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CLIMATE BREAKDOWN

​Over ninty articles; studies, research and reports about the pollution and biodiversity loss caused by animal agriculture and fishing

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) released a new report on the desperate need to limit global warming to 1.5 degrees Celsius, or 2.7 degrees Fahrenheit. They concluded that all the world's governments may have as little as 12 years to act on climate change and prevent a global catastrophe.

However, we must never forget about the devastating effects our daily decisions have on the entire planet and its inhabitants.

Read more about the environmental devastation caused by animal agriculture here.  Pesticide use is another killer of wildlife.

Unless it is stopped the industries of animal agriculture (7,000,000,000 killed every year) and fishing (2,300,000,000,000 killed every year) will cause so much pollution that the planet will not be able to sustain much, if any, life. This is even if all of the other measures are taken to avert climate breakdown.

These articles are about Climate Breakdown, so there is very little info about the harm caused to human health by eating cows and other animals. There are is now so many studies that prove, beyond any doubt, that this is indeed the case. Some of the more credible resources on this include books like The China Study by Dr Colin Campbell, How Not to Die by Dr Michael Greger or movies like The Game Changers, What the Health and Forks Over Knives* (*in this case it means surgical knives). There are also websites like www.nutritionfacts.org and the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine these are also very clear in explaining how a whole food plant-based diet is so much healthier for humans. The science here unequivocally shows that animal proteins cause so many illnesses and diseases amongst humans.

The 
"Veganism & World Hunger: Experts Weigh In" article on the Truth or Drought facebook page explains clearly, with multiple references, how eating animals causes world hunger.

We quickly need to embrace the solutions like getting rid of animal agriculture, animal farms and the fishing industry and working to a plant-based food system. Rewilding is known to be one of, if not, the best solutions for reversing and lessening pollution. www.rewildingbritain.org.uk & an ecologist article about converting animal farms into forests which is also reported by the Vegconomist here. The use of chemicals on the land needs to stop. There are various ways to replenish the soil naturally; growing hemp is one of the most efficient.

The following institutions have published research, reports or news items on the pollution to the planet caused by animal agriculture including fishing. Animal farming causes more pollution than all forms of transportation put together. 55-70 billion land animals are killed each year. They all need to be housed, fed, watered and transported a few times before they reach any shops. An estimated 2.30 trillion sea creatures are killed/trawled indiscriminately from the sea bed in nets about the size football pitches. 45-55% of all plastic polluting the oceans is due to discarded tackle from the fishing industry. Plastic straws account for 0.03% 

Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations
Greenpeace
Yale University
The World Bank
The World Watch Institute
Oxford University
The Natural Resources Defence Council
United Nations Environment Programme
World Wildlife Fund
National Geographic
The World Health Organisation
The Environmental Working Group

Several articles are listed under 24 dealing with so-called regenerative grazing...
These are specifically about how even small scale farms with grass fed cows cause more pollution than plant foods. These studies/articles are concerned with the fallacy that the use of animals in the likes of "regenerative grazing" or "grass fed" methods are a solution to the problem of climate destruction and feeding the world. There isn't enough land - we'd need seven planets to feed the world in such an un-resourceful way and, of course, the animals end up being killed.


The meta study conducted by Oxford University is the most thorough piece of research produced:
Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers. (The Meta Study from Oxford University.)

https://josephpoore.com/Science%20360%206392%20987%20-%20Accepted%20Manuscript.pdf
PODCAST interview with Joseph Poore by Deliciously Ella
 https://play.acast.com/s/deliciouslyellapodcast/470066e6-df81-4b65-a635-4a567400eee4
Two YouTube videos (10 minutes in total) with Joseph Poore and Genesis Butler who challenged the Pope - she would give him $1,000,000 dollars if he would go vegan for Lent!  
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qLkqkyTMLlw (Part One) 
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WJ25O_BD5OM (Part Two)

1. According to a study by the Food and Agriculture Organization of the UN, animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions. That's greater than the entire transportation sector. 
http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e00.htm

2. According to Greenpeace, animal agriculture is the leading cause of Amazon Rainforest destruction. 
http://www.greenpeace.org/international/en/news/features/cattle-mapping/

3. Yale University agrees. They concluded that 80% of Amazon Rainforest destruction is caused by animal agriculture.
http://globalforestatlas.yale.edu/amazon/land-use/cattle-ranching

4. The World Bank disagrees. They concluded that animal agriculture is actually responsible for 90% of Amazon Rainforest destruction. https://openknowledge.worldbank.org/handle/10986/15060

5. When taking deforestation into account, a World Watch Institute report concluded that animal agriculture is responsible for 51% of greenhouse gas emissions. 

