Running head: HOLY COW!

Holy Cow! The Environmental Effects of Animal Agriculture

Charlotte V. Horne

Legal Studies Academy

First Colonial High School

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Abstract

In this research paper, the author outlines and discusses the environmental effects of animal

agriculture. Statistical evidence and research is presented to show the detrimental harm caused to

the environment by the animal agriculture industry. The paper goes in depth discussing rainforest

deforestation, water pollution, air pollution, and overfishing practices, and includes many studies

done by professionals in the field. The author then goes on to expose the animal agriculture

industry in its current practices by providing information on what livestock endures in their

lifetime of living on a factory farm. Then, court cases and laws regarding malpractice and hidden

operations in the animal agriculture industry are analyzed. The cases reveal inhumane practices

by farming operations and show how the United States government protects and defends the

animal agriculture industry for financial gain. Finally, a plant based diet is identified as the most

effective solution to slow global warming and climate change. The author urges the population to

examine their eating habits and make a difference with what they put on their plates.
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Holy Cow!: The Environmental Effects of Animal Agriculture

In the last few decades, there has been a drastic increase in average temperatures

globally, and they are predicted to continue to rise ​(Hansel, 2018). ​When climate change is

spoken about, it is common to turn our attention towards the use of resources, nonrenewable

energy sources, and large amounts of water. What is often not referred to is animal agriculture.

Animal agriculture is responsible for more than half of human-caused climate change (DiCaprio,

Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014). ​The​ “Livestock’s Long Shadow”​ report of 2006 shed light on the

animal agriculture industry and its effect on the environment. It found that the animal agriculture

industry does more harm to the environment than the global transportation sector ​(Bristow,

2011). This is shocking information, considering how much blame is put on cars, trains, and

planes for polluting the environment. What’s even more shocking is that ​the animal agriculture

sector is responsible for nearly one fifth of all greenhouse gas emissions, but if all of the factors

that go into the maintenance of livestock are considered, it totals to over half of global emissions

(Hansel, 2018).

The article, “Global Farm Animal Production and Global Warming: Impacting and

Mitigating Climate Change” is written by Gowri Koneswaran and Danielle Nierenberg. It is a

scholarly journal from the original work, ​Environmental Health Perspectives,​ published in 2008.

In this article, the authors discuss statistics regarding the environmental effects of animal

agriculture, including global temperature rise, deforestation, and harmful greenhouse gas

emissions. The authors argue that animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change and

needs to be taken more seriously. Greenhouse gases are the main focus of the article, including

the effects of carbon and methane emissions. It is revealed that methane and nitrogen oxide gas
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are even more harmful than carbon dioxide and are being released in bountiful amounts by

factory farms. The methane and nitrogen gas are coming from animal waste and as a byproduct

of animal digestive processes. One animal alone does not produce very much, but when the

emissions from the masses of livestock around the globe are added up, it rapidly accumulates. In

Darfur and Sudan, the people are blaming the masses of farm animals for lack of clean drinking

water, deforestation, and desertification. Parts of these countries are even being deemed as

uninhabitable. These issues are definitely presenting themselves in Darfur and Sudan, but also

around the world. The authors suggest that to mitigate this, the human population needs to

decrease their consumption of animal based products. One way to encourage people to do this is

to implement full cost pricing. This means factoring the whole price, including environmental

degradation, into the price of a product ​(Koneswaran & Nierenberg, 2008). Using this method,

the price of meat would increase greatly, and plant-based foods like fruits and vegetables would

decrease in price.

As part of the “next food revolution,” people around the world, in developed and

developing countries, are consuming staggering amounts of meat and livestock-based products.

In fact, according to Nicholson (2001), a senior research associate at Cornell University, meat

consumption has risen by 87% in developing countries. This amount is only predicted to increase

(Nicholson et al., 2001). The way the people of the world are eating is not sustainable, and there

will be consequences if it continues. As the population continues to grow, consumption of

livestock-based products will stay on the rise. The damages of this diet on our environment could

be irreversible and potentially deadly. ​Different aspects of the animal agriculture industry

threaten the well-being of the environment and promote global climate change by contributing to
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rainforest deforestation, polluting and depleting water sources, contaminating the air, and

overfishing.

