Animal Waste & the Enviornment
Waste from Pigs & Cows has been very detrimental to the enviornment. It is impossible to talk about the Environment without talking about how the animals people raise for food, have a very big impact on it.
The EPA states: "By definition, AFOs produce large amounts of waste in small areas. For example, a single dairy cow produces approximately 120 pounds of wet manure per day. Estimates equate the waste produced per day by one dairy cow to that of 20-40 humans per day." - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency "Animal Waste Management: What's the Problem?"
States alot is effected by animal waste and growing animal feed. Here are just a few the FAO mentions; "Soil erosion, Reduction in the availability of irrigation water, Greenhouse gas production (nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide), Nitrogen, phosphorus, and pesticide contamination of water through run-off from fields, Contamination of surface waters, Greenhouse gas production (nitrous oxide and methane), Acid rain and forest damage from ammonia emissions."
Again, those are just a few the FAO mentions."
The Sierra Club, did a two year study of animal waste and the environment. The following is just a two of the many things they observed; "134 million pounds of contaminated and potentially contaminated meat and massive water pollution resulting from millions of gallons of animal feces and urine flowing into waterways"
This is obviously a problem. Raising animals for feed does many things. Not only does it destroy the environment, the food fed to these animals could feed alot more people than what meat the animal produces.
Vegan Outreach states; "Intensive pig farms have made the air so unbearable in some rural communities that some residents must wear masks while outdoors. Poultry and pig waste has contributed to the growth of pathogenic organisms in waterways, which have poisoned humans and killed millions of fish. From 1995 to 1997, more than forty animal waste spills killed 10.6 million fish."
The Toronto Vegetarian Association states; "For those concerned with global warming, deforestation, desertification, water and air pollution, soil erosion and the destruction of habitat areas including rainforests, a plant-based diet is the single most significant contribution an individual can make to help minimize these ecological disasters." from Meat-eating environmentalist? How can that be?
Our environment is not the only thing that is effected. Vegan.com states; "A study released on May 7, 1999 found that people living near large hog farms in North Carolina suffer significantly higher levels of upper respiratory and gastrointestinal ailments than people living near other farming areas." Full Article
"Meat and Poultry Meat and poultry production requires large amounts of water and causes 20 percent of the common (as opposed to toxic) water pollution related to consumer expenditure. It also uses a significant share of the nation's land--800 million acres for grazing livestock and an additional 60 million acres to grow animal feed. Red meat causes especially high amounts of environmental damage for the nutrition it delivers." 'Nucleus' The Magazine of the 'Union of Concerned Scientists'
"Dairy cows have overtaken automobiles as the No. 1 air polluter in parts of California, according to a Los Angeles Times article. A New York Times editorial discussed "the eye-stinging, nose-burning smell of cattle congestion in rural California," acknowledging that something had to be done. What nobody wants to say, in this land of milk and cookies, isthat we shouldn't be drinking cow's milk."
"In response to a three million gallon manure spill from a dairy farm, the Friday, August 19, New York Times includes an editorial headed; "How to Poison a River"
Harvest.org states; "Annually, 1.4 billion tons of farm animal wastes are produced in the United States.8 Together with animal feed production, meat production is responsible for the emissions of nitrogen and phosphorus, pesticide contamination of water, heavy metal contamination of soil, and acid rain from ammonia emissions. In addition, in the United States, a quarter of all the human-induced production of the greenhouse gas, methane, comes from farm animals and their waste products."
All4Vegan.net asks "If you could...reduce pollution, conserve resources, prevent illness, extend life, save money, and rescue animals, all in one simple step... wouldn't you take it?"
How would you answer that question?
So what should we do? It is pretty obvious. First we should change our eating habits. Secondly the food that we feed to animals, should be given to humans that need it. Giving it to animals is a waste. "One third of the world's cereal harvest is fed to farm animals." - International Vegetarian Union (IVU) read more; 1 2
offers the following extensive infromation on their website
Provided by FARM (Farm Animal Reform Movement) is a 501(c)(3) national, tax-exempt, educational organization advocating a plant-based diet and humane treatment of farmed animals through eight grassroots programs. We operate from the nation's capital through a grassroots network of more than one thousand volunteer activists in all 50 states and two dozen other countries."
Animal Waste and Environment
Animal agriculture exterminates wildlife and devastates their habitats, depletes groundwater, pollutes waterways,
fouls the air, and denies food to the hungry. Kicking the meat habit empowers each of us to play a vital role in preserving the health
of our planet - "one bite at a time."
Plundering the Land
Raising animals for food levels lush forestland, and turns it into pastures. When the grass is depleted, the pastures are plowed under, poisoned with pesticides, and turned into feed croplands. Without the cover of trees and grass the soil is eroded by wind and rain and the land becomes a desert. This vicious cycle is chiefly responsible for the desertification of vast areas of the Middle East and North Africa.Today, cattle grazing is turning large tracts of federal land in western states into desert. It also accounts for most of the devastation of the Amazon Forest, which houses 30% of the world's animal and plant species. Kicking the meat habit would return over 90% of this land to wildlife, recreation, and conservation.
Polluting the Waters
Demand for animal feed exploits arid land that requires irrigation, accounting for more than 80% of all water use and for acute water shortages in the western states. Animal waste and feed croplands dump more pollutants into our waterways than all other human activities combined. These include soil particles, salts, fertilizers, manure, organic debris, and pesticides. These pollutants kill large numbers of aquatic organisms in rivers, lakes, and oceans, and make them unfit for recreation or drinking. Nitrates from animal waste cesspools seep into groundwater supplies making them unfit for drinking. Kicking the meat habit would provide ample clean water for drinking, aquatic habitats, and recreation.
