Meat

Meat is animal flesh that is eaten as food. It often refers to the flesh of mammalian species (pigs, cattle, lambs, etc.) and not to the flesh of fish and other seafood, poultry, and other animals.^[1]

Impacts on the environment

The environmental impact of meat production greatly depends on factors such as:

• the type of meat/animal,^[2][3][4]
• the feed used

However, regardless of these factors, traditional meat production will still have following negative effects:

• 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?^{[expansion needed]}
• Destruction of natural habitat to create land for cattle
• Destruction of natural habitat (e.g. rainforest) to grow food for cattle.
• 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).

Adopting a meatless diet

See also

• Meat production
• Meat and food processing
• Meat birds

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."