Meat Consumption and its Impact on the Environment Report 2022

Running head: MEAT CONSUMPTION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
MEAT CONSUMPTION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT
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MEAT CONSUMPTION AND ITS IMPACT ON THE ENVIRONMENT1
Eating habits play a major role in shaping the climate including all vegetation and
animal species. Capturing animals for food, skin and other purposes benefiting the human
beings requires killing them creating an adverse effect on the habitat directly and indirectly
(Godfray, et al., 2015). These effects create a pathway for environmental destruction
inclusive of factors causing global warming (Raphaely, 2015). Therefore, the question in
context to the topic is such that if the consumption of meat is having an effect on the
environment (Jacob & Pethick, 2014).
Meat intaking is considered a choice of individuals and certainly freedom of food
habits of people around the world is a debatable topic and the controversy is if such food
habits affect the environment as opposed to people who do not consume meat (Smil, 2013).
According to a United Nations report claims that greenhouse gases have increased to an
extent due to the consumption of meat as compared to produce from transports
worldwide(Animal Aid, 2019). Animal Farming is one of the major reasons for global
warming, as they contribute a large proportion of methane and nitrous oxide(Raphaely,
2015). Cattle farming leads to deforestation of which Amazon rainforest is a part of. Animals
that are being held captive for these industries require a certain weight and as a result a large
proportion of forests and trees are uprooted (Raphaely, 2015) to create their grazing ground
(Animal Aid, 2019). Freshwater resources are equally exhausted by certain meat industries
that require over 15000 litres of water every few hours (Jacob & Pethick, 2014).
The range of hurdles it creates is not only restricted to forests and water, but also in
case of grains that covers 30% of all grains harvested and cropped. Meat industry produces
manure both liquid and solid that are dumped on land or channeled into waterways causing
air, water and land pollution (Raphaely, 2015). Ammonia, Phosphorus, Sulphur, Nitrogen and
other toxic chemicals contaminate the environment risking lives of birds, fishes, algae and
other aquatic beings (Jacob & Pethick, 2014). Meat industry also includes fishing that