The Unsustainable Consequences for Our Planet of Food Consumption
The flourishing global economy has made people wealthier; thus, they have more monetary resources to raise their living standards. The role of food has then evolved from a fundamental requirement of life to a form of physical and mental enjoyment. Owing to the scrumptiousness of meats, which is an essential element of global food cultures, its demands are elevated. Despite the enjoyability, massive meat consumption could lead to severe and unsustainable consequences. This article covers and investigates three of the consequences, namely (1) desertification, (2) intensification of global warming, and (3) decreasing the water supply, of food consumption, in particular, meat consumption.
The reason for choosing such an approach is due to the consistently high and growing level of meat consumption and the narrowing of the focus (food consumption), notwithstanding the existence of impacts of consumption of other food kinds. According to the statistics of Our World in Data, from 1961 to 2018, the global meat production rocketed up from 71 million tons in 1961 to 341.16 million tons in 2018, indicating the significant demand and consumption of livestock productions. They could bring destructive effects to the Earth. Below will discuss the causes and effects of the consumption and the consequences.
First and foremost, extensive livestock ranching for meat production eventuates in severe desertification. Large-scale commercial livestock rearing requires a large area of pastureland. On account of the demands of meats and the relatively high profit from meat trades, less developed countries, e.g., Brazil, carry out deforestations by practising clear-felling and more often burning rainforests (because of low costs), which results in the massive release of carbon dioxide, to provide more land for animal farming to improve the national economy as identified by Kaimowitz et al. (2004) and Nepstad et al. (2006), animal rearing was responsible for 70 to 80% of clearance in the 2000s in Northern Brazil.
Such behaviours remove vegetation that has a critical function of consolidation of soil and storing water in biomes. Without vegetation as buffers against fast evaporation, water is rapidly lost, causing soil salinisation (Callenbach, 2008) as the concentration of salts drastically increases. Furthermore, over-treads of the livestock of grounds compress the soil and therefore give rise to soil erosion. Soil erosion and salinisation take place and lead to soil degradation and infertility and high toxicity of the soil, making the growth of plants in the region barely possible and decreasing land productivity. Besides, extensive livestock rearing requires land for the continuous growth of a particular type of crops for animals’ food consumption, depleting nutrients in the soil and resulting in soil infertility. Consequently, desertification occurs (Callenbach, 2008), escalating global warming and making the environment unsustainable.
Furthermore, Large-scale animal farming accelerates and intensifies global warming. According to the statistics from World Wildlife Fund, the deforestation triggered by cattle ranching is responsible for the release of 340 million tons of carbon dioxide per annum, which is equivalent to 3.4% of current global emissions. Leytem et al. (2011) also outline that 126,308 kg d^-1 of carbon dioxide is emitted by 10,000 milking cows annually. Under the Kyoto Protocol, carbon dioxide produced by the respiration of livestock ought not to be considered a net source of carbon dioxide (Herrero et al., 2011) since plants theoretically convert this carbon dioxide into other products during photosynthesis.
Nevertheless, as mentioned above, deforestation and desertification decrease the number of plants for a prolonged period and hinder photosynthesis so that less carbon dioxide can be converted; clearance by burning releases an immense amount of carbon dioxide, upsetting the balance between the production and conversion of carbon dioxide. Aside from carbon dioxide, Johnson and Johnson (1995) note that 250 to 500 L d^-1 of methane is produced by [methanogenic organisms in the guts of] ruminant livestock [including but not limited to cattle and sheep]; such a level is estimated to be responsible for almost 2% of global warming in the next 50 to 100 years.
Additionally, the compaction, covering, and storage of cattle farmyard manure produce nitrous oxide (Chadwick, 2005). Leytem et al. (2011), moreover, reports that every 10,000 milking cows produce and release 267 kg d^-1 of nitrous oxide. Both carbon dioxide, methane as well as nitrous oxide are greenhouse gases. They intensify the greenhouse effect by absorbing long-wave radiation (incoming solar radiation) reflected from the ground surface and insulate counter radiation so that heat is retained in the atmosphere. The greenhouse effect is crucial for the existence of all life forms on Earth as it helps maintain a suitable level of temperature. Its intensification, due to the increase in the level of greenhouse gases, however, causes the global temperature to rise continuously, leading to global warming and triggering plentiful problematic unsustainable issues, e.g., the rise of sea level, spreading of diseases, and decrease in the water supply.
Meanwhile, overgrazing because of the increase in demands for meats decreases the water supply. Take beef, a significant type of meat, as an example: according to the data from the Food and Agricultural Organisation of the United Nations, the average beef consumption per person in 2013 is approximately 9.32 kg. As stated by the Pennsylvania Beef Council, to reach the standard market weight of a cattle, which is around 550 kg, takes around 20 months. Pointed out by Parker (2003), the average daily water intake of heifers and steers is approximately 23 L. It can be roughly calculated that the total amount of water required to rear cattle is 23* 20* 30 = 13,800 L and the amount of water consumed because of eating beef per annum per person is 13800/ 550* 9.32 = 233.85 L (assuming that the market weight equates the weight of edible beef). According to the 2013 World Population Data Sheet, the global population was 7,136,796,000. By calculation, 1.37* 10^12 L of water are consumed solely because of the consumption of beef in 2013, excluding other major meats, such as pork and mutton.
Such a vast amount of water resources could have been used to alleviate severe global issues, e.g., water shortage. The yearly water consumption as a result of meat production, moreover, has grown, not shrunk. It would bring enormous pressure to the global water supply, lowering the amount of water available for other purposes. With the rapid consumption of water, future generations may suffer from the lack of water.
Aside from that, drought due to the aforementioned desertification (caused by overgrazing) shrinks the water supply and demands water to alleviate such a problem. Without vegetation cover functioning as temporary water storage, surface runoff towards the ocean increases, and freshwater supply is lowered. Furthermore, global warming led by animal ranching increases global temperature and melts glaciers in polar regions, rising sea level and giving rise to flooding (Mousavi et al., 2010). Flooding contaminates freshwater, further decreasing the water supply. The insufficient water supply could additionally effect prolonged drought and desertification; desertification could lead to global warming (as fewer plants can carry photosynthesis, reducing carbon dioxide); global warming causes the decrease of water supply, creating a vicious cycle. Human development on the Earth may no longer be sustainable.
It can be seen that irresponsible food consumption, in this case, meat consumption, creates a perilous domino effect (giving rise to desertification, global warming, and lowering water supply) that would cause unsustainability and then endanger the world. This article has its constraints as not all sorts of food that are consumed in human’s everyday life are covered because of the length. Nonetheless, only meat consumption per se has been causing an abundance of unsustainable consequences. It would barely be imagined the seriousness of the effects of the overall food consumption. Therefore, for the sake of the sustainability of the Earth and humankind, I urge everyone to consider seriously to prevent waste of food owing to unnecessary orders of food and extreme carnivorism, hopefully providing a better world for future generations.
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