Baker, Thorne, and Williams | 1

Vincent Baker, Caroline Thorne, and Marisa Williams

Ms. Fillman

CAP English 10

02 May 2018

The Flaws in the Sustainability of Animal Agriculture

Introduction

According to the Worldwatch Institute, “the human appetite for animal flesh is a driving

force behind virtually every major category of environmental damage now threatening the

human future” (“Is Meat Sustainable?”). The meat industry is seriously harming our

environment. The United Nations has stated that “livestock are one of the most significant

contributors to today’s most serious environmental problems,” and that “urgent action is required

to remedy the situation” (“Is Meat Sustainable?”). Despite such dangerous implications, the

global meat industry is a billion dollar industry, supplying thousands of people with jobs and

livelihoods. Within the United States, the largest segment of the agricultural industry consists of

meat and poultry production (“Meat Eating Causes World Hunger”). In 2013, the combined

salaries of US workers in the meat and poultry industry totalled upwards of $19 billion.

Annually, the meat industry in the U.S. generates $864.2 billion for the economy. On average,

American men consume 6.9oz of meat daily, and American women consume 4.4oz daily

(Hoekstra). The economic and cultural implications of the meat industry in American society are

immeasurable. It is necessary that such a powerful industry act in accordance with developed

ethical standards. However, at present, there is a rampant lack of ethical practice within the meat

industry.
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Issues such as the causation of greenhouse gas emissions, massive amounts of

deforestation, waste of natural resources, and pollution in disposal of waste all exemplify this

lack of ethical practice. Methane released from animals during the process of animal agriculture

contributes an extremely large amount to greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, which in turn

expedites the process of global warming. The meat industry also clears massive amounts of

forest. Clearing of forests, known formally as deforestation, is one of the most harmful forms of

environmental degradation as it destroys habitats and causes climate change. The meat industry

also wastes natural resources, namely land and water. The extreme amounts of land usage

throughout the agricultural industry, unparalleled by any other industry, decreases biodiversity

throughout the world and destroys habitats. The meat industry maintains an astoundingly large

water footprint, also unparalleled by any other industry. Lastly, the meat industry pollutes both

water and the air. The meat industry contributes disproportionately to environmental destruction

by creating greenhouse gases, deforestation, wasting natural resources, and pollution,

additionally, swift action should be taken or else our planet will die.

1.1 Greenhouse Gases

Do greenhouse gases actually have an impact on our climate? The first detrimental effect

the meat industry has on the planet is the emission of greenhouse gases. Greenhouse gases are

specific types of gases in our atmosphere that are able to trap heat by absorbing heat from the

sun, causing Earth’s surface to become warmer. This process of trapping heat is called the

greenhouse effect. Greenhouse gases are necessary, but only to an extent. According to the

National Aeronautics and Space Administration ​(​NASA​), “roughly 30% of the incoming solar

radiation is reflected back to space by clouds, aerosols, and the surface of Earth. Without
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naturally occurring greenhouse gases, Earth’s average temperature would be near 0°F instead of

much warmer 59°F” (Ma). The reverse of no greenhouse gases in the atmosphere, would be too

much greenhouse gases. This would amplify the heating effects causing Earth’s average

temperature to increase. We refer to this as climate change, a growing issue and one major

contributor is animal agriculture.

1.2 Greenhouse Gases from Animal Agriculture

Consider the main components of a typical American meal: meat, dairy, and eggs. These

foods people eat on a daily basis all come from animal agriculture, which is a significant source

of methane emissions. The animals from which we get food from tend to be ruminant animals

which simply means they have a multi-chambered stomach known as a rumen. Examples of

ruminant animals are cattle, goats, and sheep. These animals go through the process of enteric

fermentation when digesting their food. This is the digestive process by which carbohydrates are

broken down by microorganisms into simple molecules and methane is created within a rumen as

microbial fermentation happens. The majority of the methane that is produced is released into the

atmosphere in the form of gas, through belching and flatulence. The methane then goes into the

atmosphere (“Enteric Fermentation--Greenhouse Gases”​).

