Saving the Planet and Animals—One Bite at a Time

September 20, 2007

A whopping 19,000 or so factory farms operate in the United States, according to the Environmental Protection Agency. Each year, more farm animals are raised and killed for food—and each year, the environmental effects of raising all these animals become stronger.

Recently, media attention has focused on the ways our food choices affect the planet, highlighting the relationship between meat production and the increasingly serious threat of global warming.

That's why The New York Times spotlighted The Humane Society of the United States' recent ad campaign [PDF] connecting diet with global warming. The ad includes images of a car key and a fork, asking "Which one of these contributes more to global warming?" The answer: "It's not the one that starts a car."

A growing number of scientists agree. University of Chicago researchers found that switching to vegetarian foods reduces individual greenhouse gas emissions more than replacing a gas-guzzler with a compact car. And a United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization report concludes that raising animals for food contributes more to global warming than all human transportation combined.

"Serious Environmental Problems"

The environmental effects of our nation's appetite for meat, dairy and eggs could hardly be more severe.

Each year nearly 10 billion animals on U.S. factory farms produce hundreds of millions of tons of waste—polluting our soil, air and water. Factory farms use a tremendous amount of water. Nearly three-fourths of our annual grain harvest is used to feed farm animals. According to the UN FAO, "Livestock are one of the most significant contributors to today's most serious environmental problems."

The good news is that there is an abundance of delicious, easy-to-find plant-based foods now available in supermarkets to chain restaurants to gourmet bistros. Choosing to incorporate more vegetarian fare into our diets is an easy way to help improve the health of the planet—and reduce animal suffering.

What You Can Do

Follow the Three Rs in your own diet. Check out The HSUS Guide to Vegetarian Eating for great recipes and other useful information.

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