What did you learn about dietary choices from using the footprint calculator? Now imagine that you could translate what you learned into an effective societal policy on food- what would it be? And how would this policy effect the need to alleviate world hunger?
925 million people on earth do not have enough to eat according to the FAO [Food and Agricultural Organization]. That's almost 1 in 7 inhabitants of our planet!
Food & Hunger >
Impacts of the Meat Industry
It is a necessity that we pay attention to the destruction of our environment that our meat industry is causing, and to find ways to prevent further destruction. It is unlikely that we can make many people transition into a vegan or vegetarian diet, but I believe that it is crucial more people understand the impacts. According to a report published by the United Nations and Food Agriculture Organization, the livestock sector is making a phenomenal impact on climate change, water, land degradation and biodiversity. Livestock are responsible for almost two-thirds of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems, while also being responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. Livestock is increasing our use of water, accounting for over 8 percent of global human water use, mostly for the irrigation of feed crops. The land degradation caused by livestock is astounding. For example, 70% of previously forested land in the Amazon is now occupied by pastures for livestock. Lastly, livestock is most likely the lead ing cause of reduction in biodiversity, since it is the major drive of deforestation. This causes other problems such as pollution, overfishing and sedimentation of coastal areas. Maybe it is an unrealistic goal to have many people convert to a different diet, but I feel that people should become more aware of the frightening effects of the meat industry.
Sources: https://www.veganoutreach.org/whyvegan/environment.html