söndag 12 januari 2014

Animal agriculture is an ecological disaster, exacerbates poverty and injustices

“There is also broad consensus that animal agriculture is an ecological disaster. Although estimates vary, there is no question that animal foods represent an inefficient use of plant protein in that animals have to consume many pounds of grain or forage to produce one pound of meat. For example, according to Cornell University Professors David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel,[2] it takes 13 kilograms (a kilogram is 2.2 pounds) of grain and 30 kilograms of forage to produce one kilogram of beef; 21 kilograms of grain and 30 kilograms of forage to produce a kilogram of lamb; 5.9 kilograms of grain to produce a kilogram of pork; 3.8 kilograms of grain to produce a kilogram of turkey; 2.3 kilograms of grain to produce a kilogram of chicken, and 11 kilograms of grain to produce one kilogram of eggs. Livestock in the United States consume 7 times as much grain as is consumed by the entire U.S. human population and the grains fed to livestock could feed 840 million humans who had a plant-based diet.

The Pimentel study states that one kilogram of animal protein requires about 100 times more water than does 1 kilogram of grain protein. According to another study,[3] one kilogram of beef requires 15,415 liters of water (a gallon is 3.78 liters); sheep meat (lamb and mutton) 10,412 liters; pork 5,988 liters; and chicken 4,325 liters. A kilogram of apples requires 822 liters of water; bananas 790 liters; cabbage 237 liters; tomatoes 214 liters; potatoes 287 liters; and rice 2,497 liters. Most estimates vary between 1000 to 2000 gallons of water to produce a gallon of milk.

The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations states that animal agriculture contributes more greenhouse gases, which are linked directly to global warming, to the atmosphere than does burning fossil fuel for transportation.[4] According to Worldwatch Institute, animal agriculture produces an estimated 51% of the worldwide total of greenhouse gas emissions from human activity. Moreover, a significant amount of fossil energy is required to yield an animal-based product. The average fossil energy input for all animal protein sources is 25 kcal of fossil energy input to 1 kcal of animal protein produced, which is more than 11 times greater than for grain protein production.[5]”

Quote from: http://www.eatlikeyoucarebook.com/

And we don’t have any nutritional need for animal foods, so the suffering, violence, and death that animals go through in the production of meat, milk and eggs is completely unnecessary. Go vegan to opt out of animal exploitation and to opt out of injustices towards humans.

2. David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel,
“Sustainability of meat-based and plant-based diets and the
environment,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition
2003; 78 (suppl): 660S-3S, available at
http://ajcn.nutrition.org/content/78/3/660S.full.pdf.
[3]. Institution of Mechanical Engineers, Global Food:
Waste Not, Want Not (2013), at 12, available at:
http://www.imeche.org/docs/defaultsource/
reports/Global_Food_Report.pdf?sfvrsn=0.
[4]. FAO Newsroom,
http://www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/.
[5]. See Pimentel study.
More to learn here: http://bloganders.blogspot.no/search?q=human+rights&max-results=20&by-date=true

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