How Does Animal Agriculture Cause Climate Change?

The effects of animal agriculture can have devastating and irreversible consequences for

the environment and its ecological well being. Four of these pressing issues are rainforest

deforestation, water pollution and depletion, air pollution, and overfishing.

Rainforest Deforestation

According to National Geographic, if the current rate of depletion continues, the

rainforests of Earth could be completely gone within the next 100 years​ ​(Garlow, 2014). ​When

looking at the cause for deforestation, the effects of farming animals should be considered

because it makes up close to 100% of the cause ​(DiCaprio, Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014). ​The

animal agriculture industry contributes greatly to climate change because it is the largest user of

land, resulting in deforestation and destruction of important ecosystems ​(DiCaprio, Andersen, &

Kuhn, 2014). With the destruction of important ecosystems, the species of the forest are often

exterminated. The depletion of rainforest habitats results in rapid loss of biodiversity (World

Animal Foundation, 2019). Biodiversity is extremely important because every species has a

purpose and a role to play in nature. If our world’s species start to go extinct because of loss of

their habitat, the whole ecosystem will be out of balance. ​Farmers not only clear rainforests to

graze livestock, but they also have to clear land to grow the crops they need to feed livestock

(Garlow, 2014). The loss of land that results from livestock farming is also because of the
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amount of food they eat, not just the space they take up. Livestock consumes 70% of the grain

grown in the United States (Pittman, 2016). If the world’s population was being fed with plant

based sources, substantially less land would be used for agriculture. According to the World

Animal Foundation, ​“It takes 20 times less land to feed someone on a plant based diet than it

does to feed meat eaters” (“Animal agriculture,” 2019).

Water Pollution and Depletion

Plastic straws are not the main source polluting our oceans and killing our marine

species; the meat on the dinner table is. The oil spills that are widely televised on news stations

are only a fraction of the problem compared to animal agriculture. ​Animal agriculture causes

more water pollution than any other source of pollution in the world, including the oil industry

and plastic pollution ​(Hendrickson, 2014). ​The EPA has officially stated that animal agriculture

is the biggest contributor to water pollution in the United States, and this is especially a problem

in areas where there are large amounts of growing agriculture or large amounts of livestock in a

confined space ​(The Humane Society of the United States, n.d.). Even though livestock farms are

not present in every area, their harmful repercussions on the world’s water supply affects the

whole population. One of the main problems with animal agriculture is the use of manure

lagoons. ​Manure lagoons are huge pools of liquefied animal waste that can affect the water table.

They often pollute groundwater as well as surface water. There have been reports of these pools

overflowing and killing huge populations of fish and aquatic species ​(The Humane Society of the

United States, n.d.). These manure lagoons are commonly found in animal production facilities

called CAFOs (concentrated animal feeding operations). ​“To qualify as a medium CAFO, a

facility must also discharge pollutants into U.S. waters” either directly or indirectly, which then
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come into contact with the animal housed in the facility ​(The Humane Society of the United

States, n.d.).​ In addition to polluting the water supply, the livestock industry uses copious

amounts of water for the animals and to water the crops used to feed the animals. According to

Hendrickson, every year, the animal agriculture industry alone uses 34-76 trillion gallons of

water for the upkeep of livestock and production of meat and dairy products (2014). By

supporting the animal agriculture industry by continuing to consume meat and dairy products,

the population is contributing to this travesty. Just one gallon of milk or one burger is going to

make a difference. One gallon of milk takes more than 1000 gallons of water to produce

(DiCaprio, Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014). A great amount of water can be saved by not eating

animal products rather than by trying to cut back on water usage in homes. To put it in

perspective, a documentary produced by DiCaprio, Andersen, and Kuhn revealed the shocking

statistic, ​“Eating one hamburger is the equivalent of showering two entire months” (2014).

