The 3 Reasons Why Mother Nature is Putting Meat in a Time Out

Happy Meatless Monday!

There are many reasons to cut meat out of your diet and not all of them involve the animals themselves. Meat production itself, is very taxing on our planet and our unrenewable resources. People have there own reasons for becoming vegetarian or vegan, but these are some of the factors that really hit home for me.

1. Meat consumption is a huge contributor to rainforest depletion. The U.S. imports roughly 200 millions pounds of beef from Central America every year. I'm sure you can only imagine the fossil fuels used to transport all this beef for our Big Macs, but the bigger question is, where does all this land come from in a highly forested area? The answer is, clear-cutting forests and rainforests. A Smithsonian study revealed that the necessity for more grazing land means that every minute of every day, a land area equivalent to seven football fields is destroyed in the Amazon basin. Only 20% of the original forest in the world remains and our population is growing by the minute. I think we all know what that means, more burgers, less trees, more carbon and less oxygen for us to breath, UNLESS...we do soemthing about it! :)

2. Meat consumption and distribution relies heavily on fossil fuels. About 1/3 of the fossil fuels produced in the U.S. goes to animal agriculture. This doesn't even cover the resources it takes to ship the meat to our local groceries. According to a study in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, the production of one calorie of animal protein requires more than ten times the fossil fuel input as a calorie of plant protein.This also means, that ten times more carbon dioxide is emmitted from this process.

3. Meat production is extremely water intensive. All agriculture can be inefficient with water use, but meat needs a serious time out. Animals need a huge amount of water to survive before they are are slaughtered for our consumption. For every pound of beef, we use 2,500 gallons of water, pork uses 1,630 gallons, and chicken uses 815 gallons. This is compared to, kale at 23 gallons, tomatoes at 24 gallons, wheat at 25 gallons and carrots 33 gallons. Agricultural pesticides and nitrates used in fertilizers and manures seep into our groundwater, eventually spilling out into the oceans creating dead zones (areas so toxic that neither plant nor animal life can survive). Not to mention the pounds and pounds of manure these cows create. We can only use so much resourcefully, the rest is often dumped into rivers and streams, killing millions of fish and polluting our fresh water.

These are just a couple of reasons I'm passionate about eliminating my meat consumption. This doesn't mean that you have to become completely vegetarian or vegan, but if you look at these statistics, cutting out meat a few days a week can make a HUGE difference. Recent studies have shown that adopting a vegan diet does more to reduce your emissions than driving a hybrid car. The energy it takes to make a single hamburger is the equivalant to driving a small car twenty miles.

Just food for though next time your planning your meals for the week :).

Photo credits: amazonrainforestanimalsfacts.blogspot.com & sterlingqualitywater.com

Statistics: About.com

Monica Schrock is a vegetarian, bicycle-riding environmentalist, tattoo enthusiast and social media junkie. You can catch her drinking an iced coffee and reading a comic book (probably Tank Girl) at any given moment. She hearts our planet and gives tips on how to lower our environmental impact on her own site, Low Impact Betty. Stay updated on her low impact adventures by connecting with her on Twitter and Facebook.