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Adrian Antonescu
Professor Malcom Campbell
UWRT H03 1103
2 November 2019
Veganismetarianism: is it Truly Better for the Environment than a Meat Centered Diet?
by Maria Chiorando. In the referenced article, Maria takes statistics from The Vegan Society,
where they claim that the population of Vegans “has showed a huge 360% increase in Great
Britain this last decade.” Similar observations have been noticed in other areas of the world, one
of the most staggering examples being America’s 600% increase in Veganism. (Article with
quotes and proof of the growing vegetarian groups.) One of the main reasons for the rise of
media(Who?). Reports and statistics illuminate the industry in a terrible light. Whether it be the
issue of morality of breeding animals for death, the terrible living conditions, or even the effect
on the environment, the meat industry is not viewed in a positive light n impressive right now.
With all the negative developments in the meat industry like land and water waste and animal
cruelty(Provide examples), is becoming vegana vegetarian truly better for our environment when
AFirst, I will begin with agriculture is one of the most important discoveries the human
race has doneand its effect on our world. With the founding of agriculture, humans could settle
down and form towns, which lead to a myriad of new discoveries. The foundation of all our
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technology comes from the one choice of settling down. This was only obtainable with
agriculture. Farming since then has been an important part in sustaining life on earth,
but it comes with its fair share of negative consequences. A quote from Serah Wanza’s article
with agriculture is brought about by methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide, all of which are
greenhouse gases released into the Earth’s atmosphere from farming.” Methane gas is a
greenhouse gas, it pollutes our sky when it leaves the plants that are grown on farms.
All plants on earth release methane gas. Methane gas traps heat inside our atmosphere
. Carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide are also greenhouse gases with the same effects.
Methane is the king of greenhouse gases since it is 25 times more effective than carbon dioxide.
The effects of these gases are an increase of heating of the affected area., thus
large catalyst for global warming. Greenhouse gases contribute to what scientists call the
Environment and Energy proclaims that “The greenhouse effect is a natural process that warms Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt
the Earth’s surface. When the Sun’s energy reaches the Earth’s atmosphere, some of it is Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt
reflected back to space and the rest is absorbed and re-radiated by greenhouse gases.” With the
increase of greenhouse gases in our atmosphere, our earth will absorb more and more heat,
slowly raising our average temperature. The harmful warming of earth has already led to coral
reefs being destroyed and animals being negatively affected. Rising sea levels are also things to
consider when we discuss climate change. We could see our world swallowed up by water if we
do not limit climate change. Since vegans only eat vegetables and fruits, they rely on farming
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more than people with a meat inclusive diet. This can lead to an increase in farming, which can
crops. Pesticides are used on crops to protect them from being eaten and destroyed by bugs.
Pesticides are a required substance in farming to protect the food we will later consume. The side
effect from this method is that the pesticides can also harm the nearby environment and
ecosystem. Pesticides are toxic to all types of animals; this can cause the death of many animals
and ruin food chains in regions. Pesticides also pollute rivers and lakes and poison animals.
Farmers and other workers who work with pesticides can obtain “chronic diseases in
pesticides have many harmful aftereffects, they are very important for crop growth. The
pesticides prevent the crops from being eaten and destroyed by animals and bugs. We would
have a much harder time providing food for everyone if we did not use pesticides. The
unfortunate side effects of the product deeply hurt our environment, but our lives are more
loosens the top layer of soil with plant roots taking nutrients and loosening the soil.
effectively erasing the layer of topsoil. This makes the land lose nutrients and
become unfarmable for years to come. This also contributes to higher rates of erosion, which
ruins plan life in regions. After the Dust Bowl, a couple farming method became common
practice to prevent soil erosion from occurring as fast. One of these methods is called contour
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farming. The United States Department of Agriculture (USDA) has described contour farming
as, “Contour farming is farming with row patterns that run nearly level around the hill -- not up Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt
and down the hill.” More information provided by the USDA conveys that, “Contour farming
reduces sentiment and runoff while also increasing water infiltration of the soil. This greatly
increases the water quality of the soil and can reduce erosion up to 50% percent.”
