Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

WHY IS CLIMATE ACTION URGENT?

According to the latest IPCC (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change) report of the UN,
we are now on track for a 3-4°C temperature rise, which would have disastrous
(unimaginable) consequences for our planet.1 We only have 12 more years with a chance of
66% to limit warming to 1.5°C.2 Both 1.5°C and 2°C have destructive consequences, however
there are still some very noticeable differences in the predictions of 1.5°C and 2°C warming –
and right now we are on track for 3 – 5°C warming.3

Climate change is by far the biggest problem we are facing today – every individual, every
company, every organisation, every country has to do their absolute best for our planet to
have a chance of avoiding utter catastrophe. We have to act now - we don’t have much time
left and it is our responsibility to do everything we possibly can to save our planet – because
if we don’t, everything that seems more important now won’t matter anymore.

1
https://www.coolearth.org/2018/10/ipcc-report-2/
2
https://carbonmarketwatch.org/2018/10/08/new-ipcc-report-shows-1-5c-is-still-possible-but-more-needed-
from-aviation-and-shipping/
3
https://www.reuters.com/article/us-climate-change-un/global-temperatures-on-track-for-3-5-degree-rise-by-
2100-u-n-idUSKCN1NY186

Image sources – Left: https://www.coolearth.org/2018/10/ipcc-report-2/ Right:

https://www.economist.com/international/2015/12/19/green-light
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

IMPACT OF ANIMAL AGRICULTURE

The ‘single biggest way to reduce one’s impact on Earth’ is to adopt a plant-based diet.4

“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not
just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use. It is
far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car.”
• Joseph Poore, University of Oxford

Land

• Livestock covers 45% of the Earth’s total land.5

• Over 1/3rd of the planet is desertified, with livestock as the leading driver.6

• Global farmland could be reduced by 75% without meat and dairy consumption (area
equivalent to the US, China, the EU and Australia combined) and we could still feed
the world.7

• The land required to feed a meat

eater for one year is 18 times the
area needed to feed a vegan.8

• 1.5 acres can produce 375 pounds

of beef, but 37,000 pounds of
plant-based food.9

4
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-
reduce-your-impact-on-earth
5
Thornton, Phillip, et al. "Livestock and climate change". Livestock xchange. International Livestock Research
Institute. November 2011
6
"UN launches International Year of Deserts and Desertification". UN News Centre. 1 January 2006,
7
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-
reduce-your-impact-on-earth
8
"Our Food Our Future. Making a Difference With Every Bite: The Power of the Fork!" EarthSave International;
Eishel, Gordon, et al. "Land, irrigation water, greenhouse gas, reactive nitrogen burdens of meat, eggs and dairy
production in the United States". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. Vol. 111 No. 33 June 2014
9
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ (see
Oppenlander, Richard A. Food Choice and Sustainability: Why Buying Local, Eating Less Meat, and Taking Baby
Steps Won’t Work. Minneapolis, MN : Langdon Street, 2013. Print.)
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire
transportation sector combined (including air travel).10

• A recent study by the University of Oxford found that a global switch to a mostly
plant-based diet could reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by two thirds
and avoid climate-related damages of $1.5 trillion.
• It also projects that by 2050, food-related greenhouse gas emissions could account
for half of the emissions the world can afford if global warming is to be limited to less
than 2°C - adopting global dietary guidelines would cut food-related emissions by
29%, vegetarian diets by 63%, and vegan diets by 70%.11

12

For a more detailed graphic of the above see page 6 of the original study at:
https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-
%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf

10
"Livestock's Long Shadow: environmental issues and options". Food and Agriculture Organization of the
United Nations. Rome 2006
11
http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2016-03-22-veggie-based-diets-could-save-8-million-lives-2050-and-cut-global-
warming
12
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-
to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

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Figure left: Greenhouse gases from average food consumption

Figure right: Pounds of CO2 emissions per serving14

13
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-
to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth
14
http://css.umich.edu/factsheets/carbon-footprint-factsheet
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

• Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a

greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and
which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.15

• Emissions from agriculture are projected to increase 80% by 205016, whereas energy
related emissions are expected to increase 20% by 204017.

