A recent BBC documentary by animal biologist Liz Bonnin investigates the environmental impact of animals being raised to supply the world's increasing demand for meat and looks at efforts reduce the environmental impacts. The documentary didn't look at the morality of eating animals but looked at the facts around our animal consumption and its impact on the planet.

Deforestation in the Amazon

The documentary makers looked at deforestation in the Amazon and attempts to save rare animal and plant species whose habitats are being cleared for cattle. They also looked at China to see the huge growth of the meat industry and beef production in the USA, all of which are having unprecedented effects of our planet's climate, biodiversity and resources.

Meat – An Environmental Hazard

We are increasingly understanding that eating meat is one of the biggest environmental hazards facing our planet. Globally, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gases than all the world’s transportation systems combined.

At times, the documentary made for difficult viewing and didn’t need to exaggerate because the facts spoke for themselves:

• Cows must consume 16 pounds of vegetation in order to convert them into 1 pound of flesh. Raising animals for food consumes more than half of all water used in the U.S. It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce a pound of meat but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat;
• Producing just one hamburger uses enough fossil fuel to drive a small car 20 miles. Of all raw materials and fossil fuels used in the U.S, more than one-third are devoted to raising animals for food;
• A typical pig factory generates the same amount of raw waste as a city of 12,000 people. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, raising animals for food is the number-one source of water pollution;
• About 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to produce feed for animals raised for food. as a result, the meat industry is directly responsible for 85 percent of all soil erosion in the U.S.

More than 80 percent of the corn we grow, and more than 95 percent of the oats are fed to livestock. The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people - more than the entire human population on Earth.

Conclusion

We may not need to adopt a fully vegan or vegetarian diet, but research makes it clear: reducing our intake of meat and dairy is the most significant step we can take as individuals to lessen our environmental impact. Tackling global warming simply isn’t possible without a major shift in how we eat.

Change is never easy, but our current habits are harming both our health and the planet. Time is running out. If we want a future –if we want future generations to have one – we must act now. It’s time to embrace alternative sources of protein and make choices that support both our wellbeing and the world we live in. We must eat more alternative sources of protein instead. (Sources:peta.org  theguardian.com)