Ecological and sustainable aspects of animal production

ECOLOGY AND SUSTAINABILITY
[Author Name(s), First M. Last, Omit Titles and Degrees]
[Institutional Affiliation(s)]

How the growing dependence on eating meat is effecting the environment in terms as
increasing the issue of global warming
Abstract
Meat consumption is directly linked to the sector of animal production. The production is
associated with the anthropogenic use of land which subsequently leads to the degradation of
soil, dwindling supplies of water and finally pollution of air. This implies that meat production is
not narrowly focused on rearing and slaughtering of farm animals alone but entire processes
involved. The animal feed production will require a substantial amount of energy, water as well
as the input of chemicals which cost the environment dearly. This makes animal agriculture to be
considered one of the activities which greatly impacts the environment and leads to climate
change as well as global warming. This particular paper has therefore reviewed how meat
consumption contributes to global warming.
Introduction
The advantages of eating no meat or just
consuming less of it in a bid to register
improvement on environmental
sustainability have been debated frequently
on various forums of the world
environmental management. It has become
an issue with plenty of attention
(Pierrehumbert & Eshel 2015). There has
been an estimation by World watch Institute
that animal-based foods including dairy,
eggs, and meat) production accounts for
over 50% of the emission of greenhouse
gases. There is no doubt on this particular
figure considering that more than half of the
world grain is today used in the production
of the animal feed. The consumption of meat
is therefore projected to double by the year
2050. The connection between diet, food
and global sustainability has never been

given the attention which it deserves. This
particular paper seeks to establish how the
growing dependence on eating meat is
affecting the environment in terms of
increasing the issue of global warming
(Saxe, Larsen & Mogensen 2013).
Methods
The research was based on the preview of
the various articles with the relevant data on
the impacts of eating meat on environmental
conservation. The focus has been on
identifying the possible trend on this
"disastrous habit" which practically has
dominated nearly all parts of the world.
Although data collection has only targeted
views of various authors on this particular
topic, the discussion presented here reflects
scientifically proven findings that can be
used in making convincing and concluding
remarks.
Results
The previewed literature materials identified
various activities which are meant to
increase meat production but strongly lead
to global warming
Activity Impacts
Feed and Fertilizer
production
Fossil fuels are burnt
to produce fertilizers
that are used in the
subsequent
production of feeds.
The process is
associated with the
significant emission
of CO2 gas which is
responsible for
global
warming(Joyce et al
2014). This implies
that the largest
amount of carbon
dioxide gas from
agriculture of
animals does not
come from the
animals themselves
but rather from the
inputs as well as
changes in the land
use to favor meat
production. This is
equivalent to almost
9% of yearly
anthropogenic CO2
output.
Transportation as
well as the
processing
Animal agriculture is
becoming
increasingly
globalized. The
products of these
animals, particularly
meat, are transported
to longer distances