The methane emissions from ruminant animals may seem inconsequential, but the effects

of such emissions as a whole are harmful. For one, the agriculture industry mass breeds animals

to keep up with the demand for food. They over breed by penning up large quantities of animals

in small, restricted locations. The amount of greenhouse gases are increasing as these overbred

animals are continuing to release more gases into our atmosphere. This increase is causing Earth

to trap in more heat. “While methane doesn't linger as long in the atmosphere as carbon dioxide,
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it is initially far more devastating to the climate because of how effectively it absorbs heat”

​ bout 25% of climate change we are

(“Methane: The Other Important Greenhouse Gas​”​).​ A

experiencing today are due to methane emissions because of how fast methane absorbs large

amounts of heat. In fact, for the first two decades that methane has been released into the

atmosphere, it is 81 times more potent than CO​2​. Carbon dioxide makes up 81% of greenhouse

gas emissions, while 10% is made up of methane but, since 25% of experienced climate change

is due to methane, both gases are major problems and need to be reduced (“Overview of

Greenhouse Gases”​).​ According to a 2014 study, “In the United States, methane from the normal

digestive processes of animals totalled 164.3 million metric tons of carbon dioxide” (“Animal

Agriculture’s Impact”). Animal agriculture’s average carbon dioxide emission is continuing to

increase as the years progress. Animals are producing a huge total of 164.3 million metric tons of

carbon dioxide. Around 2,300 kg (2.3 metric tons) of CO​2​ is equivalent to burning 1,000 L of

petrol. That would mean animals are producing the same amount of carbon dioxide equivalent to

burning 71,000 L of petrol gas (“Are Cows the Cause of Global Warming”​)​.

1.3 Effect of Greenhouse Gases

As we know it, Earth’s average temperatures are increasing due to an increase of

greenhouse gases. In the 20th century, the Earth’s average temperature has increased by 2°F.

According to...the “Earth’s climate record, preserved in tree rings, ice cores, and coral reefs,

shows that the global average temperature is stable over long periods of time” (“Vital Signs of

the Planet”). The climate’s records show what the temperatures were like in the past, before we

had machinery and technology to log and track the climate. Since Earth’s temperature has always

been so stable in the past, the smallest of changes are very serious and are proving that current
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day climates are becoming unstable. People are causing Earth to defy and reject its natural

tendencies. As a result there will be more droughts and heat waves, hurricanes will become

stronger, sea level will continue to rise, and during summer the artics will become ice-free by

2050 (“Vital Signs of the Planet”). Besides all those global effects, more specific individualized

effects depending on the location of the continents, countries, and regions. This means that as

more greenhouse gases continue to be produced and collected in our atmosphere, the effects will

worsen over time. There will be an increase in bad weather, natural disasters, rising

temperatures, melting arctic ice, and rising sea levels. Greenhouse gases are causing detrimental

effects on our environment and will continue to progress cause even worse damage.

1.4 Rebuttal/Opposing Argument

The opposition may say that a majority of greenhouse gas emissions are caused by

transportation and electricity, so animal agriculture is not causing as significance of an issue. For

example, those who believe animal agriculture is not causing a significant amount of harm would

bring up statistics that 28% of greenhouse gas emissions are due to transportation, 28% due to

electricity, 22% due to industries, and only 9% due to agriculture (“Sources of Greenhouse Gas

Emissions​”). ​Animal agriculture while only contributing to 9% of greenhouse gas emissions,

actually is much more significant than 9% in a sense. A majority of greenhouse gas emissions

are carbon dioxide but, methane holds a much more significant impact on the environment. A

majority of methane comes from animal agriculture because of all the ruminant animals.

Approximately 365-420 million short tons (331.122-381.018 million metric tons) of methane are

produced from microbial sources, meaning animals. This makes up a majority of where methane

is produced and released into the atmosphere because the fossil industry and geologic seeps only
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produce 165-220 million short tons and biomass burning only creates 40-55 short tons. All other

sources of the production of methane are too small to factor in, making microbial sources the

largest source of methane production (Pearce). So, while the opposition may say that a majority

of greenhouse gas emissions come from transportation and electricity and that animal agriculture

in comparison is not as significant of an issue would be incorrect based on the fact that animal

agriculture is the biggest producer of methane gas which is most effective greenhouse gas at

causing the earth’s temperature to rise. (“Methane: The Other Important Greenhouse Gas​”)

2.1 Deforestation

The second problem with the meat industry is deforestation. According to ​National

Geographic​, deforestation is the “clearing Earth's forests on a massive scale, often resulting in

damage to the quality of the land” (“Deforestation”). The most common perpetrator of

deforestation is the agricultural industry. Forests cover “31 percent of the world’s land surface,

just over 4 billion hectares. (One hectare = 2.47 acres)” (“Forest Cover”). Not only do forests

provide important industrial goods such as paper and timber, they also provide processes

essential to the flourishing of our environment. For example, they “filter water, control water

runoff, protect soil, regulate climate, cycle and store nutrients, and provide habitat for countless

animal species and space for recreation” (“Forest Cover”). Therefore, clearing of these forests is

detrimental to the environment. Farmers cut down unnecessarily large amounts of forests to

provide more room for planting crops such as barley, corn, oats, and wheat to feed to livestock,

or use the land for grazing livestock itself.

