Article I made grammatical changes too: humans of new york
3 articles
Environmental vegetarianism - Final article I am going to edit
The article I have chose to edit is Environmental vegetarianism, it has a good base but I think it is missing some key components. I plan to add to environmental impacts of the meat industry on water. Also the on section, Environmental impact of animal products, could be more relevant to the article. Looking at animal products is something closer to veganism so I think this article should focus more on the environmental impacts of meat products instead.
List of sources:
http://www.vegetariantimes.com/article/the-environmental-impact-of-a-meat-based-diet
http://time.com/4266874/vegetarian-diet-climate-change/
https://www.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/vegetarianism-save-planet-environment
http://www.chooseveg.com/environment
Henning, Brian G. "Moral Vegetarianism: A Whiteheadian Response to Andrew F. Smith." Process Studies, vol. 45, no. 2, Fall/Winter2016, pp. 236-249. EBSCOhost, ezproxy.capilanou.ca/login?url=https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&db=a9h&AN=121478702&site=eds-live.
Draft/ Edits: MY EDITS IN BOLD
Environmental impacts of animal products
editA 2003 paper published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition, after calculating effects on energy, land, and water use, concluded that meat-based diets require more resources and are less sustainable than lacto-ovo vegetarian diets. "The water required for a meat-eating diet is twice as much needed for a 2,000-litre-a-day vegetarian diet".[1]
Another agricultural effect is on land degradation. Cattle are a known cause for soil erosion through trampling of the ground and overgrazing. Much of the world's crops are used to feed animals. With 30 percent of the earth's land devoted to raising livestock, a major cutback is needed to keep up with growing population. Demand for meat is expected to double by 2050; meat consumption is steadily rising in countries such as China that once followed more sustainable, vegetable-based diets.[citation needed] This is because, as countries are developing, incomes are increasing so the demand for animal products are seen as a luxury many can now afford. The demand for animal products is quickly increasing; "74 percent for meat, 58 percent for dairy products and 500 percent for eggs". This growing demand is unsustainable.[2]
The environmental impacts of animal production vary with the method of production. A grazing-based production can limit soil erosion and also allow farmers to control pest problems with less pesticides through rotating crops with grass. However, in arid areas, this may catalyze a desertification process. The ability of soil to absorb water by infiltration is important for minimizing runoff and soil erosion. Researchers in Iowa reported that a soil under perennial pasture grasses grazed by livestock was able to absorb far more water than the same kind of soil under two annual crops: corn and soybeans. Corn and soybean crops commonly provide food for human consumption, biofuels, livestock feed, or some combination of these.
Animal production has a large impact on water pollution and usage. According to the Water Education Foundation, it takes 2,464 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef in California. If you took a seven minute shower everyday for six months, this would use the same amount of water. To put it into perspective, it takes only 25 gallons of water to produce one pound of wheat. Raising this large amount of livestock, creates a massive amount of manure and urine. This pollutes natural resources by changing the pH of water, contaminates the air, and emits a major amount of gas that directly affects global warming. Most livestock, are raised in small confined spaces to cut down on cost, which increases the problem of concentrated waste. Livestock in the U.S. alone, produces 2.7 trillion pounds of manure each year which is ten times more than waste produced by the entire U.S. population. The issue with this waste is the way it is disposed. Some, is used as fertilizer but it doesn't have the best nutrients for growing agriculture. Some farmers, create manure lagoons which store millions of gallons of animal waste which is extremely unsafe and detrimental to the environment. [3]
Criticisms
editOptions like sustainably raised meat do exist.
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- ^ "Solution for the world's water woes: Rising populations and growing demand is making the world a thirsty planet; the solution lies in people reducing the size of their "water footprints" - Water Education Foundation". www.watereducation.org. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
- ^ "Sustainability Pathways: Sustainability and livestock". www.fao.org. Retrieved 2017-03-21.
- ^ admin (2007-04-04). "The Environmental Impact of a Meat-Based Diet". Vegetarian Times. Retrieved 2017-03-21.