Make a Difference: Eat for the Planet

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by Wendy Tanz

Nil Zacharias, co-founder of One Green Planet and weekly podcast #eatfortheplanet, explained to a full-house the dangers of continuing to grow and process animals for food. Our water, land and air are all being destroyed by the animal food-based industry. We’re pushing our planetary boundaries!

The advent of the Industrial Revolution and the rise of population and technology helped create the unchecked capitalism of today. More. Faster. We’re extracting our resources faster than these resources can replenish themselves.

Sonar technology is now used to locate fish, not fishermen. Cows are kept lactating by constant artificial insemination. Cattle are fed only the food that will make them huge until their legs can’t hold them. More animals, grown fast, in small spaces. Treated with antibiotics and cut out the visible infections. Ready for the market, big and fast!

Twenty-three percent (23%) of our water goes to animals while people go without water. More than fifty percent (50%) of our land is used for our food animals, land that could grow food. Trees absorb our greenhouse emissions, but our forests are being removed to provide more land to grow more animals that will need more water to clean, hydrate and grow more food for these animals. It’s a wasteful growing cycle. For context, it takes 2,000 gallons of water to produce 1 gallon of milk.

When consumed by food animals, what do 100 calories of grain provide? 40 calories of milk; 12 calories of chicken; or 3 calories of beef. Those same grains could be directly feeding people instead!

And, don’t forget…where there’s life, there’s poop! Three hundred and sixty nine tons (369) annually, releasing more gases into the air than the entire transportation sector,  and funneled into our waterways heating our waters, killing our coral reefs, ultimately destroying the balance of our ocean waters, turning our oceans into poop.