speciesism

Vegetarianism and Climate Change

The report from Worldwatch Institute shows that livestock raising is responsible for at least 51 percent of global warming.*
A Netherlands Environmental Assessment Agency report showed that global shift to vegan diet could cut climate change mitigation costs by 80% *
According to the UN report “Livestock’s Long Shadow,” livestock production is the greatest contributor to global warming.*

Meat-based diets require 10-20 times as much land as plant-based diets – nearly half of the world’s grains & soybeans are fed to animals.

Proportion of GHG emissions from different parts of livestock production Livestock production emissions: 18%
Global Transportation emissions: 13.5%
18% of all greenhouse-gas emissions from human activities, including:
9% of CO2
37% of CH4(methane) – 23 times the Global Warming Potential of CO2 over 100 years, 72 times over 20 years
65% of N2O (nitrous oxide) -296 times the Global Warming Potential of CO2 over 100 years, 275 over 20 years
Source: FAO, 2006 (1)

Producing 1kg beef:
Leads to the emission of greenhouse gases with a warming potential equivalent to 36.4 kg of CO2 .

Releases fertilising compounds equivalent to 340 g. of sulphur dioxide and 59 g. of phosphate.

Consumes 169 megajoules of energy .

1 kg of beef is responsible for the equivalent of the amount of CO2 emitted by the average European car every 250 km, and burns enough energy to light a 100-watt bulb for 20 days.

Over two-thirds of the energy goes towards producing and transporting the animals’ feed.
SOME DISEASES RELATED TO MEAT CONSUMPTION / PRODUCTION:

Swine flu
Blue tongue disease
E. coli
Salmonella
Bird flu
Mad cow disease
Pig’s disease (PMWS)
Listeriosis
Shellfish poisoning
Pre-eclampsia
SOME OF THE COSTS OF MEAT EATING:
HEART DISEASE

Over 17 million lives lost globally each year
Cost of cardiovascular disease is at least US$1 trillion a year
CANCER

Over 1 million new colon cancer patients diagnosed each year
More than 600,000 colon cancer-related mortalities annually
In the United States alone, colon cancer treatment costs about US$6.5 billion.
Millions of people are newly diagnosed with other meat-related cancers every year.
DIABETES

246 million people are affected worldwide
An estimated US$174 billion spent each year on treatment.
OBESITY

Worldwide 1.6 billion adults are overweight with 400 million more who are obese
Costs US$93 billion each year for medical expenses in the United States alone.
At least 2.6 million people die annually from problems related to being overweight or obese
ENVIRONMENTAL

Use up to 70% of clean water
Pollute most of the water bodies
Deforest the lungs of the Earth
Uses up to 43% of the world’s cereal
Uses up to 85% of the world’s soy
Cause world hunger & wars
80% cause of global warming
PLUS MORE…

SOME OF THE COSTS OF MILK CONSUMPTION:
Breast, prostate and testicular cancer from hormones present in milk
Listeria and Crohn’s disease
Hormones and saturated fat leads to osteoporosis, obesity, diabetes and heart disease
Linked to higher incidences of multiple sclerosis
Classified as a major allergen
Lactose intolerance
PLUS MORE…

SOME BENEFITS OF A VEGETARIAN DIET:

Lower blood pressure
Lower cholesterol levels
Reduce Type 2 diabetes
Prevent stroke conditions
Reverse atherosclerosis
Reduce heart disease risk by 50%
Reduce heart surgery risk by 80%
Prevent many forms of cancer
Stronger immune system
Increase life expectancy up to 15 years
Higher IQ
Conserves up to 70% clean water
Saves 80% of the cleared Amazonian rainforest from animal grazing
A solution for world hunger:
Free up 3,433 billion hectares of land
Free up 760 million tons of grain every year (half the world’s grain supply)
Consumes 1/3 less fossil fuels of those used for meat production.
Reduces pollution from untreated animal waste
Maintains cleaner air
Saves 4.5 tons of emissions per US household per year
Stop 80% of global warming
PLUS MORE…

So theres your science.. I always get funny looks from people when I try to explain that I’m not just a vegan because I feel badly for the animals I do it for the environment as well.
Our species is going to drown itself in bad karma. Speciesism is the favoring of any species over another. Most humans are speciesists & almost none of them are aware of it. Human beings that eat meat are no better to the animals than the nazi’s were to the jews. People may not want to know what happens inside slaughterhouses but anyone who participates in this holocaust doesn’t deserve to be shielded from this information.
All creatures on this planet are just trying to survive. Creatures that cannot speak for themselves if anything should be protected by inalienable rights even more than us. The way we as a species treat all other earthlings is disgusting, disturbing, and almost unnaddressed in mainstream humanity.
Due to increased costs at animal shelters many strays are being put in gas chambers instead of standard pain free shots. In slaughterhouses over 6 billion animals a year are killed very brutally in America alone. All animals that are eaten are branded and dehorned with plyers(with no painkillers) , Pigs tails, ears & teeth are all cut off with no painkillers. Pigs are even drowned in boiling water to remove bristle.
Humans consume as much chicken in one day now as we did in a whole year in 1930. Millions of chickens are killed everyday. Cannabalism occurs in every slaughterhouse. Farmers have even been seen jumping on chickens to kill them. Statistics like this may seem staggering but they are catastrophic and truly sad when you actually give your time and conscience thought to them. Animals suffer & i mean suffer worse than any human can imagine, all just to please selfish people who never have to witness the pain. So many people like to think they are morally superior to others & that humans do this business in a humane way. Well I’m not even sure what the word humane means anymore & if you’ve never seen for yourself what happens inside a slaughterhouse then I don’t think its appropriate to talk about morality & thats especially true for the so-called prolife christian folks who traditionally eat meat, i dare you to watch a documentary about the meat industry and not question your faith. There is just no way anyone with emotions and feelings could be in the know about this and proudly say “yea i support the meat industry”. For me its much less wrong if you know the way business is done and are evil enough to continue supporting it than it is to just not pay attention like most people.