Animal agriculture: the environment, and the treatment of farm animals

The idea that it is okay to exploit cows and other animals because they are stupid, boring animals that have no idea what is happening to them is actually incorrect. It turns out that farm animals (especially cows) are very intelligent animals, with excellent memories. They have shown a unique ability to remember faces and locations and some have even demonstrated an understanding of the mechanical world by using latches to open gates. Being herd animals, they are also quite social, enjoying play and affection on a regular basis. They are very much aware of their surroundings, so there is no excuse for the terrible treatment that they receive in today’s barbaric meat and dairy factories. · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · · ·  Animal agriculture may appear to exist for the specific purpose of providing humans with food. However, the truth is that it actually limits human ability to access the sustenance we require, in a number of surprising ways. For example, not many people are aware that it takes one month’s worth of showers to produce just one gallon of milk. 4,200 gallons of water per day are required in order to produce the average diet that contains meat and dairy, while only 300 gallons a day are required to produce the average plant-based diet. The production of beef, in particular, requires vast amounts of land and water resources in order to farm cattle and provide their feed. Over 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to grow livestock feed, while around 80 percent of the deforestation that has taken place in the Amazon rainforest is due to cattle ranching.

Around 23 percent of global freshwater supplies are used to grow livestock feed. Over 50 percent of the world’s arable land is dedicated to either grazing livestock or growing feed. This happens in spite of the fact that 850 million people around the world continue to suffer from lack of food. One acre of agricultural land can produce up to 250 pounds of beef … however, that same acre could also produce 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, 53,000 pounds of potatoes, or 30,000 pounds of carrots.

Earlier this year, a study produced by the Netherlands’ University of Twente discovered that the world’s water scarcity problem was significantly more severe than scientists had previously estimated it to be. The study authors found that four billion people (two-thirds of the planet’s human population – a significantly higher estimate than the previous figure of 1.7 to 3.1 billion people) “live under conditions of severe water scarcity at least one month of the year.” One highly significant factor that was found to place an area at high risk of drought was “the presence of much irrigated agriculture.”
This article can be found in https://onegreenplanet.org/