Why Beef Production Is Bad for the Environment

We accept a look at whether eating meat is bad for yous or the environment and how you tin make your diet more sustainable.

Eating Meat Environment

Our diets play a significant office in areas such every bit our culture, entertainment, and wellbeing. We have more choice than ever before almost how and what we eat, still a growing population means actress resources are needed. But does that mean that eating meat is bad for the surround?

We await at how the global meat manufacture impacts the planet and some of the arguments for and against eating meat. Nosotros explore whether it'southward bad for you lot and the environs and some alternatives to eating meat.

A cursory history of meat-eating

When did humans start eating meat? It'south a question that anthropologists have been exploring for many years now. By studying the teeth of human ancestors known as hominins and the cutting marks on the basic of large herbivores, experts advise that human ancestors began eating meat in their diet around 2.6 million years ago.

While these ancient ancestors were most probable scavenging for meat rather than hunting for it, it'due south idea that the energy-rich protein source played an essential function in our development. Our modern brains require a lot of energy, and some experts propose that meat played a office in boosting our energy intake, helping our brains evolve to be bigger and more complex.

Eating meat besides meant changes in the digestive tract. Over hundreds of thousands of years, the gut shrunk in human ancestors, meaning more energy was available for the brain. Cooking, a practice that dates dorsum at to the lowest degree 800,000 years, fabricated meat more digestible.

By the fourth dimension Homo Sapiens emerged around 300,000 years ago, hunting and gathering were mutual. Our ancestors continued to eat meat, plants, nuts, pulses and fruits, until the introduction of agronomics, roughly 10,000 years ago. This was when we switched to a more narrow diet of cultivated wheat, barley, oats, rice or corn, depending on location.

Meat became a luxury in many cultures, only enjoyed on special occasions. However, in modern times, information technology tin can be plant in abundance around the earth. In 2019 alone, an estimated 325 million metric tons of meat was produced.

Arguments for and against eating meat

Our diets are a highly personal thing. Yet, information technology can also be something that we have for granted. Often, this leads to quite large differences in opinion and controversies , particularly on the subject of meat consumption.

Should we cease eating meat altogether? Or are in that location benefits of eating meat? There are rarely simple answers to such questions, and at that place are arguments for eating meat and those against information technology. Below, we've briefly looked at some of these arguments:

Arguments for eating meat

The majority of the world'due south population eats meat of some kind. A 2018 global survey past marketplace research specialist Ipsos institute that 73% of the world's population was omnivorous, regularly eating both animate being and non-animate being products. Here are some of the arguments for eating meat:

The nutritional value . Equally our open up step on livestock farming and the surroundings outlines, meat is rich in protein, amino acids and several essential micronutrients. The EAT-Lancet Commission institute that meat and dairy can constitute important parts of the diet but in significantly smaller proportions than whole grains, fruits, vegetables, nuts and legumes.
Civilisation and society . Animals are often used as crucial assets and investments in developing countries. They can be a vital function of the economic system, particularly in highly rural communities.
Country usage . Ruminants, grazing animals such equally sheep and cows, take evolved to live on marginal lands which are otherwise useless for agriculture. They as well largely eat a institute that cannot be eaten by humans– grass.

Arguments confronting eating meat

Although diets based on animate being products are popular, there is a rising number of those who choose not to eat meat, fish, dairy and eggs. In the UK alone, information from 2018 showed that there were 600,000 vegans in the country, up from effectually 150,000 in 2006. There are enough of reasons against meat consumption:

Health risks . Diets high in cerise and processed meats, high-fatty dairy foods, processed foods, and carbohydrate are associated with diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and cancers . Diets rich in fibre, fruit, and vegetables are associated with a reduced risk of these diseases.
Animal welfare . The bulldoze towards lower-cost meat and milk is leading to intensive farming. To maintain low running costs, some farming practices restrict animal behaviour and compromise their health and welfare .
Sustainability . A 2020 report from IDTechEx found that the meat industry is unsustainable , since animate being livestock uses a disproportionately large corporeality of land. Despite using 77% of agricultural land, only 17% of global caloric consumption comes from animals.
Ecology impacts . Equally outlined in our open step on controversies in the nutrient system , livestock production methods are considered one of the primary drivers of ecology damage, including climate change and biodiversity loss.

The environmental bear on of eating meat

The last 2 points in our list of the pros and cons of eating meat accept had particular attending in recent years. With bug of climatic change and sustainability becoming increasingly urgent, many experts advise us to effort and limit our consumption of meat. So what is the environmental impact of eating meat?

In reality, several factors related to the production of meat contribute to its global ecology affect. We've highlighted some of these below:

Deforestation

The production of meat is, directly and indirectly, related to the loss of forests in South America. According to the WWF, beef and soy production are responsible for deforestation in the Amazon Rainforest and other areas of Brazil, Argentine republic and Paraguay.

Vast swathes of the Amazon are being cleared of habitat for cattle farming and the product of soybean for animal feed. Often, deforested areas are cleared using fire . This called-for releases huge amounts of carbon dioxide (CO2) into the atmosphere while as well removing a CO2 sink.

Biodiversity loss

It'south not just forests that are in danger from the meat industry. As country is repurposed to raise animals and abound soybean, many habitats are destroyed or impacted. Many species face extinction or are nether threat due to the destruction of natural environments.

Estimates suggest that around half of the planet'southward habitable state is used for agriculture , with roughly 77% of this used by grazing cattle, sheep, goats, and other livestock. You can acquire more nigh environmental and wildlife conservation with our free online course.

