I am not a vegetarian. I'm a "part-time" vegetarian I guess, and that has been a choice for health reasons. I recently read an article on One Green Planet, which informed me of some shocking information:
"Globally, deforestation is responsible for 20 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions. While there are many causes of deforestation, including logging and land development, agriculture is widely considered one of the largest ones. It has been estimated that 80 percent of tropical deforestation is driven by agriculture. This is no small charge considering around 40 percent of the world’s landmass is currently devoted to agriculture.
The expansion of agriculture to feed the ever growing population of the planet is logical, however it is becoming more apparent that the logic in our food system is flawed. The majority of the crops grown worldwide are not being used to directly feed the
Hmmm, maybe I need to take this "part-time" vegetarianism a little more seriously. Now I try to feel bad about the treatment of animals and I am truly sorry to say it just isn't a strong enough feeling within me to make me stop eating meat altogether--after all, there are humane ways to raise and slaughter the animals that that's always been good enough for me. But then I became aware of additional issues, also brought to my attention by One Green Planet. This article described the contributions of factory farming (ie. animals for consumption) to the wellbeing of our planet:
"Factory farming is the most destructive enterprise on the planet — and the law is doing far too little to stop this damage. Factory farms inflict widespread misery on billions of intensively confined animals every year, consume nearly half of all water in the United States at a time of widespread drought, occupy nearly a third of Earth’s land mass at a time of rapid extinction rates driven by habitat loss, and they dump massive amounts of toxic pollutants into our air and water."
You may think of me as a cold-hearted bi*t*h not to be influenced by the treatment of animals (though may I just say that I DO care...just not as much as some people!) but all feelings aside, these facts are appalling and horrifying. Yes, it may be easier to play ignorant or not to care, but we are essentially fuelling climate change and the demise of our planet. Well, I certainly cannot go on living in the same way I have been. I am officially a vegetarian.
Read some more information on these two issues by visiting One Green Planet:http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/why-factory-farms-shouldnt-get-a-free-pass-to-broil-the-earth/http://www.onegreenplanet.org/animalsandnature/the-surprising-way-your-diet-can-fix-the-soy-and-deforestation-problem/