Air Pollution

The practices of the animal agriculture industry and livestock themselves release a

plethora of different harmful gases into Earth’s fragile atmosphere, the air that we breathe every

second of the day. The main reason that animal agriculture has such a large impact on the

atmosphere is because of the large quantity of animal waste on farms. The harmful chemical

compounds in animal waste contribute to global warming and air pollution issues. The most

prominent of the gases released are nitrogen, ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and volatile organic

compounds ​(The Humane Society of the United States, n.d.). According to Schwartz in 5 Facts

About Animal Agriculture and Air Pollution That You Just Can’t Argue With (2016),

“Specifically, ​livestock​ accounts for an estimated nine percent of global carbon dioxide
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emissions, 35 to 40 percent of global methane emissions, and 65 percent of nitrous oxide

emissions.” The percentage is so high because greenhouse gases are not just released from the

act of raising the livestock themselves, but also from other ways that the animal agriculture

industry indirectly pollutes the environment. For example, carbon and methane, the most

destructive of all of the greenhouse gases, are released directly into the atmosphere by animal

waste and digestive processes, but are also emitted by the burning of fossil fuels to produce

fertilizer used for animal feed, the use of fossil fuels during animal product production, the use of

fossil fuels to transport animals, etc (United Nations, 2006). The continued release of toxic gases

is not just harmful to the environment, but it is also harmful to Earth’s inhabitants. Living near a

farm can be detrimental to both residents mental and physical health. Farmers often spray liquid

manure into the air, causing an unbearable stench and airborne bacteria to be released into the

atmosphere. Unfortunately, the people who often live near farms do not have the funds to

relocate to a better and safer location. They are forced to live out their lives day to day being

affected by the po​lluted air. Schwartz (2016) outlines the physical dangers of the gases released

by the practices in animal agriculture. Health concerns from general air pollution include

“respiratory irritation, bronchitis, lung inflammation, dust toxic syndrome, asthma, and possibly

cardiac arrest.” Ammonia emissions can cause “dizziness, eye irritation, respiratory illness, and

nausea.” Elevated ​hydrogen sulfide​ levels can result in “sore throats, seizures, coma, and even

death.” “According to the ​Centers for Disease Control​ (CDC), children raised in communities

near factory farms are more likely to develop asthma or bronchitis” (Schwartz, 2016).

Greenhouse gases are killing our planet and its inhabitants, but a blind eye seems to be turned to

one of the main culprits.

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Overfishing and Our Oceans

When fishing is imagined in one’s mind, it is often a picture of a fisherman on a small

wooden boat, sitting in a chair waiting for his catch of the day. This couldn’t be further from the

truth of modern day fishing practices. New technologies and innovations in the fishing industry

have allowed fishermen to harvest marine life at a rate faster than ever before. The marine

population is unable to keep up with the amount of depletion. Overfishing occurs when the wild

fish population is not able to replenish itself given the rapid rate of catching by the industry. The

problem has gotten so serious that oceans without fish will be a problem in the near future

because of the extent of overfishing. The fish population is at a major decline ​(DiCaprio,

Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014). To put the issue into perspective, the world’s oceans are actually

being cleared faster than all of the rainforests (Vegan Outreach, 2018). Fish are not the only

species that is being killed by the fishing industry. ​Many other species, including those that are

endangered, are killed by getting caught in fishing nets. This is known as bycatch and it is killing

major marine species ​(DiCaprio, Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014). “Over the past twenty years, an

estimated 85,000 sea turtles have been killed as bycatch.16 Additionally, an estimated 300,000

marine mammals, 160,000 albatross and 3 million sharks are lost to bycatch from fishing

practices each year” (Hill, n.d.). Fishing creates a world of other problems, including the

destruction of aquatic ecosystems through unsustainable methods performed by the fishing

industry. Marine habitats get destroyed through practices such as dredging, where the entire sea

floor is cleared in order to harvest a large amount of sea life. Seafloor trawling completely

obliterates anything in its path. It destroys coral, oysters, and sponges that are all part of the

natural ecosystem (Hill, n.d.). Another harmful method of catching is known as blast fishing.
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Blast fishing is a method used to catch a large amount of fish in the most efficient way possible.

