Meat and the environment
From Appropedia
Note that the environmental impact of meat production depends greatly on factors such as:
- type of meat/animal,
- feed used,
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[edit] Impacts
- Production of methane by ruminants (mainly cows). Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas. Is this worse for grain-fed cattle than for grass-fed cattle?suggested project.
- Destruction of natural habitat to create land for cattle
- Destruction of natural habitat (e.g. rainforest) to grow food for cattle.
[edit] Additional adverse impacts
Competition for food with humans - this means that wealthier people eating lots of meat increases the price of agricultural produce, which makes life harder for poorer people. This may not be an issue where:
- The animals live on scraps
- The animals live on other feed which humans do not eat, e.g. grass (cattle), household scraps (pigs, goats, chickens) and insects and seeds found in a garden (chickens, ducks).
[edit] See also
[edit] External links
- Meat is murder on the environment - New Scientist, - 18 July 2007. "A kilogram of beef is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions and other pollution than driving for 3 hours while leaving all the lights on back home."
