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Linda Vicky Juarez

Prof. Eric Dinsmore
10 November 2015
English 6A
Global Warmings New Enemy
Concern for the environment has always been a priority, especially for
environmentalists. Another topic that is also a social controversy is animal agriculture.
The complex relationship between climate change and animal agriculture is a significant
issue. Animal agriculture is the main source of environmental waste produce that affects
the environment. Surprisingly, farmed animals contribute more to climate change than
transport (Foer 58). With that in mind, animal agriculture should be raised as a primary
concern when it is leading effects to climate change.
In Eating Animals, Jonathan Foers cites from the UN, raising animals for food
(whether on factory or traditional farms) is one of the top two or three most significant
contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to
global(58). The purpose of stating this is basically to inform the reader that fossil fuels
and other chemicals do not only contribute to pollution. In other words, it highlights how
animal agriculture is also responsible for climate change globally. Foer expresses his
statement about global warming when he writes, whether or not you believe in global
warmingyou recognize that the air you breathe and the water you drink are
importantand that they will be important to your children and grandchildren. Even
those who continue to deny that the environment is in peril would agree that it would be

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bad if it were (73). Foer as a parent can relate that any parent would want the best for
their child especially when it comes to their health. He is aware of the potential impact
that leads to global warming when he connects this in his writing,Nothing comes close
to having the impact of our dietary choices. Just as nothing we do has the great potential
to cause nearly as much animal suffering as eating meat, no daily choice that we make
has a greater impact on the environment (74). The essence of Foers argument in this
statement is not to convince the reader to change their dietary choices, however to inform
the thought of the connection to animal agriculture and the environment. It evokes the
fact that animal production has the great potential of causing climate change.
Human activity is a major factor of global warming. According to Time
Magazine, There may be no other single human activity that has a bigger impact on the
planet than the raising of livestock. The livestock production plays a major role in
climate change. For example, water use in a livestock is very important. However, it is
the major source of pollution. According to the United Nations Food and Agriculture
Organization, It is probably the largest sectorial source of water pollution, contributing
to eutrophication, dead zones in coastal areas, degradation of coral reefs, human health
problems, emergence of antibiotic resistance and many others. In addition, it is the
major sources of pollution are from animal wastes, antibiotics and hormones, chemicals
from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feed crops, and sediments from eroded
pastures(UNFAO). Provided by this statement, it gives out the striking details that
underscores how livestock production affect climate change.

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Moreover, animal agriculture is a primary emitter to global warming. In a 2006
report, the Food and Agriculture and Organization reported that , Animal agriculture is
responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust
from all transportation. Greenhouse gas emissions, also known as GHGs, is a gas that is
operates by trapping radiation heat which causes a warming process in the atmosphere.
Animal agriculture produces GHGs in meats, egg, and milk production are
responsible...of human-induced GHGs(FAO). In addition to that, farm animals alone
are projected to emit over two-thirds of the amount of GHGs(Humane Society
International). These reports show a considerable concern that it should be raised about
livestock and how they are producing gases that is affecting the climate. What is causing
animal agriculture to produce these gas emissions to Earths atmosphere is also the way
how the industry produces food. With that in mind, If animals are considered as food
production machines, these machines turn out to be extremely polluting...and to be very
insufficient(HSI Report). It is highly insufficient how the agricultural industry raised
animals in a crate without any adequate space for them to experience their natural
behaviors. These farming practices are polluting much more to climate change because
the way these animals are raised and as well, large-scale animal factories often give
animals antibiotics to promote growth, or to compensate for illness resulting from
crowded conditions. These antibiotics enter the environment and the food chain(Humane
Society). As this evidence stands, animal agriculture is not only producing calories but as
well producing an environmental impact.

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Overall, the consumption of livestock is a major cause of climate change. However,
there are options for a better cause. Bill Mckibben suggests," We should simply stop
eating factory-farmed meat, and the effects of climate change would be but one of the
many benefit"(201). Shaping towards a vegan or vegetarian diet is a huge commitment
but it demonstrates that consumption of animal flesh is not supported and that the
atmosphere matters. Another alternative is shifting farming practices to organic farming.
Organic farming requires a lot of management, however the benefits of this practice is
healthy. For example," An organic farmer needs to create a fertile soil that provides
sufficient nutrients at the right time..end result is a healthier soil, which may prove vital
in efforts to make it more resilient in the face of climate change as well as conserve
it"(Biello 233). This type of farming would be conventional and serve not only health
benefits but as well an improvement to avoid further negative environmental impact. This
key change would be significant reduction in livestock production if more awareness was
raised of how factory farms contribute more pollution.
In conclusion, the industrial livestock production is giving food products to put our
forks into but the environmental factors should also be considered when deciding on the
ethics of eating off what factory produces. [W]hen nonvegetarians say that human
problems come first I cannot help wondering what exactly it is that they are doing for
human beings that compels them to continue to support the wasteful, ruthless exploitation
of farm animals.(Peter Singer). If human problems are being suggested to come first,
then climate change should be taken more into consideration since it's the atmosphere
humans live in and breathe from.

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