Fishermen throw dynamite into the water to disable the fish so they have no defense

mechanisms. They float to the surface and are harvested very easily. This method not only hurts

the fish, but it destroys the coral reefs or oyster beds in the surrounding area (Hill, n.d.).

The Horrifying Reality of Present Day Animal Agriculture

Animal agriculture is no longer cows and pigs roaming free on expansive fields of green

grass and being cared for by a kind farmer. The truth is, this style of farming is now outdated and

is rarely the reality of what happens on farms. ​There is so much competition in the animal

agriculture industry that farmers have to go to extreme measures to output enough of their

product. If farmers slow down to keep the animals in mind and treat them with kindness, they

will be left behind in the industry.

The farming process starts with the transportation of the livestock. ​When animals are

transplanted, they stand in a crowded space, filled with animal waste and the corpses of other

animals who didn’t make it (Vegan Outreach, 2018). This can lead to extreme sickness and

disease in the animals. Of all of the animals that are factory farmed, chickens likely go through

the most torture. “Over 95 percent of U.S. land animals killed for food are birds, yet they are

exempt from the federal Humane Methods of Slaughter Act and there is no federal law requiring

they be handled humanely” (Vegan Outreach, 2018). This means that birds have virtually no

rights to humane treatment and are killed in ways that inflict intense pain and suffering because

their needs as basic living things are completely ignored. ​Chickens suffer from many health

problems because of the amount of waste they are living in, their diets, and the inability to move.
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The amount of ammonia present in bird sheds causes burning and pain to the animal’s skin, eyes,

and respiratory tract. Chickens’ beaks are cut off to prevent fighting, an operation that is done

without pain medication. The birds are sometimes unable to eat and they die from starvation.

These terrible acts of torture happen only to hens. This is because the egg industry only wants

hens who can produce a product for them. So, when male chicks are born, they are immediately

gassed or ground up alive in a macerator (Vegan Outreach, 2018).

Cows are protected under the Humane Methods of Slaughter Act, but from leaked video

footage and undercover investigations, it has been revealed that the laws are often not being

followed. Due to the high demand of milk, some cows break down and stop producing. This

results in them being slaughtered because they are no longer useful. The meat and dairy industry

are directly tied because even though milk is the product in the dairy industry, they still

participate in the slaughtering of animals. ​Even baby calves go through extreme suffering, and

they are often killed soon after birth for veal. Calves are kept in extreme conditions and undergo

painful procedures. After all that these animals have endured throughout their lives, they don’t

get an easy way out. Before slaughter, animals are stunted by an electric current, but it often

takes more than one try, resulting in immense pain (Vegan Outreach, 2018). The practices that

go on behind closed doors are shocking, but they are often overlooked by the people who don’t

see the bacon on their plate as an innocent animal.

Court Cases and Laws

Over the past few decades, the environmental consequences of animal agriculture have

often gone unnoticed. In some cases, third parties have voiced their concerns about the harm that

large factory farming operations have had on the environment. In the cases of ​United States v.
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Sinskey​ and ​Sierra Club Inc. v. Tyson Foods Inc​., large factory farms have been caught in the act

of causing pollution. Ag-Gag laws, Right-to-Farm Laws, Animal Cruelty Laws, and the Food

Disparagement Law help to demonstrate the strong hold that the animal agriculture industry has

on our world.

United States v. Sinskey

The case, ​United States v. Sinskey,​ is a case regarding a violation of the Clean Water Act.

Sinskey and Kumm were illegally discharging large amounts of waste into the Big Sioux River

from their meat packing plant in Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Sinskey and Kumm attempted to

reduce the amount of ammonia nitrogen in the water they were discharging by putting it through

a wastewater treatment plant (WWTP). The meat packing plant was required to only have a

certain level of ammonia nitrogen in the water and to test the water weekly. When the packing

plant doubled the number of pigs it slaughtered, the waste levels naturally went up. Since they

didn’t want the EPA to shut down their plant for exceeding the levels of ammonia nitrate, they

had to hide it. The plant would only test water early in the week before all of the waste was

released and performed “selective sampling,” only using samples that reflected the results they

wanted. By manipulating the tests, the levels of ammonia nitrogen were seen as substantially

lower than they really were. Sinskey and Kumm were caught for their actions and convicted.

