Animal farming produces methane
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
The digestive process of farmed animals, particularly cows, causes emissions of methane, a greenhouse gas.
The meat and dairy industry wastes land.
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
Producing meat and dairy not only takes up land for animals to be reared on, but uses massive amounts of land growing crops to feed to animals. This unnecessary land usage causes deforestation, reducing the amount of trees and increasing the amount of CO2 in the atmosphere. This land usage can also cause drylands to …
Meat production is creating superbugs
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
Livestock are given antibiotics to treat sick animals and to prevent illness in healthy animals. This overuse of antibiotics leads to antibiotic resistance in bacteria, creating microbial diseases which are resistant to treatment with antibiotics, known as “superbugs”.
The meat and dairy industry wastes water
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
Animal-based agriculture is an enormous drain on the planet’s water supplies. Huge quantities of water are used up producing feed for animals rather than food that could feed humans directly.
“Free-range” is a lie.
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
In the US, meat poultry may be classed as free-range simply if the animal “has been allowed access to the outside.” This means that meat can be called free-range if the birds were kept in a barn whose door was open for as little as five minutes a day, allowing access only to a dirt …
Animal farming produces nitrous oxide.
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
When animal waste is broken down, it produces nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more potent than CO2 in its warming effect.
Most animal products come from factory farms.
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
Over 90% of animals are raised on factory farms, where they’re routinely abused and mistreated. They have little access to the outdoors (if any), and are confined in small and often filthy conditions. Some are kept in spaces so small they can’t even turn around.
Animals suffer and feel pain
- Marlon Farrugia and Bethany Chester
- June 20th, 2019
Unlike plants, animals are sentient – they’re aware of their surroundings. They have a central nervous system so they can feel pain and move away from it. Plants, on the other hand, aren’t capable of moving away, so they have no central nervous system and can’t feel pain.
Animal agriculture is destroying biodiversity.
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
Farming induced deforestation destroys the habitats of countless species across multiple continents. Palm oil, an ingredient in animal feeds, is grown in plantations which destroy the homes of orangutans, elephants, and other jungle animals, placing these species at risk of extinction. Marine life is also affected, as fish farms leak waste into coastal habitats which …
Continue reading “Animal agriculture is destroying biodiversity.”
Veganism can combat world hunger
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
It is estimated that one in nine people are chronically undernourished. That’s more than 800 million people worldwide, and the world population is predicted to rise from 7 billion to as much as 11 billion by 2050. Why is this? Currently 36% of calories from the world’s crops are being used to feed meat animals, …
It’s the most effective way to reduce your carbon footprint.
- Marlon Farrugia
- June 20th, 2019
Going vegan can reduce your individual carbon footprint by up to 73%. A global change to veganism could reduce greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds, and save up to 8 million lives by 2050.