• The production of food accounts for 83% of emissions, while its transportation
accounts for only 11%.
• This also means that shifting less one day per week’s worth of calories from red meat
and dairy product more towards a plant-based diet achieves more GHG reduction
than buying all locally sourced food.18

15
"Livestock' Long Shadow: environmental issues and options". FAO. Rome. 2006
16
Tilman, David & Clark, Michael. "Global diets link environmental sustainability and human health". Nature.
Vol. 515. 27 November 2014
17
"Carbon Dioxide Emissions to 2040". Energy Global. 06 January 2015
18
https://pubs.acs.org/doi/abs/10.1021/es702969f
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

The BBC article (“Meat or two veg? Find out your food’s climate footprint”) provides a very
useful application to check what environmental consequences different food choices have
(incl. comparisons with car miles driven, heating, flights, showers or land used).19

➔ For example, eating one beef burger per day for a year is equivalent to 8 return
flights from London to Malaga, whilst having tofu instead would only result in 149
miles driven by car.

Water footprint

• 1 litre of milk = 1,000 litres of water

• 1 kg of beef = 15,000 litres of water

Figure: water footprint

comparison20

• Animal agriculture is responsible for 20% - 30% of all fresh water consumption in the
world today.21

• 5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the

US is for animal agriculture.22

19
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/science-environment-46459714
20
https://waterfootprint.org/en/water-footprint/product-water-footprint/water-footprint-crop-and-animal-
products/
21
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ (all sources under “Water”)
22
Jacobson, Michael F. “Six Arguments For a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-based Diet Could Save Your
Health and the Environment. Chapter 4: More and Cleaner Water”. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the
Public Interest, 2006.
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

EXAMPLES:

1 hamburger = 2500 litres (660 gallons) of water

➔ equivalent to showering for 2 months (based on taking a 4-minute daily shower
with a 2.5 gpm shower head)23

1kg of steak
➔ equivalent to showering daily (4-5mins) for an entire year

1kg chicken
➔ equivalent to showering daily for 1 month (4-5mins)24

Food waste

• If we reduce the amount of cereals and soya fed to farm animals by 50%, it would
free up enough food for an extra 2 billion people.
• At the moment, we are growing enough food to feed over 70 billion farm animals
every year, whilst more than 800 million people are starving.

• More than one third of the world’s cereals is fed to farm animals, wasting more than
two-thirds of the calories and protein in conversion to meat, milk and eggs.25
• 97% of the soymeal produced worldwide is used for animal feed.26

To produce 1kg of meat, a lot more grain is needed (varies slightly depending on country and
feeding type)27:
• for 1kg of chicken it is up to 3.3kg
• for 1kg of pork it is up to 6.4kg
• for 1kg of lamb it is up to 15kg
• for 1kg of beef it is up to 25kg

23
https://blog.epa.gov/2012/03/22/virtual-water-real-impacts-world-water-day-2012/;
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/
24
https://www.greenpeace.ch/archiv/archiv-klimawandel-unser-taegliches-fleisch-gib-uns-heute/
25
https://assets.ciwf.org/media/7432824/ciwf_strategic-plan-revise18-lr2.pdf
26
https://friendsoftheearth.uk/sites/default/files/downloads/livestock_impacts.pdf
27
https://www.global2000.at/fleischkonsum-
österreich?gclid=Cj0KCQiAxs3gBRDGARIsAO4tqq2RDiGL7KE994OL6EMSoiigqZcLO7g9CYxa7ufdQKuplSxKOlmFZ-
EaAtbaEALw_wcB
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

Species extinction & Rainforest

Animal agriculture is the leading cause of wildlife extinction – we have already lost 60% of
our wildlife in less than 50 years.28
• A 60% decline in the human population would be equivalent to emptying Africa,
China, Europe, Oceania and North- and South America.29
• 10,000 years ago, 99% of the biomass was wild animals. Today, humans and the
animals that we raise as food make up 98% of the biomass.30