The EPA sets regulations for how much ammonia nitrogen can be in wastewater under

the Clean Water Act. The WWTP’s (wastewater treatment plan) role was to reduce that nitrogen.

This shows that farmers and factory farm owners find ways to skirt around the rules and don’t

always follow the environmental regulations put in place by the EPA. ​Sinskey was convicted of

violating the Clean Water Act ("U.S. v. Sinskey," 2015).

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Sierra Club Inc. v. Tyson Foods Inc.

In the case of ​Sierra Club Inc. v. Tyson Foods Inc.​ , the chicken processing company,

Tyson, did not report ammonia emissions coming from their production farms. On farms,

ammonia emissions come from animal waste. The prosecutors argued that the chicken

production facilities produced an amount of waste that was harmful to the environment.

CERCLA and EPCRA require that facilities report the harmful emissions that they are releasing,

but the prosecution argued that Tyson failed to do so. ​The prosecutor's argument stated, “Tyson

Chicken, Inc. is an operator and thus liable under CERCLA for the unreported ammonia releases

occurring at the chicken production facilities” (Sierra Club Inc. v. Tyson Foods Inc., 2003). The

defense argued that, “The Defendants are not required to report ammonia releases from chicken

production operations because it is used in routine agricultural operations” (Sierra Club Inc. v.

Tyson Foods Inc., 2003). They believed that the release of harmful chemical emissions were part

of the normal farming procedures, and therefore were not required to be reported. It was decided

that the arguments of the defendant (Tyson) were void because there was not enough evidence.

The court said they would review the case again if they brought more evidence to the table

(Sierra Club Inc. v. Tyson Foods Inc., 2003).

Ag-Gag Laws

Much of the world’s population has seen those terrifying videos of animals being tortured

and slaughtered in ways that are inhumane and extremely gory. ​In recent years, undercover

investigations at various American factory farms have revealed horrifying images of animal

torture and malpractice. Ag-Gag laws are laws that prohibit the filming, distribution, and

possession of content recorded in agricultural facilities. Ag-Gag laws are used to prevent the
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public from seeing what goes on inside factory farms, including pollution and animal cruelty, in

order to sustain profits and avoid rebellion against the animal agriculture industry. Although

these laws are powerful, many animal activist groups have been successful in winning cases and

getting the laws struck down because they violate the First Amendment and a consumer’s right

to know where their food is coming from (Piper, 2019).

Animal Cruelty Laws

Pollution from animal agriculture is the biggest problem on large CAFOs where animals

are often abused and mistreated. ​If we applied animal cruelty laws to agricultural animals, it

would slow down the production of animal products and contribute to less pollution. It is clear

that factory farming has irreversible, terrible effects on the environment that directly harm us. If

we slowed down the rapid processing of livestock, there would be less environmental

consequences. When livestock are cared for properly, there is more concern about the

environment they are living in and the waste they are producing. If animals were given better

living conditions and treated like living, breathing, creatures, the amount of emissions coming

from animal farming operations would decrease. Factory farmers get around animal cruelty laws

easily by lobbying. When these laws are strictly enforced, the animals will be better off, as well

as our environment ​(Landis-Marinello, 2008).

