The world is burning up and the cows r to blame...

[Dr Frook]

yes, that's right - global warming could be fixed in an instant if we stopped eating meat. I love eating meat... if you havent seen it, watch Cowspiracy http://www.cowspiracy.com/ - its on netflix. It will blow ur mind. I knew of this before... but this show really opened my eyes a bit more.

Farming animals is the root of most of the worlds woes...

See below and also watch the documentary.

- GREENHOUSE GASES -

Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation. [i]


Transportation exhaust is responsible for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions. [.i]
Greenhouse gas emissions from this sector primarily involve fossil fuels burned for road, rail, air, and marine transportation.



Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.


Methane is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20 year time frame.
“Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions.” Science Magazine.

Methane has a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2 on a 20 year time frame.


“Improved Attribution of Climate Forcing to Emissions.” Science Magazine.

Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.


Emissions for agriculture projected to increase 80% by 2050.


Energy related emissions expected to increase 20% by 2040.
Energy Global Hydrocarbon Engineering


US Methane emissions from livestock and natural gas are nearly equal.
EPA. "Overview of Greenhouse Gases."

Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day. [xi]


250-500 liters per cow per day, x 1.5 billion cows globally is 99 - 198.1 billion gallons. Rough average of 150 billion gallons CH4 globally per day.

Converting to wind and solar power will take 20+ years and roughly 43 trillion dollars.
The Cost Of Going Green Globally

Even without fossil fuels, we will exceed our 565 gigatonnes CO2e limit by 2030, all from raising animals.


Reducing methane emissions would create tangible benefits almost immediately.
U.N. Press Release, Climate Summit 2014.

- WATER -

Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) water use ranges from 70-140 billion gallons annually.


Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually. [ii] [xv]



Agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption. [xv]


Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US. [xv]


Californians use 1500 gallons of water per person per day. Close to Half is associated with meat and dairy products.


2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.



477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb. of eggs; almost 900 gallons of water are needed for 1lb. of cheese.


1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.
Water Footprint Network, "Product Water Footprints".


5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture. [xv]


Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today.
1/5 of global water consumption:

27%-30%+ of global water consummation is for animal agriculture.

1/3 of global fresh water consumed is for animal ag.


- LAND -

Livestock or livestock feed occupies 1/3 of the earth’s ice-free land.
FAO. "Livestock a major threat to environment"

Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land.


Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction. [xix] [iv]

Animal agriculture contributes to species extinction in many ways. In addition to the monumental habitat destruction caused by clearing forests and converting land to grow feed crops and for animal grazing, predators and "competition" species are frequently targeted and hunted because of a perceived threat to livestock profits. The widespread use of pesticides, herbicides and chemical fertilizers used in the production of feed crops often interferes with the reproductive systems of animals and poison waterways. The overexploitation of wild species through commercial fishing, bushmeat trade as well as animal agriculture’s impact on climate change, all contribute to global depletion of species and resources. [XIX]


Largest mass extinction in 65 million years.


Mass extinction of species has begun.

Accelerated modern human–induced species losses: Entering the sixth mass extinction

2-5 acres of land are used per cow.


Nearly half of the contiguous US is devoted to animal agriculture.
The US lower 48 states represents 1.9 billion acres. Of that 1.9 billion acres: 778 million acres of private land are used for livestock grazing (forest grazing, pasture grazing, and crop grazing), 345 million acres for feed crops, 230 million acres of public land are used for grazing livestock.


1/3 of the planet is desertified, with livestock as the leading driver. [xviii]



- WASTE -

Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.
This doesn’t include the animals raised outside of USDA jurisdiction or in backyards, or the billions of fish raised in aquaculture settings in the US. [v]


A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people. [vi]


130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US – 1.4 billion tons from the meat industry annually. 5 tons of animal waste is produced per person in the US. [xii]
Animal agriculture: waste management practices. United States General Accounting Office.

In the U.S. livestock produce 116,000 lbs of waste per second:
-Dairy Cows, 120lbs of waste per day x 9 million cows.

-Cattle, 63lbs of waste per day, x 90 million cattle.

-Pigs, 14lbs. of waste per day, x 67 million pigs.

-Sheep/Goats. 5lbs of waste per day, x 9 million sheep/goats.

-Poultry, .25-1lbs of waste per day, x 9 billion birds.

Dairy cows and cattle-1.08 billion pounds per day (from 9 million dairy cows, 120 pounds waste per cow per day) + 5.67 billion pounds per day (90 million cattle, 63 pounds waste per one cattle per day) = 6.75 billion pounds per day wasteor 2.464 trillion pounds waste per year (manure+urine)

** 3.745 trillion pounds waste per year(this is the equivalent of over 7 million pounds of excrement per MINUTE produced by animals raised for food in the U.S. excluding those animals raised outside of USDA jurisdiction, backyards, and billions of fish raised in aquaculture settings in the U.S.)

Animals produce Enough waste to cover SF, NYC, Tokyo, etc,
based off 1lb of waste per 1sqft at 1.4 billion tons.

US Livestock produce 335 million tons of “dry matter” per year.

- OCEANS -

3/4 of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted.


We could see fishless oceans by 2048.


90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year. [vii]


As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year.
A Mood and P Brooke, July 2010, "Estimating the Number of Fish Caught in Global Fishing Each Year".



For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill. [viii]


As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.
Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries



Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.



Fish catch peaks at 85 million tons.


40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets.


- RAINFOREST -

Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction.


150-200 species per day are lost per day, The Secretariat of the Convention on Biological Diversity

26 million rainforest acres (10.8m hectares) have been cleared for palm oil production. [ix]


136 million rainforest acres cleared for animal agriculture.


214,000 square miles occupied by cattle (136 million acres):


1,100 Land activists have been killed in Brazil in the past 20 years. [x]


20 years ago the Amazon lost its strongest advocate.


- Wildlife -

USDA predator killing of wild animals to protect livestock.


Washington state killed the wedge pack of wolves.


More wild horses and burros in government holding facilities than are free on the range.
BLM holding population: 49,021

BLM on the range population: 33,780

Ten thousand years ago, 99% of biomass (i.e. zoomass) was wild animals. Today, humans and the animals that we raise as food make up 98% of the zoomass.



- HUMANITY -

414 billion dollars in externalized cost from animal ag. [xvi]


Global Environmental costs of Animal Agriculture estimated at $170 billion

80% of antibiotic sold in the US are for livestock.


World population in 1812: 1 billion; 1912: 1.5 billion; 2012: 7 billion.


70 billion farmed animals are reared annually worldwide. More than 6 million animals are killed for food every hour.

A well-fed world. factory farms.


Throughout the world, humans drink 5.2 billion gallons of water and eat 21 billion pounds of food each day.

Based on rough averages of 0.75 gallons of water and 3 lbs of food per day. water - 1/2 - 1 gallon

food - 3lbs globally per capita per day

US Americans consume 5.3lbs of food per day

Worldwide, cows drink 45 billion gallons of water and eat 135 billion pounds of food each day.
Based on rough average of 30 gallons of water and 90 lbs of feed per day for 1.5 billion cows.

We are currently growing enough food to feed 10 billion people.


82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.


80% of the worlds starving children live in 14 countries.

[Shadow00]

So do we kill more cows and make up for it?

[Connor]

So do we kill more cows and make up for it?

I like steak, cheaper steak will make me happy.

I second this