Detriment and Danger of Meat Production on Natural Resources

The meat production industry is responsible for a vast amount of environmental damage, and if the reckless and blatant disregard for the environment that is supported by their business practices is not curbed or abolished entirely, devastation to the environment will only continue in exponential strides, leaving our country, as well as other nations, harmed by an industry of corrupt politics and greed. The meat industry cannot only be attacked on grounds of being unethical for killing billions of animals a year, there are more prominent and environmentally relevant reasons for converting to a vegetarian lifestyle or significantly reducing the amount of meat that is incorporated into a diet; especially with the increased growth of the meat industry in developing nations, and the increase in demand for meat in countries already flourishing with meat production. Animals are an inefficient method for producing food; they consume more resources than they produce, and require more resources to produce than producing vegetation. In 2009, it was estimated by the International Food Policy Research Institute, and supported by reports from the United Nations, that meat consumption is due to double by 2020. However, while this alone is a shocking statistic, to get to the point where meat is being consumed in double the quantity, an overhaul of our current system is in need, and to accomplish this, our environment will pay the price. In addition to our environment paying for our desire to consume meat, we will as well, through corrupt business practices already supporting the framework of the meat industry, specifically in regards to the feed lot system and the usage of hormones to maximize and accelerate growth.
To accommodate for the escalating demand for meat, and in order to capitalize on the booming industry, production farms have begun switching their methods of raising livestock from a pasture system, where animals are relatively free to roam, are fed by natural grazing, and grow for a longer period before slaughter; to a more condensed feed lot system, where animals are in stringent confines, constantly surrounded by wastes, subjected to chemicals as well as hormones and steroids in order to maximize and accelerate their growth, and typically exist in a monoculture, posing a threat to biodiversity and further damaging ecosystems and the environment at large.
In addition to these issues, regardless of what farming method is adopted to raise live stock, a vast amount of land will need to be cleared in order to accommodate for the demand for meat. Grazing lands already take up roughly 24% of the ice free land on our planet, and if our meat production is projected to double by 2020, that would be pressing no less than 35-30% of our ice free land being obligated to the delegation of grazing lands. This is an unreasonable expectation for our planet and our resources, and to supplement the meat production industry in this exponential escalation of growth would bankrupt our natural resources once population growth and needs were taken into consideration.
As just mentioned, supplementing the demands of raising livestock requires a vast amount of natural resources. Water, feed, fossil fuels, and land come to mind, but having touched on land, it is important to recognize that currently we are facing a shortage of water, food and fossil fuels to entertain the existing population, animals and people included. It is difficult, if not nearly impossible to fathom doubling the meat industry with in the next ten years and having to allocate the resources necessary to validate that projection. Nor does it seem reasonable or intelligent to allocate so many resources for a system that yields fewer resources than it consumes and is not vital to the existence or productivity of human life.
Despite the fact that it is a well known phenomenon that the chemicals and hormones used to produce the feed for livestock, and the livestock its self, are highly dangerous to human and animal health, business owners choose to use them in order to maximize profits by reducing cost and time to produce product. Is it fair that meat and dairy come standard tainted with hormones that subject their consumers to health issues? I would argue not. However, the ideals of capitalism lend favor to business owners who see opportunities for profit with a growing industry; and ultimately act as permission for businesses to pollute consumer’s bodies and the environment with out penalty.
Lastly, and arguably one of the larger issues facing the escalation of the meat industry, would be green house gas emissions. Livestock currently are responsible for about 15-24% of all green house emissions in the United States, and going back to the projected statistic, if the meat industry doubles by 2020, that would raise green house gas emissions in the United States alone up to nothing less than a conservative 35-40%. Livestock produce ample amounts of methane and carbon dioxide; and in addition to the gases produced by livestock, machinery and vehicles must be run on farms as well, further consuming resources and expelling harmful gases and pollutants into the atmosphere.
It is with blatant disregard that these business practices and ideals remain supported and perpetuated. There have been no reforms to make progress in regards to reducing environmental impact with in the meat industry, and that is arguably due to the fact that it is a highly profitable industry that “scratches the back” of many other successful industries; the oil and agricultural and construction industries. While we must be concerned for the impact the meat industry is currently posing to the environment and human health, we must also look to the future, and recognize it is a system we cannot support in the long run. Ultimately if we keep accommodating for the meat industry by allocating vital natural resources in ample abundance to their production process, we will run our selves dry. In addition to the fact that we cannot support the meat industry, we could reverse the meat industry on its self, begin using the existing land for producing vegetation as means of food, and arguably this alternative would aide in reducing the global hunger crisis, green house gas emissions, depletion of natural resources; and would foster the repair of monocultures and cleared land.

SOURCES:

•http://www.fao.org/docrep/012/i0680e/i0680e.pdf
•http://awellfedworld.org/sites/awellfedworld.org/files/pdf/UNGlobalWarmingReport.pdf
•http://www.unep.org/resourcepanel/documents/pdf/PriorityProductsAndMaterials_Report_Full.pdf
•http://www.greenlivingtips.com/articles/92/1/Cutting-meat-consumption.html


By Belal Albar