Fouling the Air
Wind erosion from feed cropland is the largest source of airborne particles, which inflame the respiratory tract lining and make us susceptible to respiratory disorders. Farmed animals also produce methane and nitrous oxide, which contribute to global warming. Their waste generates toxic ammonia, hydrogen sulfide, and other emissions, which make life unbearable for neighbors of factory farms.
Kicking the meat habit would put a stop to this outrage.
Exterminating Wildlife
Animal agriculture is waging a vicious and relentless war on wildlife.
Beyond their massive destruction of habitats, ranchers shoot, trap, poison, drown, and burn alive tens of thousands of bison, bears, wolves, coyotes, prairie dogs, and blackbirds. Kicking the meat habit would save countless numbers of wildlife.
Denying the Hungy
More than 60% of the grains and soybeans raised in the U.S. are fed to animals, rather than to the world's 840 million starving people.
A mere 10% reduction in our meat consumption would free up the foodstuffs to feed the 24,000 people who die each day of hunger related causes.
Internet Resources
Please keep in mind, there are MANY environmental and animal welfare organizations that promote hunting and other such things you may not agree with. RESEARCH before you support any organization. A few of these such organizations are; World Wildlife Fund , Natural Resources Defense Council , Environmental Defense, Sierra Clib and The Nature Conservancy. Go to Green Wash & Wildlife Pimps which are both run by P.E.T.A for more information.
offers the following on their website;
In 2003, 253 million tons of meat were produced. Only for Switzerland, this figure amounts to 600'000 tons. In Switzerland, the quantative consumption of meat has already surpassed the one of bread (this has probably happened in other countries as well). This fact has enormous ecological as well as economical consequences worldwide. Unfortunately, these consequences do not receive much attention.
Liquid manure causes dying of forests
The latest scientific research indicates clearly that today's mass keeping of livestock is one of the main causes of the dying of forests. Biologist Dr. Hans Mohr states in "Spektrum der Wissenschaft" of January 1994:
"An essential insight gained by ten years of research on forest damage is that atmospheric amounts of nitrogen and especially ammonium nitrogen, which first of all stems from agriculture, must be reduced. [...] The disposal of the steadily increasing quantity of liquid manure and human excrements remains the cardinal problem."
Nowadays, human excrements are for the most part being disposed of by sewage plants; animal excrements, however, are still being poured respectively sprayed onto the fields. The result of this is that nitrogen (N) in the form of ammonia (NH3), which is today considered to be mainly responsible for the dying of forests, is being caused to 85% by the emissions of livestock.Nitrogen, actually an essential nutrient for meadows, forests and life in the water, can lead to over-fertilization if available in excess. This was noticed too late because forests would first grow faster with high nitrogen supply and react with first damages only when the soil was over-saturated with nitrogen.
In 1992, the research committee of the German Bundestag on the topic «Preservation of earth atmosphere» reached the same conclusion. Regarding ammonia (NH3), they published in «Climatic changes threaten national development»:
"The NH3-emissions are nationally (FRG), continentally (Western Europe) and globally to be assigned to 90% to agriculture and to 80% to the keeping of livestock. 528'000 tons of NH3 are emitted annually in the Federal Republic of Germany. Ammonia is found and starts in the stable area, on the pasture as well as when storing and bringing out organic fertilizer. [...] Ammonia and nitrogen release could be decreased by reducing the number of livestock, changes in feeding and reduction of bringing out liquid manure. [...] This would be desirable not only in ecological, but also in economical respects."
To get a picture of economical consequences of the dying of forests, these consequences were calculated taking as an example the Swiss resort of Davos: Partial deforestation of local forests would therefore cause appr. SFr. 267 mio. of resulting costs, a complete deforestation would cost appr. SFr. 508 mio. Even if all steeper areas of forest would have to be replaced by avalanche barriers, it would cause costs of SFr. 415 mio.
Destruction of water
Ammonia does not only have terrible consequences for forests, but als for water. Over-fertilization causes among other things an unnatural growth of algae, which in turn extract oxygen from the water. Animal-factories, which nowadays work independent of soil, produce such an amount of liquid manure that ground water is being seriously threatened.[ For example, the Swiss lake of Sempach as well as the lake of Baldegg are given artificial respiration with a huge oxygen blower. About 50% of water pollution in Europe is caused by mass keeping of livestock. Nitrate from agriculture has already today penetrated so deep into the ground water that some of the mineral water labels no longer comply with guiding values for drinking water. In the USA, the share of agriculture on water pollution is already bigger than all cities and industries together!
Animal protection
"humanes" battles
There is only animals
Fish
Life expectancy of the animals
Environment
The Ecological and Economical Consequences OF A Meat Orientated Diet
Environment & resources
Ecology and economics
General
Consequences OF A meat orientated diet
Anatomical Comparison OF Frugivores and Carnivores
Tip for A Healthy Vegetarian Nutrition
Term explanations
The effects of an meat-oriented nutrition
Anatomy comparison
Tips for a healthy, vegetarian nutrition
Animal food additives
Battle wastes in food
Leather
vegetarian crickets
Health
General Health
The Psychological Aspect
Nutrition and of allergies
Iron
Meat consumption and health
Physical and mental efficiency
vegetarian infant feeding
The covering of the protein need
Vitamin B12
Calcium
The milk
vegetarian dog nutrition
vegetarian cat nutrition
Meat industry and animal protection
"humane one" Slaughtering
Animal protection
"humanes" battles
There is only animals
Fish
Life expectancy of the animals
Philosophy and ethics
May we kill plants?
Christianity, Bible and Vegetarismus
Politics
Agriculture subsidies
Politics & economics
Subsidies for the own poisoning
Some texts are also available in French, Italian and Spanish.
These are only a few translated pages the German leaflets they offer.
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