2.2 The Meat Industry’s Impact on Deforestation

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Beef is an integral aspect of numerous cultures and is therefore consumed around the

world. According to Nierenberg and Mastny, authors of ​Happier Meals: Rethinking the Global

Meat Industry​, livestock “cover a third of the planet’s surface area and use more than two-thirds

of its agricultural land, inhabiting nearly every country” (7). Therefore, the world’s increasing

beef consumption has a sizeable impact on deforestation. The need for meat increases

exponentially, so therefore so does the production of meat. Globally, “meat production has

grown 25-fold since 1800” (“Grade A Choice” 2). As meat production continued to expand,

farmers began to require new space for their livestock and feed crops. Enormous new expanses

are being converted from natural ecosystems—specifically forests—into pastures and land to

grow feed crops for livestock (Grade A Choice? 2). In fact, “more than 90 percent of all Amazon

rainforest land cleared since 1970 is used for grazing livestock” (“Meat and the Environment”).

As disproportionate meat consumption and production increases, so does the deforestation. At

the current rate of deforestation, “The world’s rain forests could completely vanish in a hundred

years” (Deforestation). The meat industry contributes disproportionately to environmental

destruction by creating deforestation.

2.3 Rebuttal/Opposing Argument

The opposition may say that the meat industry is not the main cause of deforestation. For

example according to those who say that the meat industry is not the main cause of deforestation,

“soy cultivation is a major driver of deforestation in the Amazon basin” and today, “Brazil has

24-25 million hectares devoted to the growth of this crop, and is currently the second largest

producer of soybeans in the world” (“Soy Agriculture”). The opposition claims that it is these

soybeans, which are used in most veggie burger, tofu and soy milk products, that cause the most
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deforestation. While this claim has merit in that Brazil is the largest export of soybeans, and that

soybeans are the main ingredient in most vegetarian substitutions, the opposition is leaving out

that “Seeds from the soybean plant provide high protein animal feed for livestock, and 80% of

Amazon soy is destined for animal feed; smaller percentages are used for oil or eaten directly”

“(Soy Agriculture”). Essentially, the majority of soybean seeds are used to feed cattle, which are

a part of the meat industry. So, while the opposition may say that the soy industry contributes

more to deforestation than the meat industry the reality is that the meat industry is the highest

contributor to deforestation.

3.1 Wasted Resources

Animal agriculture is an extremely important and high-grossing industry. Between 1984

and 2004, the global meat production doubled (Mekonnen and Hoekstra). The livestock sector

alone accounts for 40 percent of agricultural gross domestic product. It is also responsible for the

employment of over 1.3 billion people (“Livestock's Long Shadow”).

Despite the many economic benefits of the meat industry, it often exhausts many natural

resources. It is responsible for water consumption ranging from 34-76 trillion gallons annually

(Pimentel et al.). Approximately ⅓ of the Earth’s ice-free land is occupied by livestock or

livestock feed (Walsh). Additionally, livestock is the leading cause of desertification; roughly ⅓

of the planet is desertified (Oppenlander). Globally, roughly 52 percent of grain is fed to

livestock (“Executive Summary: Feed Supply”). Therefore, animal agriculture is particularly

exhaustive of the global water resource, the global land resource, food resources and energy

resources. This wasteful phenomenon in the meat industry disproportionately contributes to

environmental degradation.
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3.2 The Global Land Resource.

The animal agriculture industry is the biggest stressor of land-use in the world. In

livestock farming, it is estimated that 2-5 acres of land are typically used per cow (McBride and

Matthews). If the excessive amount of land occupied by the meat industry was occupied instead

by non-meat agriculture, it would produce innumerably more food. 1.5 acres of farmland can

produce roughly 37,000 pounds of plant-based food. The same amount of land can produce

approximately 375 pounds of beef (Oppenlander). In 1990, the World Hunger Program at Brown

University calculated that an equitably distributed world harvest could feed 6 billion people on a

vegetarian diet; in contrast, a meat-rich diet would feed 2.6 billion people. With our present

population well above 6 billion people, the meat industry has already created a “deficit

consumption of land” (“Is Meat Sustainable?”) in that using land for meat production is an

inherent waste of land because of the fact that it will produce significantly less food than land

plant-based food production. The animal agriculture industry’s extreme amount of land use is

cited as “the most pervasive socioeconomic force driving changes and degradation of

ecosystems” (Wu). The meat industry’s land use is unreasonably extensive - and the environment

must bear the consequences.

