Eating the Environment Away

Cattle farms pose a great yet ignored threat to our way of life. Its environmental effects are devastating to contemplate. The milk, eggs and meat that we human beings consume accounts for 40% of all agricultural produce in the world. The food grains that are used to directly feed the human beings form a relatively small portion of the agricultural products of the world. This small chunk includes all grains, vegetables and fruits. Vegan lifestyle supports eating food grains, fruits, vegetables, and nuts. The idea is to not use animals as produce. Cattle farming as the name suggests is exactly the opposite. The animal farming sector employs 1.3 billion people globally and uses up 1/3 of all the worlds fresh water. There is no other single human activity that has such a huge environmental impact that is ignored so blatantly both by its consumers and by its producers.

The numbers are simply daunting.  The fact that the vast majority of land about 30% of the word’s total ice-free surface is used not to raise grains, fruits and vegetables that are directly fed to human beings, but to support the chickens, pigs and cattle that humans eventually eat is simply breathtaking. Not only is all this meat eating cruel to animals it is also cruel to humans. It promotes an unhealthy eating pattern based on myths. Research has proven again and again that Vegan lifestyle promotes eating habits that are good for health and are natural. Natural products as opposed to man-made foods like cattle are the best for one’s health. The growth of the meat industry echoes the rise in global population, and also higher standards of living in developing economies. A sustained effort to educate people on the harmful impacts of consuming and rearing industrial farm animals is required.  These industrial farm animals are kept in deplorable conditions are fed on food spiked with pesticides and antibiotics and then culled mercilessly for their flesh. They are often disease riddled and full of unnatural hormones. Humans who consume them are bound to be affected by such factors. Vegan lifestyle is a compassionate lifestyle that focuses on healthy living. There are many vegan stores that stock products that enable healthy eating habits.

Whereas meat or chicken used to be cooked once a week it is now a part of every meal in many households. To meet the rising global demand for cheap protein, livestock production has grown increasingly more industrialized. Vegan lifestyle is alternative lifestyle that promotes healthy eating and a cruelty free society.

If people exist on food grains and other cruelty free sources of food the food scarcity problem of world could me mitigated. Vegan food is a great compassionate and healthier source of sustenance. Tropical and rainforests are being cut down constantly to provide more land for animal farming. In Brazil, soybean, a feed for pigs is one the largest cash crops causing huge scale deforestation.

Livestock production also is one of the biggest users of the world’s water supply accounting for more than 8 % of global water use mainly for the irrigation of feed crops.  It is also a major source for polluting both surface and ground water through animal wastes, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals from tanneries, fertilizers and pesticides used for feed crops. It is our duty as compassionate and thinking human beings to increase awareness about the dangers that exist both to humans and the environment as a direct result of consuming these animal products. It is also a mission of the vegan lifestyle.

Originally Posted here: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/eating-environment-away-vegan-lifestyles-vegalyfe-india