Discussion of: “Environmental Sustainability in Agriculture: Diet Matters”
Written by Angela McGauley-Jacobson
1/11/11
How many of you ask the question: “where did this come from?” before you take a bite out of your snake or meal? Perhaps some of you do? But how many ask the question how am I affecting the environment by eating this?
I decided to become a vegetarian about 5 years ago, not because I knew that meat production in the U.S. is harmful to the environment but simply because of my own preferences. I don’t like the taste of most meat and the idea of not knowing exactly where the meat I am eating is coming from simply grosses me out. I was anemic, which means being low on iron, so it was easier for me to cut out eating meat all together and in turn find other ways of getting the iron I needed such as taking supplements and making sure that I added plenty of foods high in iron into my diet that were not meat.
A while after I stopped eating meat I became rather interested in learning how food production in the U.S. is impacting our environment, specifically meat production. The daily decisions we make have a much bigger impact on the environment than we might realize. The food industry has a much greater effect on the environment than just the wrappers, cartons, cups, or the extra food that you throw away at the end of a meal, these are just the typical things were think of as “waste”. You also probably realize that if the food you are eating is not locally grown, it was shipped here one way or another in a vehicle that used fuel, but what about the resources that were used to actually make the food?
When meat is produced in mass amounts it takes a large toll on the environment and mass production of meat in on the rise due to the popularity of fast food restaurants. The animals that are raised for this meat are often the product of corporate factory farms. These concentrated animal feeding operations confine thousands of animals in one facility, and produce staggering amounts of animal waste in the process (500 million tons per year) (Sierra Club, 2008). Multiple problems can arise from these sorts of settings including contamination of water and soil.
Another factor to consider with mass meat production is that astounding amount of water that is required to produce livestock. According to the PETA website, nearly half of all the water used in the U.S. goes to raising animals for food. It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons. A totally vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.
It was so interesting to me to research this topic because I had never even considered the difference eating meat and not eating meat could make on the environment. With this blog I am interested in finding out if other people feel the same way I did. Did you know about the impacts mass meat production made on the environment? And now knowing do you think it will cause you to think twice about eating meat? I don’t expect that anyone will consider turning vegetarian because of this information, I certainly wouldn’t if I was an avid meat-lover, but do you think you might take the opportunity to choose spaghetti with meat-less sauce over spaghetti with meat sauce the next time you are given the choice?
6 comments:
Another point of contention concerning factory farms and CAFOs, which you did not address, are the amounts of pharmaceuticals used. Because great numbers of cows, swine and chickens are “produced” in confined quarter, do not have access to clean water or air, and are forced to eat calories from cheap corn (a diet they are not adapted to) truckloads of medications are needed to keep the meat process alive. These pharmaceuticals further contribute to the total petroleum input due to mineral mining, synthesizing, transportation, plastic for capsules, etc.
I am a flexitarian. I like meat too much that I cannot bring myself to completely become a vegetarian; however, I do understand the loss of calories and increase in inputs associated with moving up the food chain. In addition, by acquiring my eggs from a friend’s local farm, only purchasing Wisconsin dairy, eating organic, free-range or chemical free food when ever financially possible, I attempt to limit the calories of petroleum I consume. It is difficult to be vigilant but voting with my fork 3 times a day is a place to start.
Michael-
You are absolutely right, that is definitely another thing to take into consideration! There are also a number of other things as well that I didn't cover. It's great to hear that you eat local and organic whenever you can, anything makes a difference!
Also, I like the usage of "flexitarian". I've never hear that one before =)
Great post Angela!
Firstly, I'd like to admit that I am also a flexitarian, however more strict in that I eat meat once or twice a week and then it must be free-range organic.
Secondly, I've compiled a list of facts that may be of interest:
-What used to be literally 1,000's of slaughterhouses is now 13 mechanized mega-slaughterhouses, essentially hub's for disease. (Have you seen salmonella and E. coli outbreak stat.'s for the last 20 years?)
-Each fast-food hamburger patty has more than 1,000 cows in it.
-Approximately 75% of US farmland is used to produce feed for livestock(how many people could that feed?)
-Cows eat grass, chickens eat seeds and insects.
-Commercial feedlots feed cows and chickens other cows and chickens, corn, and soybeans. This corn based diet has selected a new E. coli (157H7) which has killed countless Americans (including young, innocent children).
-Vegetables harvested from fields take approximately two weeks to get to your grocer (leaving you with flavorless cellulose)
-Round-up ready crops have caused many insects and diseases to become immune to the point where other conventional pesticides/insecticides/fungicides/bacteriocides... become useless. Oh, and an antibiotic resistant strain of gonorrhea.
-Think about where food subsidies go, then look up the leading causes of diabetes, cancer, and obesity.
-75 gallons of oil = 1 steer
-A monoculture is a monoculture is a monoculture is a monoculture, commercial organics are still monocultures and should be labeled pseudo-organics.
-US food subsidies are the leading cause of food riots around the world, other farmers just can't compete.
Remember, you vote with what you buy at the grocery store, each purchase counts!
To learn more watch the films Fresh and Food, Inc.
Thanks for adding all of these facts Brian! All of the things talked about in the above posts proves that this is a big deal and makes such a big negative impact on our environment but not a lot of people have much knowledge on the subject. I know it wouldn't be realistic to ask people to not eat meat but if people could just stick to eating free range meat it could make a tremendous impact on our environment!
Great posts! For a long time, I've considered myself a V&V--vegetarian plus venison. At least I know what the venison has been eating (my vegetables).
I like the article choice! I have a few family members who are pescetarian, they eat fish, but steer clear of the other meats. Ive never asked why they chose that route, but as for myself I eat anything. More than not, I eat fish when given the choice over meat, because I like fish better then meat. I have done a little research on how much impact meat production has, but I like the facts you include and the facts in the prior post.
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