Restoring America's Health
Health & Wellness Publications
The Simple Solution
To
Planetary Environmental Issues

Many people I talk to say they don’t think eating animals is bad.  I guess it depends on what you consider 'bad'.  Bad for your health, bad for the environment, bad for the massive pollution?  Not sure which one they mean.  We avoid meat and all animal products primarily for health; at least initially.  Then upon more exposure to the truth and our travels across the USA, we saw the devastation and filth/stink caused by raising animals for food.  When I was a kid of about 20, I worked summers in Pitman NJ at the CBS Record Division, Nights.  I had to drive past a pig farm and the stench was awful and disgusting.  Don't remember the road but somewhere between Springfield PA and Pitman NJ. I don't think I ever ate pork again.

We have crisscrossed the USA and I have traveled across Europe, the land required to raise animals for food is large.  Larger still is the land/area needed to grow crops to feed all of them.  People say they need the protein from 'meat' but where they think that protein originates to grow all that protein in a cow, pig, goat, etc.?  PLANTS.  

Then there is the antibiotic use.  More is used to treat animals than humans.  There are more than 90 million cattle, 5.3 million sheep and lamb, 66 million hogs, 200 million turkeys and eight billion chickens on U.S. farms. The combined weight of livestock and poultry in the U.S. is roughly 3.5 times that of the combined weight of American men and women. A 1,200-pound steer is equal to roughly six men. If a steer needs treatment for pneumonia, it is logical will tell you that it will require a larger dose than a person. Similarly, it is logical that our combined U.S. livestock and poultry herds and flocks will require more antibiotics by volume than our combined human population.

Talk about greenhouse gasses.  The exhaling of all these animals, not to mention the amount of shit they produce is massive.  The shit and piss they generate is NOT REGULATED, processed or properly disposed of.  It usually goes into cesspools and then to the closest river, stream, lake or ocean, some is even sprayed on land/crops.  99% of US farmed animals are living in factory farms at present. By species, an estimate that 70.4% of cows, 98.3% of pigs, 99.8% of turkeys, 98.2% of chickens raised for eggs, and over 99.9% of chickens raised for meat are living in factory farms. Based on the confinement and living conditions of farmed fish, it is estimated that virtually all US fish farms are suitably described as factory farms, though there is limited data on fish farm conditions and no standardized definition.  Land animal figures use data from the USDA Census of Agriculture and EPA definitions of Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations.


All to produce a little meat/protein for humans.  Eliminate the middle beast and just eat plants; at least our shit is processed/treated before dumping into the environment.

It is a fact that none will argue and almost everyone ignores as the single major contributor to all of these issues, perceived and real. Here are some quick statistics (and yes they are supportable):
 
  • Animal Agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions; more than the combined exhaust from ALL transportation.
  • Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of CO2 per year; that is 51% of ALL worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
  • Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day and 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide.
  • Animal Agriculture consumes from 34 to 76 trillion gallons of water annually. Fracking only uses about 70 billion gallons annually.
  • Feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of all water used in the USA.
  • More than 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef and it takes 14 to 16 months of care and feeding before a cow can be slaughtered for meat.

There are hundreds of other statistics that can be listed. Some of which deal with the amount of land devoted to raising feed for all the animals humans consume. Forests are cleared for grazing land and feed production. Waterways are polluted with runoff from fecal waste from animal agriculture; none of which is processed or regulated. Water is polluted by this waste as well as the excreted drugs and antibiotics fed or injected to maintain some reasonable level of health for the animals.
 
With all the evidence of how animal consumption contributes to the environmental issues ranted and raved about today, ALL government regulations and accords, in all countries exempt animal agriculture from ANY regulation, control or reduction. Political figures the World around, especially the corrupt swamp dwellers in Washington D.C., don’t do Anything to address the Real Elephant in the Room!
 
Animal Agriculture and the consumption of animals for food is THE biggest contributors to Worldwide pollution; yet it is totally ignored. ALL of these issues can be dramatically impacted by simply reducing or eliminating animal agriculture. In all the accords, environmental regulations and other laws in every Country, Animal Agriculture is EXEMPTED from ALL controls and Never Even Addressed!
 
The Simple, Easy, Cheap and Quick SOLUTION to all these issues is simply Plant Based Nutrition. Proven to increase health & wellness, moving towards a more focused Plant Based Lifestyle of Delicious and Nutritious FOOD is the KEY.
 
No, it won’t and can’t happen overnight but it could happen relatively quickly IFF someone begins to address the issue. As long is this Major Issue is ignored, swept under the rug by corrupt governments and political self-serving idiots there will Never be Progress!
 
The next time some Environmentalist Wacko talks about ‘Global Warming’ and more fear mongering, just ask them what they eat, are they Vegan or Plant Based? Most will ignore the question, walk away or divert to another topic; NONE will address the Elephant in the Room!
 
Plant Based Whole FOOD is the Answer!

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Skip Stein is a Polymath Freelance Writer, Health & Wellness Lifestyle Counselor and Corporate Productivity & Wellness Consultant focusing on the power of Whole Food Nutrition and the delicious nature of a Plant-Centric Lifestyle.