Livestock & The Environment

Livestock( Environment the An exploration into the adverse impacts of beef production and consumption The Pollution of Livestock Production NITROGEN & EROSION & SEDIMENTATION PHOSPHORUS IN FRESHWATER PESTICIDE USE ANTIBIOTIC USE 37% 55% 33% 50% 64% 9% 65% 8% ANTHROPOGENIC AMMONIA ANTHROPOGENIC ANTHROPOGENIC ANTHROPOGENIC GLOBAL HUMAN CARBON DIOXIDE NITROUS OXIDE METHANE WATER USE U.S. Meat Consumption, 1909-2012 US. Meat Consumption by Type, 1909-2012 200- 100, 5 180 52.2 90- 160 Billion \Beef 80. 140 Lbs. Poultru 120 70 60- * 100 16.5 50. 80 Billion 40- Pork Lbs. 60 30- 40 20 20- 10. 1900 1920 1940 1960 1980 2000 2020 1900 1920 1980 1940 1960 2000 2020 Greenhouse Gas Emissions by Food Type Average Distance Traveled, from Farm to Plate Red Meat Red Meat Poultry Poultry Fish Fish Eggn Nuts Dairy Dairy Eggs Fruit Vegetables II Nuts Grains Fruit Vegetables Grains Fats & Sugars Fats and Sugars 3,000 6,000 9,000 12.000 Grams of Co2 per calorie 6. 10 12 Food Mies Traveled (in thousands) Relative Consumption by Food Type Energy (MJunit) O Land (halunit) water (m3/unit) GHGS (KgCO2/unit) O Fish Eggs Pouitry Oiis ond Fats Alcoholic Beverages Fruit ond Vegstobles Other (including sugor) Vehicle Mile Equivalent from Producing 1/2 Lb. of Food Per Capita Meat Production, 2009 250- 208 Lbs. Beef 134 Lbs. 100 Pork 9.81 Miles Chicken Potatoes Apples Asparagus 54 Lbs. 17 .2 27 .73 252 Miles Miles Miles Miles Developing Countries Miles United States Europe Despite accounting for only 11% of the average American's diet, Red Meat contributes 25% of food-related carbon emissions Red Meat, 25% Fats 6 Sugars Fats & Sugars Grains Red Meat, 11% Grains Nuts Vegetables Nuts Fruit Vegetables Fruit Egs Eggs Dairy Fish Dairy Fish Poultru Poultry Sources: Earth Policy Institute trom US. Department of Agriculture (USDA), Economic Research Service, "Food Availability: Spreadsheets," Hamershlag, Karl. "Meat and Your Health." Meat and Your Health- 2011 Meat Eaters Guide. Environmental Working Group. Kling, Matthew, and lon Hough. The American Carbon Footprint: Understanding and Reducing Your Food's Impact on Climate Change, White Paper. Brighter Planet, 2010. Loorga, Rebeca, and Richard Sheane. FoodPrint Calculator Assum ptions and Data Sources. 5 Sept. 2011. Steinfeld, Henning, Pierre Gerber, Tom Wassenaar, Vincent Castel, Mauricio Rosales, and Cees De Haan. "Livestock's Long Shadow Environmental Issues and Options." FAO: Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. The Livestock, Environment and Development (LEAD) Initiative. 2006 U.S. Environmental Protection Agency; Transportation Energy Data Book, US. Department of Energy, 2000; Seattle Food System Enhancement Project: Greenhouse Gas Emissions Study; Subak and Fiala references in "More to Explore Doiry Products Pounds Produced per Capita