In their scholarly journal regarding the environmental effects of animal cruelty, Landis-Marinello

(2008) states:

Factory farming as we know it--and its devastating environmental effects--would

not be possible if we were to criminalize cruelty to agricultural animals. That is

why this multi-billion-dollar industry spends so many resources lobbying

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legislatures and agencies to leave their practices unregulated. As soon as

government steps in and requires factory farms to treat their animals

appropriately--for instance, by providing each animal with adequate space to

roam--these farms will not be able to raise nearly as many animals. Production

will thus decrease, which will mitigate the environmental damage wrought by

factory farms. Fewer agricultural animals will necessarily translate to less

methane and other greenhouse gas emissions, less water consumption and

pollution, and less erosion of topsoil. These and other environmental benefits all

flow directly from decreasing production on factory farms. (Landis-Marinello,

2008)

Right-To-Farm Laws

Right-to-Farm laws were put into place in the 1970s as people from urban areas began

moving to rural regions near agricultural farms. Residents began to complain about the farms

that they were living near because they made their lives unpleasant. Right-To-Farm Laws make

it unlawful to report nuisances such as sights and smells that come from farms (Tovar, 2019).

Water and air pollution are protected under Right-to-Farm Laws, and therefore can not be

reported (Richardson, 2011). Farmers can carry out their duties without any interference because

of these laws. This makes it virtually impossible for complaints from residents to hold up in

court if there was ever a concern about pollution from farming operations.

Food Disparagement Law

The Food Disparagement Law is a law that states that you can be found guilty if you

negatively affect the amount of money that the animal agriculture industry brings in. ​“If you
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cause a disruption in the profits of the animal industry, you’re guilty under the Patriot Act”

(Lyman, 2014). ​You can be found guilty under the Animal Enterprise Terrorism Act for speaking

out against the animal agriculture industry and causing a disturbance in the amount of money

they take in (DiCaprio, Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014). The animal agriculture industry is able to hide

and keep their practices secret because activists will be silenced if they try to speak out against

them ("Disparagement Law," 2019). An example of this law in action is the case of Oprah

Winfrey and Howard Lyman. Winfrey and Lyman had a segment on the Oprah show where they

talked about the harm of eating meat, in light of the “mad cow disease” incident. It was proven

that bovine spongiform encephalopathy (BSE), also known as “mad cow disease,” was linked to

brain disease. Winfrey and Lyman spoke out about the danger of eating meat during this time,

and Oprah exclaimed that she was stopped from eating another burger. Winfrey and Lyman were

sued under the Food Disparagement Law for their comments. Winfrey and Lyman won the case

in court, which proved to be a win for free speech in America (Duignan, n.d.).

The Solution to the Problem: Plant Based Eating

Can plants save the world? Experts have proved that plants may be the answer.

Researchers at Oxford University have officially stated that switching to plant based eating, also

called the vegan diet, is the best thing you can do for the planet to slow climate change. In an

article by author, Jemima Webber, she stated, “In September 2018, the ​United Nations

Environment Programme​ (UNEP) named meat ‘the world’s most urgent problem.’ UNEP stated:

‘Our use of animals as a food-production technology has brought us to the verge of

catastrophe.’” “A 2016 study published in the journal Proceedings of National Academy of

Sciences found that the world’s food-related emissions would drop by 70 percent by 2050 if
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everyone decided to go vegan” (Webber, 2019). The production of beef releases six times more

greenhouse gas emissions than farming peas, a common vegan protein source found in many

imitation meat products, and It takes 75 times more energy to produce meat than corn (Webber,

2019). A diet devoid of animal products can help slow the effects of climate change by

decreasing greenhouse gas emissions​. Specifically, vegans save close to 2 tons of carbon dioxide

every year ​(DiCaprio, Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014). Statistically, the evidence is alarming. ​“Every

day, vegans save 1100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq feet of forest, 10 pounds of

CO2 and one animal’s life” ​(DiCaprio, Andersen, & Kuhn, 2014).

Conclusion

From overwhelming evidence collected by researchers in environmental science and

agriculture and various government agencies around the world, it is clear that animal agriculture

is a major threat to the planet and the individual well being of the people. If consumption of

livestock-based products continues at this rate, the population will suffer the consequences in the

years to come. Earth’s inhabitants must take action to slow climate change and resist a disaster

stricken society. It is the responsibility of the people to act swiftly and efficiently. A plant based

diet can drastically reduce a person’s carbon footprint and promote the well being of the

environment and the individual themselves. The people shall embrace a plant based lifestyle to

save the earth for today and the future.

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