This extensive land use substantially impacts biodiversity and various ecosystems.

Biodiversity is defined as “the variability among living organisms from all sources”

(“Biodiversity”) and is responsible for major ecosystem functions, such as the production of

biomass, nutrient and water cycling, soil formation, and soil retention, all essential to human

well-being (“Biodiversity”). It is estimated that livestock production alone is responsible for

approximately 30 percent of global biodiversity loss (Baur). Loss in biodiversity in an ecosystem

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has a direct relationship with the long-term preservation of ecosystem functioning; when various

organisms are removed from a habitat, their contributions to the necessary inner workings of that

habitat are also removed (Greenfacts). The extensive amount of land occupied by animal

agriculture, not only produces significantly less food than the same amount of land would be able

to produce plant-based food but inadvertently harms the global environment.

3.3 The Global Water Resource

Water is a fundamental necessity to human life but the annual availability of freshwater,

however, is limited. According to the Water Footprint Network, a water footprint is essentially

an “empirical indicator of how much water is consumed, when and where, [and is] measured

over the whole supply chain of the product”. Humanity's water footprint “has exceeded

sustainable levels at several places and is unequally distributed among people” (“About Water

Footprints”). Animal agriculture is exhaustive of our global water resource.

The very first step in the process of meat production is growing the feed for the animals

to eat and this core step in the process of animal agriculture accounts for the largest contribution

to its water footprint (Hoekstra). Growing feed for livestock alone consumes 56 percent of water

in the US (“Is Meat Sustainable?”). In essence, more water is being put into the production of

meat-based foods than any other usage. This is because the average amount of water to produce

one pound of beef is 2,500 gallons. The production of one gallon of milk alone requires 1,000

gallons of water (Hoekstra). Overall, a typical omnivorous diet requires 4,200 gallons of water

per day (“Is Meat Sustainable?”). In contrast, a typical vegan diet requires 300 gallons a day.

Much of this difference in water use has to do with the fact that animals must consume almost as

much water as humans do prior to being killed. Plants, which can easily create the same
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nutritional value, only need watering. Subsequently, 780 million people in the world lack access

to an improved water source (“Global Water, Sanitation, & Hygiene”). One-quarter (25%) of

humanity's water footprint can be attributed to meat consumption, and 4 percent can be attributed

to water used in households (Hoekstra). For example, a resident of California could save more

water by not eating a pound of beef than they could by not showering for six months (“Is Meat

Sustainable?”). The water footprint per unit of nutritional value of pig, sheep, and bovine meat is

disproportionately greater than that of equally-nutritious non-meat crops (Hoekstra). Therefore,

the meat industry has an extremely large water footprint, stressing the a resource that is not even

readily available to millions of humans. The overuse of water resources on behalf of the meat

industry is far greater than any household or personal water usage could ever amount to. This is

something that inadvertently stresses the environment.

3.4 Food and Energy Resources.

One of the most wasteful aspects of the meat industry is food used to feed animals bred

for consumption. It is estimated that for every 1 lb of meat produced, 16 lbs of grain go into

feeding the animal (“Meat Eating Causes World Hunger”). This 1 lb of meat feeds roughly two

people, whereas the 16 lbs of grain could feed 20 people. Because of this, meat production

consistently produces a deficit of food resources. Annually, in the United States alone, 41 million

tons of food are fed to 7 billion livestock, producing 7 million tons of food (“Meat Eating Causes

World Hunger”). And yet there are 700 million starving people in the world. With all of the food

used to feed livestock, the United States could feed 800 million people (“U.S. could feed 800

million people with grain that livestock eat, Cornell ecologist advises animal scientists”).
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Various stages throughout the process of producing meat for consumption are extremely

draining and wasteful of energy. Firstly, growing feed alone for the animals to eat requires “a

heavy input of petroleum based agricultural chemicals” (“Is Meat Sustainable?”). Then, energy is

required to transport animals to be slaughtered, to markets, and then to eventually be refrigerated

and cooked. Over 260 gallons of fossil fuel are required to provide the yearly meat consumption

of the average American family of four. For every 28 calories of fossil fuel energy used to

produce meat products, 1 calorie of meat protein is produced (“Is Meat Sustainable?”). Meat

production uses roughly eight times more fossil fuels than grain production. Is maintaining an

excessive diet of meat worth wasting nonrenewable resources? The production of meat products

is so exhaustive of fossil fuels, among other natural resources, that at a certain point, American

society needs to think about whether their values lie in protecting the Earth or eating animals.

