Environmental effects of meat consumption

By: Emilia Jaeger Rodriguez

Most of us eat meat every day, maybe in the form of a Big Mac or a fancy steak, but most of us don’t stop to think about how something as simple as our lunch can have an effect on the environment. The fact of the matter is that scientists have been encouraging more plant-based diets for years due to the damage meat production has caused our earth.

One huge issue with the amount of meat we consume in western countries is that raising cattle wastes a lot of land. With steadily growing cities and more demand for natural resources such as wood, we’re cutting down more and more forests each day, we don’t need to destroy more important habitats to raise cattle on top of all that. Producing red meat takes up 75% more farmland than producing fruits and vegetables does since animals need space to roam. Additionally, more crops need to be grown in order to feed the cattle, resulting in having to cut down even more forests.

Another concern is the amount of waste cows and other cattle produce during their lives. Cows consume 30-50 gallons of water and eat at least 24 pounds of cow feed each day, meaning they produce tons of sewage daily. The animal waste is sometimes used as fertilizer for crops or dumped on the farm. The waste eventually flows off into rivers and then lakes or oceans, polluting the water and causing a decline in marine species.

Meat processing and even cattle themselves are also responsible for a significant amount of our greenhouse gas emissions. 26% of greenhouse gases are caused by agriculture and 78% of that is due to meat production. Meat factories operate by burning large amounts of fossil fuels, releasing more carbon dioxide into our atmosphere each day. Farm animals, such as cows, goats, and sheep also produce large amounts of methane due to their inefficient digestive processes that cannot properly convert the food they eat into energy and body weight. Since we raise such excessive amounts of cattle for food, the methane they emit is enough to significantly impact our temperature.

Considering how meat can affect our environment, what is the best solution? Meat is still very important for our health and vegetarianism is not a viable option for everyone, the best solution is for people to start moving towards a more plant-based diet, where most of what we eat consists of fruits and vegetables but we still eat enough meat to be healthy (and for enjoyment). Less demand for meat is essential for our earth as temperatures continue to rise and we see more effects of climate change.