A World Without Animal Agriculture
We’re facing unprecedented times, and as people are staying indoors more often, we’ve been able to see the environment change around us, too.
The air is cleaner and emissions have been reduced by 25 percent. Amid the silence of the usually noisy and hectic big cities, we’re starting to hear birds singing and animals are being seen who typically hide away from human activity.
At some point, things will start to go back to normal for us. Stay-at-home orders will be lifted and traffic will increase as we go back to our routine. But after catching a glimpse of a world without as much human activity, many of us are asking ourselves: is a sustainable and peaceful world possible if it includes us humans?
THE ANSWER: Yes! But to achieve this, we must understand that life as we know it can’t continue if we continue to base our food production system on unsustainable industrial animal farming. Not only are modern farms torture to animals, but they’re destroying the planet at an alarming rate.
WHAT WOULD THE WORLD LOOK LIKE WITHOUT INDUSTRIAL ANIMAL FARMING?
ANIMALS SAVED FROM HELL: The livestock and fishing industries are responsible for causing the greatest animal abuses known in all of history. No other human activity has caused more animals to suffer and die than this perverse and destructive mechanism.
In a world without industrial livestock, every year 70 billion animals would be spared the psychological torture of confinement and terrifying deaths at the slaughterhouse. Although all the animals used for consumption suffer immensely, fish and chickens are arguably some of the most abused species. A world without industrial fishing and without the chicken industry would save 1,613,000,000,000 (one billion six hundred and thirteen billion) fish and 66 billion chickens every year.
THE ENVIRONMENT SAVED FROM DESTRUCTION: In a world without industrial farming, a quarter of the total greenhouse gases worldwide would be reduced , 45 percent of the planet’s land currently used for grazing or growing feed for animals intended for consumption freed up, between 20 and 30 percent less drinking water would be used worldwide, and deforestation in the Amazon rainforest would decrease by half.
WE HAVE BEEN WARNED: Over a year ago, the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), made up of some of the world’s leading scientists, made “a last call” to alert the public that only We have 11 years left to maintain the global temperature limit at 34.7 degrees and prevent the risks of drought, floods and extreme heat (all of them consequences of climate change) from rising significantly.
Large reductions in meat consumption would be necessary to avoid a catastrophe caused by the effects of climate change of which the livestock industry is a leading cause. In a world without this industry, we wouldn’t have to worry about this disaster. Furthermore, government policies have an opportunity to change, and push the development of production of alternatives to meat and other products that are cruelty-free, more sustainable and healthier.
MORE THAN 10 MILLION DEATHS PER YEAR WOULD BE PREVENTED: The excessive use of antibiotics in animals raised for food has caused the multiplication of resistant strains of bacteria known as “superbugs.” According to the UN, this resistance is already considered a global crisis because it kills 700,000 people each year due to antibiotic-resistant infections. That number will rise to 10 million by the year 2050 if no action is taken.
Eating meat is also linked to many other health problems, including heart disease, diabetes, and obesity. In fact, in 2015, the World Health Organization came to classify processed meat as carcinogenic. For all this, a global plant-based diet would also result in 8.1 million fewer human deaths a year worldwide.
RESOURCES WOULD BE PUT TO BETTER USE: A plant-based world would more efficiently use our precious resources, something that’s impossible within a food production system based on industrial livestock. According to The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, a person who consumes meat requires 17 times more land, 14 times more water and 10 times more energy than someone who follows a plant-based diet.
The UN has already warned that in 50 years there will be 10,500 million people on the planet (we are currently 7,000 million) and it will be impossible to supply meat to such a large population. In order to feed everyone, it will be necessary to produce food in a more sustainable way.
THIS WORLD IS POSSIBLE!: None of what we’re describing is far from reality. In fact, more and more people are switching to plant-based foods every day. Alternatives to meat, dairy, and eggs are growing exponentially and millions of people are already eating vegan or reducing their meat consumption. Similarly, more and more celebrities and high-performance athletes are eating a vegan diet for various reasons and encourage others to do so, and government policies begin to encourage citizens to reduce their consumption of meat or follow a plant-based diet.
Each of us has the ability to transform our current reality and contribute to that global change that we all need. We can transform the current food production system based on industrial animal farming into one that does not involve cruelty to animals, that is respectful of the environment, and that does not risk our health, and above all, that does not put the future of the planet at risk.
We all have the power to save our planet and the lives of animals. Try plant-based alternatives, today!
