A few years back I was totally blown away after seeing the freshness of the facts presented by Philip Wollen OAM (born 1950) an Australian philanthropist.
Then I did a little bit of my own research on the topic. Trying to put it into this blog.
Water Conservation
On a planet that is facing alarming water constraints and our freshwater reservoirs are drying up day by day . The meat industry turns out to be one of the biggest culprits for water wastage.
Following is the water footprint study which blatantly shows the meat is way thirstier compared to veggies. This means per kg meat(8763 L/kg) consumes a hell lot of water compared to per kg vegetables (322 L/kg)
Source: Mekonnen and Hoekstra (2010)
Water foot print can be reduced to half just by switching to vegetarian diet.
Globally 2.1 billion people live without safe water and around 4 billion people – nearly two-thirds of the world’s population – experience severe water scarcity during at least one month of the year. According to the United Nations, 700 million people worldwide could be displaced by intense water scarcity by 2030.
“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” said University of Oxford’s Joseph Poore
Green House Effect
These meat factories also generate alarming amounts of greenhouse gas. Famous environmentalist R K Patchauri, Chairman of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, reports in The Impact of Meat Production and Consumption on Climate Change, “A study estimated that 2.2 pounds of beef emit as much carbon dioxide as is emitted by the average European car every 155 miles.”
He further quotes FAO, “The UN Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) has estimated that direct emissions from meat production account for about 18% of the world’s total greenhouse gas emissions.”
The environmental repercussion of assembly-line meat factories don’t end with water and air pollution; they go far beyond to include the consumption of limitless amounts of energy and the consumption of ever-increasing amounts of grain, thus leading to staggering deforestation.
World Hunger
"When animals eat grains and then humans eat their flesh, the nutritional value that humans get is around one-fifth of what they would get if they ate the grains directly."
Cruelty
- Chicken are forced to stay in confined spaces - expose to artificial light at night so they don't sleep and lay eggs continuously. They are forced to lay more than 200 eggs in their lifetime by injecting chemicals into their body leading to weak bones.
- A male chicken is disposed of immediately as it doesn't lay eggs and can't add value in terms of money. They have to undergo excruciating pain.
- A calf is separated from the mother at a very young age and pushed into a very small space where it can't even stand. Injected with chemicals to look fat. Before slaughtering the boiling water is thrown on the body to make the skin soft.
“We have enslaved the rest of animal creation and have treated so badly that, if they were to formulate a religion, they would depict the Devil in human form.”
– William Ralph
Well, the question is actually way beyond your freedom of choice and space. It's about somebody's food, water, and life.
Thank You for Reading.
Also Read :- Non-Vegetarianism & Health