Cristina Bertagna
According to Veganuary, the method in which we currently produce food is incredibly inefficient, unsustainable, and unable to meet the demands of and not allow us to feed a growing global population.
Why The Fork Do We Care
Animal farming on an industrial scale is a serious contributor to and responsible for:
- Climate change.
- Deforestation.
- Species extinction.
- A significant source of pollution.
- Killing billions of sentient animals annually.
- Surging the risk of antibiotic resistance and global pandemics drastically.
Methane and Climate Change
In addition to the animal cruelty associated with dairy farming, keeping cows in captivity also comes with environmental consequences.
Through no fault of their own, cows are by far the main contributors who emit vast quantities of this climate-changing gas, accounting for around 27% of all human-related methane emissions.
As a result of this the 13 largest dairy firms in the world have been discovered to emit the same amount of greenhouse gases as the entire United Kingdom.
Deforestation
Not only are forests and other important habitats cleared for cow grazing, but also to cultivate the soya used in their diet.
Only 18% of the calories we consume come from animal agriculture, despite using 83% of the world’s agriculture for animals.
The loss of wildlife comes with the loss of forests, and indigenous people are displaced. The world’s sixth mass extinction is now underway, warned by scientists, the key driver being animal agriculture.
River and Lake Pollution
River and Lake Pollution
Our waterways are dying all across the world as a result of dairy and other animal farms as well as increasingly severe algae blooms.
This explosive growth of algae blooms fuelled by nutrients found in animal waste and fertilisers required to boost crop growth to feed the billions of farmed animals, inhibits aquatic plant growth by obstructing sunlight and removing oxygen from the water, killing fish and insects as a result.
This is happening all over the world where dairy farming is significant.
Credit: AdobeStock
Convinced that things need to change and fast, is why change is being advocated towards more plant-based alternatives and, eventually, a vegan world. To get closer to the vision of a more sustainable world, breaking down the main barriers is vital to ensure vegan consumption and plant-based foods are more visible, tasteful and accessible to the general public than ever before.
How you and What The Fork can help make a difference
How you and What The Fork can help make a difference