Another technique to reduce topsoil erosion is crop rotation. Crop rotation is the use of 3
fields and changing the crop grown on each field every year. This prevents the soil from being
destroyed, effectively stifling the problem of soil deterioration. “This technique has been
experimented and around since the mid-19th century” says Britannica. Formatted: Superscript
vegetarian products like fruits and vegetables. Local produce can not support a vegan
community. There are not nearly enough different types of vegetables and fruits grown locally
to meet the standards of vegans. People want a variety of foods, and there is nothing
wrong with that. Due to the desire for different tastes, more vegan products are put into
over land influences our atmosphere by adding to the pollution factories excrete. The pollution
accumulated by said transportation is harmful for our planet’s atmosphere. Instead of local
industries being able to provide for a population, the increased importation and exportation of
vegan friendly foods have brought about more air pollution. This added pollution is
very small though. It does not contribute a lot to the degrading of our atmosphere. Emissions
from meat are much more harmful than a few extra trucks and boats.
For years humans have been omnivores. Meat was an integral part of our society and was
our first main source of food. Hunter gatherer tribes hunted animals and gathered berries and
fruits. Still to this day, humans consume meat at large levels. This does not come without
consequences though.
In the production of meat, fossil fuels are used. This accumulates to mass
pollution of the nearby atmosphere. Fossil fuels are not nearly as environmentally friendly as
their renewable energy counterparts like solar and wind energy. The fossil fuels can cause
damage to humans and animals, as well as contribute to the climate change of the earth. Fossil
fuels pollute our atmosphere, making air quality worse and harming humans as well as our
environment. Pollution stemming from fossil fuels has been known to cause cancer and asthma
in humans, says the Union of Concerned Scientists. They also say that rising sea levels are a
All animals, regardless of consumption let out methane into the atmosphere. This brings
up the global temperature, just like farming does. To accurately represent the amount of fossil
fuels used in the animal industry, a quote from One Green Planet conveys, “More than a third of
all raw materials and fossil fuels consumed in the United States are used in animal production.”
That’s a staggering amount, and really accentuates the degree of waste the animal industry
contributes to the world. A quote from John Robbins’ Food Revolution indicates that even a Formatted: Font: Italic
single hamburger has a large effect: “Producing a single hamburger uses enough fuel to drive 20
miles.” Putting that into perspective, a report by David Shepardson and Nick Carey claims that
the average mpg for 2017 was “24.7 miles per gallon.” This indicates that it takes almost an
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average of more than 1 gallon of gas to make only 1 hamburger. The amount of fossil fuel usage
in meat production is ridiculous. The trade off for just a little processed meat is horrible.
Creating meat for consumption has countless damaging effects on our environment. One
of these is the large consumption of water by the meat industry. Nearly half the water of the
United States goes towards raising animals (John Robbins). Considering the size of the United
States, that’s a massive amount. A quote from Marcia Kreith’s Water Inputs in California Food
Production says, “It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat and only
25 gallons to produce 1 pound of wheat.” This contrast between the 2 industries accentuates the
large amount of waste the meat industry provides. Compared to the meat industry, the waste used
in agriculture looks like a pebble on the side of the road. Animals raised for consumption release
about 130 times more excrement than the entire human race
. Animal farms pollute our waterways more than all other industrial sources combined.
Run-offs of animal waste, pesticides, chemicals, fertilizers, hormones and antibiotics contribute
to dead zones all around coastal areas, as well as contribute to the degrading of Coral Reefs (The
US Environmental Protection Agency). These pollutants are released into the environment when
breeding animals for maximum efficiency. The side effects from animal farming on the
environment is devastating and much worse than any agricultural waste. Lastly, land
consumption for meat production is nothing to scoff at either. A whooping 30% of the earths
land is used in the meat industry (The World Bank). Although this is staggering, the agricultural
industry exceeds even this percentage, with a huge 37% land usage worldwide (The
World Bank). Production of food uses about 67% of all available land on earth. Feeding the
human race is the most taxing use of land on earth. It is a necessary waste used to provide
The pollution caused by both methods of food production discussed in this article amount
to most of the pollution present in our world. Both the meat and agricultural industry greatly
pollute and harm our environment. The effects of pollution greatly damage our environment and
Although both industries are harmful, they are both essential for human life on earth. Without the
Although both industries are harmful, they are both essential for human life on earth. Without the
support from these 2 industries, humans would starve. It is a required evil so to speak.
The
meat industry takes up a lot of resources to maintain. The meat industry also centers around
breeding and killing animals. An argument against it by vegans is that killing animals for our
own consumption is immoral. Many meat eaters counter this argument by saying that in a natural
environment, animals will hunt and eat each other anyways. While both can believe in their
opinions, the facts gathered from the meat industry proves that it is incredibly wasteful.