3.5 Rebuttal/Opposing Argument

A common argument supporting the ethicality of the meat industry is that it is

biologically natural and inherent to our nature for humans to eat meat, and thus the means of

producing meat are also ethical. Jason Mark of the Sierra club explains this argument; “When we

kill other animals for our sustenance—as long as we do so with careful moral consideration— it

can reinforce our interdependence with other species, linking humans to the rest of nature”

(Mark). However, the excessive amount of meat production has surpassed the threshold of being

for sustenance. If the amount of land, water, energy and food resources allotted to meat

production were used instead for non-meat food production, as explained in previous paragraphs,

the world would indisputably produce more, equally nutritious, food. Therefore, our sustenance

is fully possible with less meat in our diets - or not meat at all. In fact, according to Kaiser
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Permanente, America’s leading health care provider, a plant-based diet is exceedingly healthier

than a meat-based diet; “Healthy eating may be best achieved with a plant-based diet, which we

define as a regimen that encourages whole, plant-based foods and discourages meats, dairy

products, and eggs as well as all refined and processed foods” (qtd. Caps ). In 2016, Oxford

University conducted a study and found that “widespread adoption of plant-based diets could

avert 8.1 million premature human deaths every year” (qtd. Capps). “There is absolutely no

nutrient in animal flesh and fluids that humans can’t get from where the animal got it: the sun

and the earth,” says nutritionist Carla Golden (qtd. Capps). The notion that the resources used by

the meat industry are necessary in any way to human health is ludicrous. Meat is a costly

indulgence and the cost is the health of our environment.

4.1 Pollution in Disposal of Waste

The meat industry contributes disproportionately to both water and air pollution in their

disposal of waste. Animal feeding operations, or livestock factory farms, annually produce “100

times more manure than the amount of human sewage sludge processed in US municipal

wastewater plants” . To put the amount of waste into perspective, one farm with 2,500 cows

produces as much waste as a city with around 411,000 residents (Waste Management). One of

the ways that factory farms dispose of livestock waste is through “lagoons,” which are large

outdoor pits to be filled with manure. These pits cause both water pollution and air pollution.

Livestock factory farms disposal of waste is detrimental to the environment and increases water

and air pollution disproportionately.

4.2 Impact on Water Quality

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The meat industry is negatively impacting the environment through its disposal of animal

sewage, primarily impacting water pollution. Watersheds are a victim the meat industry’s

careless waste control. Encyclopedia Britannica defines runoff as “not only the waters that travel

over the land surface and through channels to reach a stream but also interflow, the water that

infiltrates the soil surface...and eventually empties into the channel” (“Runoff”). This runoff has

the potential to pick up pollutants like “petroleum, pesticides, or fertilizers” from the ground, and

deliver them into watersheds (“Surface Runoff”). Runoff commonly picks up chemical pollutants

which are detrimental to watershed water quality. According to the U.S. EPA, “40 percent of

rivers and streams are impaired, and the leading cause of pollution was agriculture” (“2000

National”). Through runoff and groundwater, the water quality has been disproportionately

impacted by the meat industry’s disposal of manure. Additionally, nitrogen found within manure

stays in its organic state until decomposition, when it is converted to a soluble form, ammonium

nitrate. When ammonium nitrate is mixed with water, nitrates “leach into groundwater systems

and threaten the water quality” (“Waste Management”). These nitrates are extremely harmful

and toxic to both animal and plant life in addition to human health. Additionally, “Nitric oxides

are also released in large quantities from farms through manure application, and are among the

leading causes of acid rain” (“Waterborne Disease”). Acid rain is harmful to human health, and

can cause respiratory diseases like asthma and chronic bronchitis. According to the EPA,

drinking water with nitrate can cause “developmental deficiencies in infants and death in severe

cases” because “Nitrates introduced into the body through affected water significantly reduce the

blood’s oxygen carrying capacity, and deprive the body of oxygen” (“Waste Management”). In
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conclusion, the meat industry contributes disproportionately to environmental destruction

through water pollution.