Rainforests are incredibly effective at storing carbon (as well as being essential amongst
many other things for the global water cycle and reducing soil erosion) – an acre of tropical
rainforest stores 260 tonnes of carbon.31
• However, 1-2 acres (about the size of one football field) of rainforest are cleared
every second with animal agriculture being responsible for up to 91% of Amazon
destruction.
• Furthermore, up to 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to
rainforest destruction.32

Oceans

• 75% of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted.33 We could see fishless oceans
by 2048.34

• 90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year.35

• As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year.36

• For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are
caught and discarded as bycatch.37

• As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.38

28
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2018/10/weve-lost-60-of-wildlife-in-less-than-50-years/
29
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/oct/30/humanity-wiped-out-animals-since-1970-major-
report-finds
30
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/; https://www.ecowatch.com/biomass-humans-animals-
2571413930.html
31
https://www.coolearth.org/2018/10/ipcc-report-2/
32
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ (under “Rainforest” all other sources are listed)
33
"Overfishing: a threat to marine biodiversity". United Nations Environment Programme; "General situation of
world fish stocks". United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
34
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ (all sources under “Oceans”)
35
"World Review of Fisheries and Aquaculture: Part 1". United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization
36
Mood, A & Brooke, P. "Estimating the Number of Fish Caught in Global Fishing Each Year". July 2010; "Fish
count estimates". Fishcount.org.uk
37
"Discard and bycatch in Shrimp trawl fisheries". FAO: Fisheries and Aquaculture Department
38
Keledjian, Amanda, et al. "Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries". Oceana. March 2014;
Goldenberg, Suzanne. "America's nine most wasteful fisheries named". The Guardian. 20 March 2014
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

• Around 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals39, as well as 40-50 million sharks40 are
killed every year by fishing vessels.

Waste

• A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of
411,000 people.41

• The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world’s largest collection of floating trash
(located between Hawaii and California). Microplastics make up 94% of an estimated
1.8 trillion pieces of plastic in the patch – but that only amounts to 8% of the total
tonnage. Of the 79,000 metric tons of plastic in the patch, most of it is abandoned
fishing gear – not plastic bottles or packaging drawing headlines today.42

• More than 130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US –
1.4bn tons from the meat industry annually.43

• A recent survey found antibiotic resistant E coli on 63% of factory-farmed pork in UK

supermarkets.44

A single IFAP (industrial food animal production) facility may produce as much waste as a
small city, concentrated over a small area of land. To dispose of the waste, producers
typically spread or spray the manure onto nearby agricultural land.
• When applied to crop fields, animal waste provides nutrients and organic matter that
help crops grow → therefore typically thought of as “manure” and not “waste”
• However, IFAP facilities generate such a large quantity of waste in one place, that it is
often much more than nearby crops can use (→ becoming pollution problem)
• When waste is over-applied, the excess may seep down into groundwater or be
carried into nearby waterways as runoff (the flow of water – such as from rain or
irrigation – over land) 45

39
Keledjian, Amanda, et al. "Wasted Catch: Unsolved Problems in U.S. Fisheries". Oceana. March 2014;
Goldenberg, Suzanne. "America's nine most wasteful fisheries named". The Guardian. 20 March 2014
40
http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ (all sources under “Oceans”)
41
"Risk Assessment Evaluation for Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations" Environmental Protection
Agency. 2004
42
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/2018/03/great-pacific-garbage-patch-plastics-environment/
43
"Animal Agriculture: Waste Management Practices". United States General Accounting Office. July 1999
44
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/jul/25/mega-farms-devastating-effects-go-far-beyond-
the-chicken-shed
45
Graham JP, Nachman KE. Managing waste from confined animal feeding operations in the United States: the
need for sanitary reform. J Water Heal. 2010;December:646-70.
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

