The Center for Biological Diversity is joining the movement to reduce meat consumption with the emphasis on meat productions immense contribution to species extinction. But they don't stop there. They connect the dots between species extinction, climate change, water insecurity and pollution. See the stunning statistics below:
Wild animals suffer not only the collateral damage of meat-related deforestation, drought, pollution and climate change, but also direct targeting by the meat industry. From grazing animals to predators, native species are frequently killed to protect meat-production profits. Grass-eating species such as elk, deer and pronghorn have been killed en masse to reserve more feed for cattle. Important habitat-creating animals such as beavers and prairie dogs have been decimated because they disrupt the homogenous landscapes desired by livestock managers.
In the United States, 80 percent of agricultural land is used for raising animals and feed crops. That’s almost half the land mass of the lower 48 states dedicated to feeding the nation’s taste for beef, chicken and pork . More than half of the grain grown in the country goes toward feeding livestock, and nearly half of the water used goes toward meat production .
According to the United Nations, meat production is responsible for 14.5 percent of human-induced global greenhouse gas emissions. In the United States cattle emit about 5.5 million metric tons of methane — a greenhouse gas 25 times more potent than carbon dioxide — accounting for 20 percent of the country’s methane emissions.
The Center for Biological Diversity shows you how to
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