Animal agriculture is thought to be an action where animals are used for production
purposes like animal and recreational products. Researchers show that out of the
total agricultural land present within the U.S., 80% of it is used for food and grain to feed people- that’s almost half the entire landmass of the lower 48 states! Moreover, nearly
50% of the water utilized in the U.S. is employed for these animals.
All these animals crammed into factory farms, in turn, produce greenhouse emissions
and since most of the population worldwide are meat consumers, this action has increased the negative impact on the environment. Scientists report that every pound of methane is 84 times as effective as dioxide is at trapping heat in our atmosphere. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency reports that animal agriculture is the single largest
source of methane emissions in the U.S.
However, agriculture holds great value in our world today. It is the single source of high-
quality food which improves the nutrition percentage in everyone’s food. With animal
agriculture being one of the main sources for the human population, it could increase
the demand in the market which increases the stance for more supply from the
producers’ side. Therefore, the economy continues to grow. In addition to this, the
animal dung is great manure; an organic fertilizer.
Climate change causes two major harmful effects, these have been noticed to be the
greatest cause of degradation of animal agriculture. These effects not only harm the
activity itself, but also the economy that is backed up by it. Most low to medium income
animal agriculture farmers in the United States and around the world feel the adverse
effects. The adversities are as follows:
Global Warming
As mentioned, animal agriculture is one of the major producers from the usage of
greenhouse gas emissions, such as methane and nitrous oxide where methane is used
to produce enteric fermentation affecting global warming by 28 times normally.
Air pollution
When global warming rises, pollution starts to become affected, specifically in the air.
Certain particles are distributed where the air including oxygen that people breathe is
harmed.
To save biodiversity and conserve the activity of animal agriculture, the following steps
should be taken:
Husbandry- Controlled cultivation, management, and production of domestic animals.
Sustainable Living- Decreasing usage of non biodegradable substances in Animal agriculture and in our daily lives to maintain a healthy environment for the animals.
Manure Management- Capture, storage, treatment, and utilization of animal manure in an environmentally sustainable manner.
Educate/Spread Awareness- More animal agriculture farmers should be encouraged to take up courses based on the fundamentals and science behind animal agriculture.
References
● https://www.thecanadianencyclopedia.ca/en/article/animal-agriculture
● https://academic.oup.com/jn/article/145/7/1377/4590010
● https://academic.oup.com/af/article/9/1/69/5173494
● https://www.agric.wa.gov.au/climate-change/reducing-livestock-
greenhouse-gas-emissions
Researched & Written By: Ishita Shukla and Manaswini Singh
Edited By: Kobiga Seralathan