Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.
Livestock’s Long Shadow ~ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome 2006
Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation.
Livestock’s Long Shadow ~ Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome 2006
Farmed animals and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
Hyner, Christopher. ~ A Leading Cause of Everything: One Industry That Is Destroying Our Planet and Our Ability to Thrive on It. ~ Georgetown Environmental Law Review. October 23, 2015.
Animal farming is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.
Emissions of Greenhouse Gases in the United States. U.S. Energy Information Administration. March 31, 2011
Farmed cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day.
Miller, Scot M, et al. Anthropogenic emissions of methane in the United States. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 110. No. 50. 18 October 2013
Even without fossil fuels, we will exceed our 565 gigatonnes CO2e limit by 2030, all from raising animals. Reducing methane emissions would create tangible benefits almost immediately.
Industry Leaders, including Energy Companies, Forge Partnerships to Advance Climate Solutions and Reduce Short-Lived Climate Pollutants. Climate Summit 2014.
A person who consumes a vegan diet produces the equivalent of 50% less carbon dioxide, uses 1/11th oil, 1/13th water, and 1/18th land compared to a meat-lover for their food.
Ranganathan, Janet & Waite, Richard. Sustainable Diets: What You Need to Know in 12 Charts. World Resources Institute. April 2016
Land required to feed 1 person for 1 year:
Vegan: 1/6th acre
Vegetarian: 3x as much as a vegan
Meat Eater: 18x as much as a vegan
Robbins, John. Diet for a New America, StillPoint Publishing, 1987, p. 352
1.5 acres can produce 375 lbs. of beef.
1.5 acres can produce 37,000 lbs. of plant foods.
Schwab, Denise, et al. Grass-fed and Organic Beef: Production Costs and Breakeven Market Prices, 2008-2009. Iowa State University 2012
Animal farms cover 45% of the earth’s total land.
Smith, Pete & Bustamante, Mercedes, et al. Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use (AFOLU). Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Chapter 11
Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction.
Margulis, Sergio. Causes of Deforestation of the Brazilian Amazon. World Bank Working Paper No. 22. 2003
Up to 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to rainforest destruction.
The Disappearing Rainforests. Save the amazon.org
Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today.
Gerbens-Leenes, P.W. et al. The water footprint of poultry, pork and beef: A comparitive study in different countries and production systems. Water Resources and Industry. Vol. 1-2, March- June 2013, Pages 25-36
5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture.
Jacobson, Michael F. Six Arguments For a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-based Diet Could Save Your Health and the Environment. Chapter 4: More and Cleaner Water. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006.
Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually.
Summary of Estimated Water Use in the United States in 2005. United States Geological Service
2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.
Beckett, J. L, Oltjen, J. W Estimation of the Water Requirement for Beef Production in the United States. Journal of Animal Science. 1993. 71:818-826
1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.
Mekonnen, Mesfin M. & Hoekstra, Arjen Y. A Global Assessment of the Water Footprint of Farm Animal Products. Ecosystems (2012) 15: 401-415
As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year.
Mood, A & Brooke, P. Estimating the Number of Fish Caught in Global Fishing Each Year. July 2010
For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.
Discard and bycatch in Shrimp trawl fisheries. FAO: Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.
Keledjian, Amanda, et al. Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries. Oceana. March 2014
A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.
Risk Assessment Evaluation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations. Environmental Protection Agency. 2004
Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.
Animal Manure Management. USDA: Natural Resources Conservation Service. RCA Issue Bief #7. December 1995
Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to farmed animals.
Meat and Animal Feed. Global Agriculture. Agriculture at a Crossroads. Findings and recommendations for future farming.
82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.
Oppenlander, Dr. Richard. The World Hunger – Food Choice Connection: A Summary. Comfortably Unaware Blog. August 2012
