Reduced meat eating can help save environment

Reduced meat eating can help save environment

April 7, 2008
Kate Rosettie

As an active athlete, I rely on meat as a source of protein, but just how much meat do we need and at what cost to our bodies and the environment?

Meat consumption is soaring worldwide, especially in newly industrializing nations. The destructive consequences of the spread of the 'Western diet' include environmental damage, water scarcity, animal cruelty, global warming and health issues. Moreover, as meat consumption increases so does the competition for food sources that go to livestock rather than to people who already suffer from hunger in the world.

The adverse consequences of widespread livestock production are becoming increasingly problematic. According to the Compassion in World Faming Trust (CIWF), livestock production uses the greatest percentage of agricultural land, and it is depleting water supplies. Read More

The major fallacy of this argument is that everyone assumes that every acre that is grazed by animals could be converted to cropland. If we eliminated livestock production, a vast majority of the western half of the United States would become a wasted resource. Livestock are the reason we have as much food as we do. They convert sunshine into protein, which is something that the human body can not do. Unless the human body can evolve to the point that we have a rumen, livestock will be key to feeding the world.