According to the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization, 26 percent of the world’s ice-free land is utilized for livestock grazing, and 33 percent of its pastures are used for the production of livestock feed. Consistent with the narrative portrayed in the “Tragedy of the Commons,” progressively as a result of the increased concentration of animals per area, 20 percent of the aforementioned 33 percent of grasslands are ruined. In addition to its adverse effects on croplands, the intensification in the production of livestock for feed depletes water resources, damages soil fertility, and negatively impacts biodiversity, climate change, and animal health; which in turn, can adversely affect our health as well. Multiple sources, including the Food and Agriculture Organization, site livestock as a top contributor to human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, and maintain that the greenhouse gas emissions of all forms of transportation combined, don’t equate to the greenhouse gas emissions of raising livestock for feed. Living sustainably can take on a multitude of shapes and sizes, could vegetarianism be your contribution to the environment? Read Kathy Freston’s witty and succinctly informative take on the matter in the article below.
http://www.huffingtonpost.com/kathy-freston/vegetarian-is-the-new-pri_b_39014.html