The amount of waste accumulated from the industry, as well as the pollution sent into our
well as the pollution sent into our atmosphere and the ground is
staggering. The agriculture industry harms rivers and animal life, but not to the
degree of the meat industry. The meat industry pollutes water ways and biomes with
pesticides, antibiotics, and countless other unnatural substances that ruin the natural and organic
land. These pollutants cause deaths and illnesses in many animals. Since these animals
are not in a controlled environment, the effect on the food chain is immense. Animals can be
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wiped out due to the mass pollution. Considering all of the above consequences, the meat
To compare the meat industries counterpart, we must look at its summarized problems as
well. Farming ruins topsoil and its nutrients. While this is unfortunate, there is a way to
more efficiently farm. The 3-part farming technique (Yes, that is its incredibly
original name) helps prevent decay by rotating the use of farmland. While this is helpful for
maintaining the soil, it is still harmed over time, albeit at a much less noticeable rate.
The agriculture industry uses vehicles to transport unique products to other areas,
causing minimal pollution, not nearly as much as the meat industry does though.
Farming also releases pesticides and other chemicals into the environment, but like before, it is
Farming also releases pesticides and other chemicals into the environment, but like before, it is
environment, but like before, it is at a much lower rate. Looking at it thought waste statistics,
farming is worse for that as well. With much more water being used to product meat than for
farming, which is quite surprising. After analyzing the 2 industries, I have concluded that while
farming is harmful to our environment, the meat industry is much more damaging, to our
Conclusion:
Veganism, is it truly better for our environment? Well the answer is still not complete.
People who are vegan only eat fruits and vegetables. They do not consume anything that comes
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from any type of animal. Butter and milk are some examples. Some vegans go so far that they
will not buy animal clothing products. Vegan boots are a real thing. So, Vegans have completely
cut out anything meat related in their lives. Their goal to not consume meat has seemed to
permeate regular society though. According to reports from the World Preservation Foundation
(WPF), “Meat consumption has decreased about 9% since 2004.” Whether this is due to the
increase in veganism in America, or people being influenced to eat less meat, is yet to be seen.
Alone 1 vegan can’t really make the environment better, but a large amount of them can make a
difference. Being vegan is much healthier for the earth’s environment, but without a large group,
meat will continue to be produced at the same level it has been for years. This is not the case,
though, as information from the WPF claims that “Annual per capita red meat consumption in
the U.S fell 15% to 101 pounds in the past 10 years, according to the U.S Department of
Agriculture.” This means that enough people have stopped buying meat that the actual
companies will not be able to sell all their production. This reduces the amount of waste and
pollution the meat industry pushes out, making becoming vegan much more important and
efficient to our environment than it was before. The only real problem that comes from
veganism, is the lack of protein vegans receive. In younger people, this can be damaging to their
bodies and cause massive weight loss in some circumstances. It can also stunt the growth of
teens and children. These consequences can be offset with a delicately planned schedule.
Based on all the information I have accumulated in this essay, I believe that currently,
being a vegan is healthier for the environment than having a meat centric diet. The negatives of
the meat industry are too large and devastating to the environment.
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https://www.plantbasednews.org/culture/veganism-skyrockets-by-600-in-america-over-3-
Horrigan, Leo. Robert, S. Lawrence, and Polly, Walker. “How sustainable agriculture can
address the environmental and human health harms of industrial agriculture.” Academic
Mitloenher, Frank. “Yes, eating meat affects the environment, but cows are not killing the
Mostafalou, Sara, and Mohammad Abdollahi. “Pesticides and Human Chronic Diseases:
2019.
One, Green, Planet. “Facts on Animal Farming and the Environment.” Blog, One Green Planet
Organization. 2012,
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/facts-on-animal-farming-and-the- Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt
The, World, Bank. “Agricultural land (% of land area).” Statistics, The World Bank. 2016,
https://data.worldbank.org/indicator/AG.LND.AGRI.ZS. Accessed 3 Nov. 2019 Formatted: Font: (Default) Times New Roman, 12 pt
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Shepardson, David. “U.S. Vehicle Fuel Economy Rises to Record 24.7 Mpg: EPA.” Reuters,
vehicle-fuel-economy-rises-to-record-24-7-mpg-epa-idUSKBN1F02BX. Accessed 4
USDA. “Natural Resources Conservation Service.” Contour Farming | NRCS New Jersey,
https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/nrcs/detail/nj/technical/cp/?cid=nrcs141p2_018675