, rivers, and, ultimately, the ocean.
Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction when 1-2 acres of rainforest are cleared every second. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution and habitat destruction.
How does overfishing destroy the ocean and marine life?
Since people started reducing red meat consumption as they've realised an unhealthy impact of it on their own health, the demand for seafood has increased drastically. Like farming, fishing has been industrialised. Every country invests in big ships, big nets and big machines to catch bigger amounts of fishes from the ocean, scaling it up to a big business to solve problems of jobs and demands. Then, it has become overfishing.
The fishing nets are large enough to contain 12 jumbo jets, dragged through the water, across the bottom of the seafloor and capture everything. That's called bottom trawling. By-catching and bottom trawling have destroyed the marine life beneath. We have lost so many sea creatures forever and drained out the beauty of the sea life we once had.
Up to 2.7 trillion fish are caught every year, making around 5 million fish killed every minute. Direct fishing activity, plus the energy expended to transport, process, and refrigerate carcasses amounted to an estimated total of 179 million tonnes of greenhouse gasses in 2011 – and this number has continued to grow.
How does eating less meat or switching to a plant-based diet save the planet?
To curb global warming and keep the global temperature increase below 1.5 Celsius degrees, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change says that global emissions will need to be reduced by around 40% to 50%. According to the U.N., the only way to achieve these reductions is to drastically increase forestland – which means reclaiming land currently under cultivation and stopping intrusions into existing forests.
Reducing demand for animal agriculture and adopting a plant-based diet is among the most important actions any individual can make. Red meat consumption needs to drop by 90%. Consumption of pork, milk and eggs will also need to decline sharply, all as the world’s population balloons by an extra 2 billion people by 2050. Researchers said there will need to be a global shift to a “flexitarian” diet to help reduce Earth's heat.
Conclusion
Switching to more plant-based meals and curbing meat consumption not only helps the planet, but it also improves your health by lowering intake of saturated fat, the risk of developing heart disease and cancer which is the world’s leading causes of death.
Act accordingly to the truth you are given!
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