Each chapter of Eating Earth focuses on environmental problems that stem from our willingness to consume animal products—environmental problems that stem from animal agriculture, fisheries, and hunting policies and practices. The final chapter also exposes relevant history and myths that explain why the vast majority of U.S. citizens continues to accept sport hunting despite the environmental problems that stem from this deadly pass time. Animal products, whether organic or local, whether hunted or purchased, whether chicken or fish or yogurt, harm the environment. As this book draws to a close, it is important to at least mention the larger picture with regard to ethics and dietary choice: There are a handful of other critical reasons to move decisively toward a plant-based diet, all of which are interconnected. I remember the five reasons for choosing a plant-based diet through a mnemonic using the Italian word for love, AMORE. In this acronym, “A” represents what is likely the most common reason for choosing a vegan diet—animals. In choosing to kill or buy body parts, mammary secretions, and eggs from other animals, we support the exploitation and slaughter of living, breathing, sentient beings, who would prefer to live out their natural lives peacefully in their own communities. In the U.S., ten billion farmed animals are denied pretty much every natural behavior, without regard to their sufferings, only to be shipped to their deaths when they are adolescents—all for the sake of eggs, milk, and various “meats.” The long-term suffering endured by farmed animals—especially female farmed animals in the egg and dairy industries—is truly unconscionable. Cruel practices are always unearthed when undercover investigators penetrate the increasingly thick walls that conceal common animal agriculture practices. If you are unaware of the stunted lives and premature deaths forced on farmed animals around the world, please explore footage taken by undercover activists, starting with the excellent YouTube clip, “If Slaughterhouses Had Glass Walls.” “M” represents the many critical medical reasons for rejecting an omnivore’s diet.
Livestock, land use change, and environmental outcomes in the developing world