https://awellfedworld.org/livestock-climate-advanced/​ 

6. Research by scientists at Oxford University showed that avoiding meat, dairy, and eggs would reduce food-related greenhouse gas emissions by 70%. https://www.oxfordmartin.ox.ac.uk/news/201603_Plant_based_diets

7. According to a study by the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC), 9 out of the 10 most climate-damaging foods are animal products. https://www.nrdc.org/sites/default/files/10-common-climate-damaging-foods-infographic.pdf

8. Greenpeace concluded that "Global meat and dairy production and consumption must be cut in half by 2050 to avoid dangerous climate change and keep the Paris Agreement on track." https://www.greenpeace.org/international/press/15111/greenpeace-calls-for-decrease-in-meat-and-dairy-production-and-consumption-for-a-healthier-planet/

9. A report from the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) and the Clean Water Network "documents how animal waste from factory farms threatens human health and our nation's rivers. Most factory farms store animal waste in open lagoons as large as several football fields. Lagoons routinely burst, sending millions of gallons of manure into waterways and spreading microbes that can cause gastroenteritis, fevers, kidney failure, and death." 
​https://www.nrdc.org/resources/cesspools-shame-how-factory-farm-lagoons-and-sprayfields-threaten-environmental-and-public

10. The Great Pacific Garbage Patch is the world's largest collection of floating trash. A peer-reviewed study published in the journal Scientific Reports concluded that fishing nets account for 46% of the trash, with the majority of the rest composed of other fishing industry gear, including ropes, oyster spacers, eel traps, crates, and baskets.
https://www.nature.com/articles/s41598-018-22939-w

11. 30% of the Earth's ice-free land is occupied by animal agriculture, including using land to grow grains, vegetables, and soy to fatten up billions of farmed animals every year.  http://www.fao.org/docrep/010/a0701e/a0701e02.pdf

12. According to the United Nations Environment Programme, the calories that are lost by feeding soy, vegetables, and grains to animals, instead of using them directly as human food, could feed an additional 3.5 billion people.
http://www.globalagriculture.org/report-topics/meat-and-animal-feed.html

13. The World Wildlife Fund concluded that meat-based diets are the leading cause of species extinction.
https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/appetite-for-destruction

14. It takes about 2500 gallons of water to produce 1lb of beef and 896 gallons of water to produce 1lb of cheese. 
https://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/interactive-graphic/water/

15. At the rate in which humans consume fish, we may see fishless oceans by 2048:
https://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/11/061102-seafood-threat.html

16. Is renewable energy enough to stop global warming? What about animal agriculture? 
https://cleantechnica.com/2018/12/09/is-renewable-energy-enough-to-stop-global-warming-what-about-animal-agriculture/

17. But what will happen to all the animals?
https://biologicalvegan.wordpress.com/2019/01/24/but-what-will-happen-to-all-the-animals/

18. Eating meat has ‘dire’ consequences for the planet
https://www.nationalgeographic.com/environment/2019/01/commission-report-great-food-transformation-plant-diet-climate-change/

19. Animal agriculture is choking the ​Earth and making us sick. We must act now.
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2017/dec/04/animal-agriculture-choking-earth-making-sick-climate-food-environmental-impact-james-cameron-suzy-amis-cameron

20. The opportunity cost of animal-based diets exceeds all food losses.
https://www.pnas.org/content/115/15/3804

21. New estimates of the environmental cost of food.
http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2018-06-01-new-estimates-environmental-cost-food

22. Analysis and valuation of the health and climate change co-benefits of dietary change
https://www.pnas.org/content/early/2016/03/16/1523119113.full

23. Viva’s “Envirocidal” Report explaining the Climate Breakdown caused by animal agriculture.
https://www.viva.org.uk/envirocidal  

24. REGENERATIVE GRAZING
Most credible studies show this phrase to be an oxymoron.


24a. Point Reyes Livestock Hinders Soil Carbon Banking

https://www.ptreyeslight.com/article/point-reyes-livestock-hinders-soil-carbon-banking

24b. Is grass-fed beef good or bad for the climate?
http://www.ox.ac.uk/news/2017-10-03-grass-fed-beef-good-or-bad-climate
 
24c. A 30-year study of grazing and carbon sequestration
https://onpasture.com/2017/11/13/what-30-years-of-study-tell-us-about-grazing-and-carbon-sequestration

24d. Is regenerative grazing clean?
https://planetaryvegan.net/2019/02/27/is-regenerative-grazing-the-new-clean-coal/

24e. Countering the false solution of regenerative grazing
https://seedthecommons.org/a-call-to-counter-the-false-solution-of-regenerative-grazing/

