How animal agriculture affects the Earth and the case for switching to a plant based vegan lifestyle

1. ANIMAL AGRICULTURE
AND THE EARTH
LUCY MILLING

2. CORN

4. SOY

5. SOY CONSUMED DIRECTLY:
Source: WWF, The Growth of Soy: Impacts and Solutions, 2014, WWF International.
6%

6. 75%
SOY CONSUMED BY MEAT,
DAIRY, AND EGG INDUSTRIES:
Source: WWF, The Growth of Soy: Impacts and Solutions, 2014, WWF International.

8. Source: A Shepon et al 2016 Environ. Energy and protein feed-to-food conversion efficiencies
in the US and potential food security gains from dietary changes. Res. Lett. 11 105002
TURNING PLANT CALORIES ANIMAL CALORIES

10. BETWEEN 1990 AND 2005,
CATTLE GRAZING WAS
RESPONSIBLE FOR 71% OF
TOTAL DEFORESTATION OF
SOUTH AMERICA.
Source: V De Sy et al 2015 Environ. Res. Lett. 10 124004

11. MEAT AND DAIRY ARE AMONG
THE MOST WATER INTENSIVE
CONSUMER PRODUCTS.
Source: Arjen Y Hoekstra 2014 Environ. Res. Lett. 9 091003

12. HOW MUCH WATER
DOES IT TAKE TO
MAKE COW MILK?

13. =
Source: Hoekstra, A. Y. (2008). The water footprint of food. In J. Förare (Ed.), Water for food. Stockholm: The Swedisch Research Council for Environment, Agricultural Sciences and Spatial Planning (Formas).

14. Source: Mekonnen, M.M. and Hoekstra, A.Y. (2010) The green, blue and grey water footprint of farm animals and animal products, Value of Water Research Report Series No. 48, UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands.
WATER FOOTPRINT PER ANIMAL
PER YEAR

15. IN THE UNITED STATES,
ABOUT 130 TIMES MORE
ANIMAL WASTE IS
PRODUCED THAN HUMAN
WASTE—ROUGHLY 5 TONS
FOR EVERY U.S. CITIZEN.
Source: United States. General Accounting Office. Animal Agriculture: Waste Management Practices, report, July 1, 1999; Washington D.C..

16. Typical hog waste lagoon in North Carolina
POLLUTION

17. Aerial view of Coronado Feeders, Dalhart, Texas, 2012 by Mishka Henner
THE MAIN CAUSES OF AMMONIA
EMISSIONS ARE THE PRODUCTION
AND USE OF AMMONIACAL FERTILIZERS
AND THE LARGE POPULATION OF
DOMESTIC ANIMALS.
Source: Behera, S.N., Sharma, M., Aneja, V.P. et al. Environ Sci Pollut Res (2013) 20: 8092.

18. Alexandr Trubetskoy. Eutrophication at a waste water outlet in the
Potomac River, Washington, D.C.
Red Tide caused by Dinoflagellates off the Scripps Institution of Oceanography Pier, La Jolla California.
Released into the Public Domain, August 2005. P. Alejandro Díaz and Ginny Velasquez.
EUTROPHICATION AND DEAD ZONES

19. Source: Diaz, Robert & Rosenberg, Rutger. (2008). Spreading Dead Zones and Consequences for Marine Ecosystems. Science (New York, N.Y.)
OCEANS DEAD ZONES WORLDWIDE

20. THE FISHING INDUSTRY

21. Global total wild fish capture and aquaculture production in million tons, as reported by the FAO.

22. AN ESTIMATED 70% OF
FISH POPULATIONS
ARE FULLY USED,
OVERUSED, OR IN
CRISIS AS A RESULT OF
OVERFISHING AND
WARMING OCEANS
Source: Davies, R., Cripps, S., Nickson, A., and Porter, G. 2009. Defining and estimating global marine fisheries bycatch. Marine Policy.

23. 650,000 WHALES,
DOLPHINS AND SEALS
KILLED YEARLY AS BYCATCH
Source: Read, A., Drinker, P., and Northridge, S. 2005. Bycatch of marine mammals in U.S. and global fisheries. Conservation Biology 20: 163-9.

24. MARINE DEBRIS

25. “GHOST NETS” = 46% OF
SURVEYED DEBRIS
Source: Lebreton, L., Slat, B., Ferrari, F. et al. Evidence that the Great Pacific Garbage Patch is rapidly accumulating plastic. Sci Rep 8, 4666 (2018)

26. FISH FARMING
Tilapia pens in Laguna de Bay, the largest lake in the Philippines, are choked by an algal bloom they helped create.

27. GREENHOUSE GAS

28. Source: US Environmental Protection Agency (2013) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2011, Technical Report EPA 430-R-13-001 (Environmental Protection Agency, Washington).
METHANE EMISSION
SOURCES

29. Source: US Environmental Protection Agency (2013) Inventory of U.S. Greenhouse Gas Emissions and Sinks: 1990–2011, Technical Report EPA 430-R-13-001 (Environmental Protection Agency, Washington).
METHANE EMISSIONS BY ANIMAL

30. Source: Clark & Tilman (2017). Comparative analysis of environmental impacts of agricultural production systems, agricultural input efficiency, and food choice. Environmental Research Letters, Volume 12, Number 6.

31. Source: World Resources Institute

32. WHICH MILK IS BEST FOR THE
PLANET?

33. THANK YOU!

34. Sources
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35. United States. General Accounting Office. Animal Agriculture: Waste Management Practices, report, July 1, 1999; Washington D.C..
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