4.3 Impact on Air Quality

Air quality is also disproportionately impacted by the meat industry. When one thinks of

air pollution, they tend to think of the thick, black smoke pouring out of the back of a truck

rather than the invisible gases produced by animals. And yet, factory farms frequently try to

dodge water pollution limits by “spraying liquid manure into the air, creating mists that are

carried away by the wind” (“Meat and the Environment”). These mists are not only a hazard to

the environment, but to human health.

These emissions cause disproportionate harm compared to other pollution contributors to

the environment. According to ​The New York Times​, “scientists and public health officials

around the country say they have traced a variety of health problems faced by neighbors of huge

industrial farms to vast amounts of concentrated animal waste” (“Neighbors of Vast”). Two

common emissions are Ammonia, which impacts ecosystem health and human health, and

Hydrogen Sulfide, which impacts human health. Ammonia allows for the over-enrichment of

water systems and the growth of Algae. It also can mix with other gases to create respiratory

irritants which are harmful to human health. Hydrogen Sulfide, known for its potent scent of

rotten eggs, is also a respiratory irritant and harmful to human health. In conclusion, the meat

industry contributes disproportionately to environmental destruction through air pollution.

4.4 Rebuttal/Opposing Argument.

The meat industry contends that these health effects are poorly documented. Many

farmers claim that scientific studies have “relied too much on the testimony of the people with
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medical problems, and that there is no way to prove that those problems are directly attributable

to the farms” (“Neighbors of Vast”). Ron Prestage, an owner of Prestage Farms said that “'There

has never been a neighbor of a farm who has come forward with any documentation of a health

problem of any kind.”' However, professor at the University of Southern California, Dr Kaye H.

Kilburn, who studies the effects of toxic chemicals on the brain, said evidence strongly supported

a link between proximity/exposure to farming and illness. In an interview she said that “The

coincidence of people showing a pattern of impairment and being exposed to hydrogen sulfide

arising from lagoons where hog manure is stored and then sprayed on fields or sprayed into the

air “makes a connection practically undeniable,” (“Neighbors of Vast”)​. However, based on the

concurring evidence, ​the meat industry contributes disproportionately to environmental

destruction through air and water pollution. The meat industry’s disposal of waste causes

environmental destruction out of proportion to other industries.

Implications and Conclusion

Looking into the future, the Earth will be completely different because of the harmful

impacts of the animal agriculture business. The weather and temperature around Earth will be

significantly warmer and there is a possibility ice in the artics won’t even exist during summer.

“Since the satellite record began in 1979, the Arctic sea ice cover in September has declined by

around 13% per decade” (“How Predictable”). Scientists predict an iceless arctic before the

mid-century. Through running simulations they found completely iceless summers by 2060.

According to NASA, ice sheets have been decreasing by 413 gigatonnes per year (“Vital Signs

of the Planet”). There will be significantly fewer trees and a major decrease of forests. According

to ​National Geographic​, “...the world’s rainforests could diminish and virtually vanish within the
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next 100 years at our current rate of depletion” (“Deforestation”). Resources will be harder to get

because of mankind’s current wastefulness. There will be less usable water and land will be

harder to farm on. Finally, another change to Earth will be the pollution in the sea. Not only will

humans be negatively affected, but also sea creatures. “...though water pollution may only

initially affect marine life, the laws of nature dictate that big fish eat the little ones. As the

biggest (land-dwelling) fish of them all, humans are at risk of seeing the food pyramid topple

beneath them if pollution continues” (“What Would Happen”). The air will be harder to breathe

and can even result in negative health benefits when inhaling. “Should air pollution go

unchecked, we can expect our skies to become foggier and our oxygen harder to breathe” (“What

Would Happen”). Overall, the planet would be a much harder place to live on for all of mankind

and for the other animals and plants on Earth.

The food people eat has impacts on the Earth’s environment. When someone drinks milk,

they contribute to the overproduction of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. When someone

eats a hamburger using ground beef that was on sale at the grocery store, they contribute to the

cutting down of trees, and the lowering of Earth’s natural resources. When someone eats a

sandwich with a variety of meats and cheeses, they are contributing to and supporting the act of

wasting resources and contributing to pollution. If people were to reduce their intake of meat and

animal products and the animal agriculture industry would reduce in size. Incorporating

vegetarian and vegan meals would cause the animal agriculture to have to produce less products

because there would be less of a demand for food like meat, dairy and eggs. In the long run this

would reduce the production of greenhouse gases like CH​4​ and CO​2​, reduce the amount of trees
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torn down causing less deforestation, save natural resources like water, and cause a reduction of

the amount of pollution on earth.

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