Pollution from IFAP facilities is a public health and ecological problem

• May contain bacteria, viruses, parasites, veterinary drugs, hormones, heavy metals,
excess nutrients, and other potentially harmful contaminants
• People may be exposed to these hazards, for example by drinking contaminated well
water or swimming and fishing in contaminated waters46

Nutrient pollution (excess nutrients)

• When more manure is applied than plants can use, the excess nutrients become “too
much of a good thing”, seeping down into groundwater or being carried into nearby
waterways by runoff
• Nutrient pollution in aquatic ecosystems can stimulate algal blooms – rapid
accumulations of algae
o After the algae die, bacteria feed on the decomposing remains, using up
oxygen from the water → process can create dead zones underwater regions
where oxygen levels are too low for most plants and animals to survive)47
o Dead zones have become common in US coastal regions (eg Chesapeake Bay)
o Globally, the number of dead zones has roughly doubled every decade since
the 1960s48
o A dead zone in the Gulf of Mexico, largely the result of fertilizer and manure
runoff from corn and soy fields in the Midwestern US reaches the size of the
state of New Jersey at times of the year49

Antibiotic resistance
• Antibiotic resistance is one of the biggest threats to global health, food security, and
development today
• A growing number of infections are becoming harder to treat as the antibiotics used
to treat them become less effective50

• Sir Alexander Fleming (discovered antibiotic drug penicillin) warned in 1945 that “the
ignorant man may easily underdose himself and by exposing his microbes to
nonlethal quantities of the drug, make them resistant” → in a case of survival of the
fittest, bacteria capable of surviving in the presence of the antibiotic grow and
multiply
• Experiments in the 1940s and 1950s found that feeding low doses of antibiotics to
animals caused them to gain weight faster and on less feed
o These findings prompted the introduction of antibiotics to the diets of healthy
poultry, swine and cattle51

46
http://www.foodsystemprimer.org/food-production/industrial-food-animal-production/index.html
47
Mallin MA, Cahoon LB. Industrialized animal production — a major source of nutrient and microbial pollution
to aquatic ecosystems. Popul Environ. 2003;24(5):369-385.
48
Diaz RJ, Rosenberg R. Spreading dead zones and consequences for marine ecosystems. Science (80- ).
2008;321(5891):926-9.
49
Alexander RB, Smith R a, Schwarz GE, Boyer EW, Nolan J V, Brakebill JW. Differences in phosphorus and
nitrogen delivery to the Gulf of Mexico from the Mississippi River Basin. Environ Sci Technol. 2008;42(3):822-
30.
50
https://www.who.int/news-room/fact-sheets/detail/antibiotic-resistance
51
Gustafson RH, Bowen RE. Antibiotic use in animal agriculture. J Appl Microbiol. 1997;83(5):531-41.
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

o By 2009, 80% of antibiotic drugs sold in the US were used not for human
medicine but for food animal production52
• The nonmedical use of antibiotics in food animal production creates an environment
that favours antibiotic-resistance bacteria, eroding the effectiveness of lifesaving
drugs
• A growing body of evidence suggests pathogens (resistant or otherwise) spread from
IFAP operations to nearby communities via workers, air, water, and flies, and to
consumers via contaminated meat53

Furthermore, it is estimated that up to 90% of antibiotics consumed by animals are

excreted – releasing them into the natural environment for dispersal in ground and surface
waters54

There are differences in antibiotic use in livestock across the world

Health

For information about health benefits see the Physicians Committee for Responsible
Medicine: https://www.pcrm.org/

52
U.S. Food and Drug Administration. Letter to The Honorable Louise M. Slaughter: Sales of Antibacterial Drugs
in Kilograms. Washington D.C.; 2010.
53
http://www.foodsystemprimer.org/food-production/industrial-food-animal-production/index.html
54
Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Office of Infectious Disease Antibiotic resistance threats in
the United States, 2013. Apr, 2013
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Emma Heiling Impact of Animal Agriculture on the Environment 26/01/2019

Animal Agriculture is the most destructive industry facing the planet today.

Overview (sources: http://www.cowspiracy.com/infographic)

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