How Is The Environment Being Affected By The Meat And Dairy Industry

Is the environment being affected by the meat and dairy industry? Meat and dairy are in almost every American diet. The United States leads the world in the most meat consumption with around 120kg of meat being consumed per person annually (Boehrer). It is something that has been handed down from generation to generation. Whether it’s Mom’s famous meatloaf or just a quick stop at the McDonalds drive thru, meat and dairy is something that we’ve been eating ever since we can remember. But what if I told you, eating meat and dairy was not only bad for your health, but for the environment. Because the meat and dairy industry is leading cause of climate change, and because agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of water consumption in the United States; therefore, we should limit

The industry is known for using many resources to maintain stocking those shelfs of supermarkets with steaks, and hamburger meat, but how much do you really know? Using resources is one thing, but using 34-76 trillion gallons of water annually for animal agriculture is straight up absurd. The United States uses 30% of its water consumption just for meat production is outrageous. If that’s not staggering enough, maybe the fact that it takes 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef will have you thinking twice before supporting the industry by ordering that “medium rare” (Foer). 5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture. It’s funny to hear people that “care” about the environment boast about saving water by turning the sink off while brushing their teeth, turning off the sink while washing your hands, and taking shorter showers will help contribute to saving the earth. Yet, they still eat meat because they are uninformed. Imagine if they knew how bad meat was for our