24f. Grazings impact
http://www.futureoffood.ox.ac.uk/grazed-and-confused
https://www.fcrn.org.uk/sites/default/files/project-files/fcrn_gnc_report.pdf
https://www.fcrn.org.uk/fcrn-blogs/tara-garnett/fcrn-response-sustainable-food-trust-commentary-grazed-and-confused

24g. Pasture meat isn’t green
https://www.vegansociety.com/whats-new/blog/pasture-fed-meat-isn%E2%80%99t-green

24h. One Green Planet's article about how grass-fed beef isn’t helping
https://www.onegreenplanet.org/news/eating-grass-fed-beef-isnt-helping-the-planet

24i.  Can Regenerative Cattle Grazing Reverse Global Warming? (video) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=f_XT8NXc0sY

24j. Cattle Grazing is incompatible with conservation

https://baynature.org/article/con-cattle-grazing-is-incompatible-with-conservation

​24k. Tom Steyer Thinks His Ranch can Save the Planet
 
https://www.politico.com/magazine/story/2019/10/11/tom-steyer-2020-climate-229843

24l. The Myth of Regenerative Grazing with Nassim Nobari from Seed the Commons
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0wWZLZueL3I

24m. “Eat more beef to save the planet.” It’s time to talk about Allan Savory, Kiss the Ground & Holistic Management​https://www.surgeactivism.org/allansavory

24n. Holistic management – a critical review of Allan Savory’s grazing method (conclusions on page 32)
http://publications.lib.chalmers.se/records/fulltext/244566/local_244566.pdf

24o. Holistic Management: Misinformation on the Science of Grazed Ecosystems
https://www.hindawi.com/journals/ijbd/2014/163431/

24p. Soil compaction by grazing livestock
https://link.springer.com/article/10.1007/s10457-007-9083-4

24q. The Savory Method Can Not Green Deserts or Reverse Climate Change
https://www.researchgate.net/publication/270218921_The_Savory_Method_Can_Not_Green_Deserts_or_Reverse_Climate_Change

24r. Can Holistic Grazing Reverse Climate Change?
https://plantproof.com/can-holistic-grazing-reverse-climate-change-a-review-of-kiss-the-ground 

24s. Organic meat production just as bad for climate, study finds Analysis also found the lowest impact meat was still far more damaging than the worst plant foods

https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/23/organic-meat-production-just-as-bad-for-climate-study-finds

24t. Regenerative Farming
https://earth.org/regenerative-farming-an-interview-with-soil-consultant-glyn-mitchell/

24u.
_______________

25. Eat more meat and save the world: the latest implausible farming miracle ~ George Monbiot talks about unsavoury practies
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/georgemonbiot/2014/aug/04/eat-more-meat-and-save-the-world-the-latest-implausible-farming-miracle

26. Meat and Agriculture are Worse for The Climate than Power Generation ~ Steven Chu
https://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffmcmahon/2019/04/04/meat-and-agriculture-are-worse-for-the-climate-than-dirty-energy-steven-chu-says/

27. “People, plate and planet” report (PDF)
https://www.cat.org.uk/app/uploads/dlm_uploads/2018/11/People-Plate-and-Planet.pdf

28. The joints of meat that do more damage than a long haul flight.  
https://www.monbiot.com/2015/12/22/sacrifice/

29. Dismissing the vegan bashing… 
https://twitter.com/georgemonbiot/status/1033249987629596673

30. Food-miles and the relative climate impacts of food choices 
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18546681

31. Meat and dairy companies to surpass oil industry as world’s biggest polluters 
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/meat-dairy-industry-greenhouse-gas-emissions-fossil-fuels-oil-pollution-iatp-grain-a8451871.html

32. Be Vegan Today page about environmental benefits of veganism.
http://bevegantoday.blogspot.com/p/the-environmental-benefits-of-veganism.html

33. The contribution of cattle urine and dung to nitrous oxide emissions
https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6024564 

34. Could we save the world if we all went vegan (Financial Times says “yes”)
https://www.ft.com/content/3b210ddc-bba0-11e8-8274-55b72926558f

35. ​Animal Aid article about UN statement to adopt plant-based diet 
​https://www.animalaid.org.uk/adopt-a-more-plant-based-diet-to-save-the-planet-says-the-un

36. UN Report about loss of natural life
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/may/06/human-society-under-urgent-threat-loss-earth-natural-life-un-report

37. Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers
https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987
​

38. Why We Are Better off Without Animal Manure
 https://thegreenvegans.com/why-we-are-better-off-without-animal-manure

39. The IPCC approved and accepted Climate Change and Land
https://www.ipcc.ch/report/srccl/

40. Seven Things to Know About the IPCC’s Special Report on Climate Change and Land
https://www.wri.org/blog/2019/08/7-things-know-about-ipcc-special-report-land-and-climate

