Spares Farm Animals from cruelty
Did you know the average American eats a staggering 7,000 animals in his or her lifetime? Globally, over 60 billion factory farmed animals are killed per year. These animals are subject to countless stresses and painful physical violations in today's brutally efficient agricultural systems. Chickens raised for meat become so large from hormone treatments that they are unable to walk and are crammed into crowded, dimly lit sheds that aren’t cleaned during their entire lives. Pigs are confined in spaces so small they are unable to turn around and have their tales painfully eaten by other pigs. 27 foot-long trout are raised in a space the size of a bathtub. The more plant-based meals we eat, the fewer animals we harm. If every person reduced his or her farmed chicken portion across two meals per week, we would collectively save over a billion farm animals. Over a lifetime, a person who limits the farmed meat, eggs, and dairy she or he eats will make a big difference towards saving the lives of animals. To be most effective in saving animals, focus on reducing your consumption of poultry, seafood, and eggs. Chickens and fish, due to their small size, constitute the vast majority of farmed animals killed.
STems loss of Biodiversity
Biodiversity—the variety of different types of life found of Earth—helps keep our ecosystem healthy. We depend on healthy ecosystems to produce the many goods and services that contribute to our well-being, including clean air, fresh water, fuel, timber, and food. Meat production, from the clearing of land and acerbation of drought, pollution, and climate change, is responsible for around 30% of global biodiversity loss. Native species are often directly killed to protect meat-production profits. Grass-eating species such as elk, deer and pronghorn are killed to reserve more feed for cattle; beavers and prairie dogs are also targeted because they disrupt the homogenous landscapes desired by livestock managers. Biodiversity in aquatic ecosystems is strongly affected by nutrient and pathogen discharge from farms into marine and freshwater ecosystems, ammonia emissions, and acid rain. Livestock production also directly affects terrestrial biodiversity through invasive alien species - sometimes from escaped livestock or the spreading of diseases for which they may be carriers - and overexploitation through overgrazing of pasture flora. In the U.S. alone, over 260 million acres of forest have been cleared to make room for crop fields, most of which are used to exclusively grow livestock feed. Land clearing in Brazil to grow chicken feed is responsible for the destruction of about 3 million acres of rainforest. Clearing land in the Amazon rainforest to grow soybeans for feed is responsible for the disappearance of over 100 million hectares of forest. Eating fewer animal products is one way to take extinction off your plate.
Decreases Water Footprint
While many parts of the world, including areas of the western United States, face dwindling fresh water resources, the demand for animal products fuels massive water usage. In fact, nearly half of all water used in the United States goes to raising animals for food. Large amounts of water are needed for hydrating farm animals, cleaning cages, stalls, pens and sheds, disposing of animal waste, and for cooling animals with sprays during periods of high temperatures. According to National Geographic, it takes nearly 2,000 gallons of water to produce a single pound of beef in comparison to fewer than 200 gallons for a pound of potatoes or wheat. To put these numbers in perspective, 80 hamburgers requires as much water as a decade’s worth of showers. Eating fewer animal products is by far the most effective way to reduce your water footprint.
Mitigates Climate Change
From the clearing of forests to the transportation of animal products, the meat industry accounts for nearly 20% of global greenhouse gases according to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The 1.75 million cows in California generate more fecal waste than the human population of the United Kingdom. These cows and their waste emit enormous amounts of methane, which has more than 20 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide. Burning fossil fuels to produce fertilizers for animal feed crops emits an additional 41 million metric tons of CO2 per year. Globally, deforestation for animal grazing and feed crops is estimated to emit 2.4 billion tons of CO2 every year. Not only does deforestation contribute greenhouse gases to the atmosphere, but it also destroys the very trees that act as carbon sinks, absorbing harmful CO2 from the atmosphere. The biggest intervention you can make toward reducing your carbon footprint is not to abandon your car, but to eat fewer animal products.
will you Save A Life today?
Thanks to your support, the Reducetarian Foundation is inspiring a powerful and cost-effective way to save farm animals from cruelty, improve human health, and protect the environment. Becoming a Reducetarian Supporter is a simple and tax-deductible way to make a meaningful difference.