Agriculture Reference
In-Depth Information
Reports the Worldwatch Institute,
“[A]s environmental science has advanced,
it has become apparent that the . . .
[animal agriculture sector] is a driving force
behind virtually every major category of
environmental damage now threatening
the human future—deforestation, erosion,
fresh water scarcity, air and water pollution,
climate change, biodiversity loss, social
injustice, the destabilization of communities,
and the spread of disease.”
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all—are truly devastating the environment. Animal agriculture-
induced environmental problems have reached such a critical
juncture that the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United
Nations insists that they be addressed “with urgency.” We must
shift to more sustainable methods of agriculture, diversify farms,
and reduce the numbers of animals raised and killed for meat, egg,
and dairy products, and we must do this now.
The way we “farm” animals has become a critical global issue.
To what extent is each of us willing to be conscious of where the
food we eat comes from and to take a step away from constrain-
ing billions of farmed animals in factories where they are forced to
live in unnatural conditions, poisoning water and air, clear-cutting
forests, causing loss of biodiversity, and contributing to climate
change in the process? The answer to that question has the poten-
tial to improve not only the animals' lives but also our own and the
life of the planet.