Greenhouse gas emissions

Meat consumption is responsible for releasing greenhouse gases such as methane, CO2, and nitrous oxide. These gases contribute to climatic change, such as global warming. Livestock farming contributes to these greenhouse gases in several ways:

The devastation of forest ecosystems . Every bit mentioned above, this procedure releases enormous amounts of CO2 into the atmosphere.
Raising livestock . Animals such as cows and sheep create large amounts of methane as they digest food.
Decomposable manure . The manure that ruminant animals produce also releases marsh gas.
Fertiliser apply . Many fertilisers used in soybean production are nitrogen-based, and these produce nitrous oxide emissions.

Water usage

Information technology takes a lot of water to produce meat, and beefiness is the most water-intensive food. It requires two times more water to produce beef than pork and four times more than alternative protein sources such as lentils.

The issue is further compounded considering soybean farming (for brute feed) is relatively inefficient when it comes to h2o usage. Livestock production also contributes to water pollution around the earth because manure contaminates watercourses.

You tin learn more virtually the connection between life and the Earth's diverse systems and gain new insights into the natural surround with our online course.

Soil deposition

Raising animals often requires a lot of grazing state. Nevertheless, the intensive nature of this grazing can lead to bare soil, which is then often lost due to wind or rain. Equally a result, fertile lands get barren, waterways become clogged, and at that place is an increased run a risk of flooding.

Soil is also a big reservoir for carbon, absorbing it as plants and copse die. As soil is lost, information technology releases that carbon as CO2 into the temper. Animate being agriculture, deforestation, and other state-use changes that reduce soil have been the 2nd-largest contributors to CO2 emissions globally.

Notice the importance of soil and how our activities impact information technology with our gratuitous course, Soil & the World Beneath Our Feet.

Climatic change

Ultimately, the factors that nosotros've outlined so far contribute to climate modify.

Co-ordinate to the Un's Nutrient and Agricultural Organisation, the meat and dairy industry accounts for roughly 14.v% of global greenhouse gas emissions. As we explored in our mail service on reducing your carbon footprint , the link between carbon emissions and climate change is undeniable.

Is eating meat bad for the planet?

The evidence above all seems fairly conclusive, and there is plenty of science and enquiry to back it up. The calibration and intensity of meat production, combined with projected population growth estimates, shows that current practices are bad for the environment.

Should I stop eating meat then?

There is no precise answer to this question. It ultimately comes down to your personal choice. While nosotros've covered a lot of the ecology factors related to eating meat, nosotros haven't looked in any great detail about the ethical and cultural elements.

Withal, several reports and studies, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) special report on climatic change and state , recommend reducing meat consumption.

Although experts involved with the report don't desire to tell people what to eat, they do highlight that "information technology would indeed exist benign, for both climate and man health, if people in many rich countries consumed less meat, and if politics would create advisable incentives to that consequence".

And then, although individual choice plays a significant role in reducing meat consumption, it is as well the responsibility of governments and organisations to make policy changes.

What kind of diet is best for the environment?

As we explored in our post on how to build a sustainable diet , there are quite a few suggestions as to what a sustainable diet includes. Even so, generally, it relates to the blazon of food we consume, every bit well equally how it's grown, distributed, and packaged.

The FAO and WHO highlights that a sustainable diet has several notable features:

Includes wholegrains, legumes, nuts and an affluence and diverseness of fruits and vegetables
Can include moderate amounts of eggs, dairy, poultry and fish, and small amounts of red meat
Minimises the use of antibiotics and hormones in food product
Minimises the utilise of plastics and derivatives in nutrient packaging
Reduces food loss and waste

Other experts, such equally the EAT Forum, suggest that our diets should shift towards flexitarian. This means that individuals should eat more vegetarian foods, with modest amounts of fish and meat. For eating meat, a general guideline is one beef burger a calendar week or one large steak a month .

So, at a fourth dimension where we're all having to face up to a climate emergency, eating less meat could undoubtedly help. With our course on the future of food and sustainability , you can learn more about how we can all swallow more sustainably.

Alternatives to meat

Every bit nosotros've already established, meat can provide protein, amino acids and several essential micronutrients to our diets. So if nosotros're reducing consumption, what are some alternatives to meat? Every bit we explore in our open up step on the pros and cons of alternative proteins , there are several options:

Plant-based proteins . Foods such every bit quinoa, soy, seitan, walnut, and amaranth can provide a rich source of protein and other nutrients.
Algae . With algae, we get a good source of protein and polyunsaturated fat acids and fibre. It'southward also rich in vitamin B12. It also has a higher yield per unit area than other loftier-poly peptide crops.
Insects . Edible insects are not merely a healthy source of protein and minerals, only their commercial product has a much lower touch on the environs than meat in terms of greenhouse gas emission and h2o consumption.
Cultured meat . Meat produced past in vitro cell culture of creature cells could exist a food of the future. Information technology uses less land and water and reduces the demand for grazing livestock. The nutritional content can exist tailored, food-borne diseases tin can be eliminated, and fewer antimicrobials are needed.

Of course, none of these alternatives come without potential downsides. Some product processes oasis't been tested on a larger calibration, and the cost and health implications aren't fully understood.

If you're looking to find out more about what a salubrious diet looks like, our course on nutrition and cooking provides further information.

Concluding thoughts

Equally nosotros've seen, eating meat is bad for the surroundings at the calibration and intensity nosotros collectively are. By damaging ecosystems and releasing greenhouse gases, the global meat manufacture is contributing to climatic change. What's more, with the earth'due south population predicted to continue growing, we will need to feed more and more people. The impact of meat on the surround is not currently sustainable.

By reducing the amount of meat we eat and striving for a more sustainable nutrition, we can each help to reduce the damage to the environs. And, while in that location are pros and cons of eating meat, more than people are choosing to cutting it out entirely. As new technology and legislation are introduced, we tin all brand a difference in protecting the planet with our dietary choices.

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Source: https://www.futurelearn.com/info/blog/eating-meat-bad-for-environment