41. This Land is the Only Land There is…
https://www.theatlantic.com/science/archive/2019/08/how-think-about-dire-new-ipcc-climate-report/595705/

42. We Must Change Food Production to Save the World
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/aug/03/ipcc-land-use-food-production-key-to-climate-crisis-leaked-report

43. We can’t keep eating as we are – why isn’t the IPCC shouting this from the rooftops?
https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2019/aug/08/ipcc-land-climate-report-carbon-cost-meat-dairy

44. You and Meat Can Save The Planet
https://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpellmanrowland/2019/08/23/you-and-meat-can-save-the-planet

45. Complicity in Destruction 48 page PDF about Brazil
https://amazonwatch.org/assets/files/2019-complicity-in-destruction-2.pdf

46. Every meat eater on the planet is helping to fuel the Amazon forest fires
https://www.independent.co.uk/voices/amazon-forest-fire-brazil-beef-meat-vegan-vegetarian-brazil-a9076236.html

47. The Ultimate Mystery Meat
http://www.mightyearth.org/mysterymeat/

48. Revealed: rampant deforestation of Amazon driven by global greed for meat
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/jul/02/revealed-amazon-deforestation-driven-global-greed-meat-brazil

49. The Meat of the Matter ~ George Monbiot
 https://www.monbiot.com/2017/10/06/the-meat-of-the-matter/

50. Tackling Climate Change Through Livestock
http://www.fao.org/3/a-i3437e.pdf

51. 50% less cows in USA by 2030 
https://www.rethinkx.com/food-and-agriculture

52. $1,000,000 a minute; the farming subsidies destroying the world. 
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/16/1m-a-minute-the-farming-subsidies-destroying-the-world

53. Superbug hotspots emerging in farms across globe – study
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2019/sep/19/superbug-hotspots-emerging-in-farms-across-globe-study

54. Switzerland May Soon Ban All Factory Farms
https://www.livekindly.co/switzerland-ban-factory-farms

55. Top British Barrister Says Eating Meat Could Become Illegal
https://www.independent.co.uk/environment/eating-meat-illegal-vegans-michael-mansfield-qc-labour-conference-a9115656.html

56. There's an easy way to slash your environmental impact: go vegan
https://www.telegraph.co.uk/politics/2019/09/20/easy-way-slash-environmental-impact-go-vegan

57. ‘Rethinking Food and Agriculture
https://www.rethinkx.com/food-and-agriculture
REPORT PDF Instant download link: bit.ly/rethinkag

58. How Over Grazing in Syria led to war!
https://theecologist.org/2015/jun/05/over-grazing-and-desertification-syrian-steppe-are-root-causes-war

59. Humans - just 0.01% of all life but have destroyed 83% of wild mammals 
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/21/human-race-just-001-of-all-life-but-has-destroyed-over-80-of-wild-mammals-study

60. Why we must cut out meat and dairy for dinner to save the planet https://www.theguardian.com/books/2019/sep/28/meat-of-the-matter-the-inconvenient-truth-about-what-we-eat

61. State of Nature 2019 documents how human impacts are driving sweeping changes in wildlife in the UK.  https://www.mammal.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2019/10/55654-1_RSPB_State-of-Nature-Report_ONLINE_AW3_v4-1.pdf

62. The assessment report on Land Degradation and Restoration Summary for Policymakers by Intergovernmental Science-Policy Platform on Biodiversity and Ecosystem Services (IPBES)  https://www.ipbes.net/system/tdf/spm_3bi_ldr_digital.pdf

63. British beef (cow) producers in crisis warn farming union 
https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-northern-ireland-49073449

64. Researchers at Colorado State University find multiple effects on soil from manure from cows administered antibiotics https://phys.org/news/2019-10-multiple-effects-soil-manure-cows.html

65. Avoiding meat and dairy is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce your impact on Earth  https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth
​
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html

66. Vast animal-feed crops to satisfy our meat needs are destroying planet 
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2017/oct/05/vast-animal-feed-crops-meat-needs-destroying-planet

67. The Climate Crisis Secret
https://sentientmedia.org/the-climate-crisis-secret/

68. Animal Agriculture's Contributions to Climate Change PDF
https://www.academia.edu/39416397/Thesis_ANIMAL_AGRICULTURES_CONTRIBUTIONS_TO_CLIMATE_CHANGE_Nicholas_Carter  

69. Address poop! 85% comes from domesticated animals of which 62% from cows.

https://thebulletin.org/2019/11/how-human-and-animal-excrement-harm-the-planets-ecosystem/

70. Are modern plant-based diets and foods actually sustainable
www.fcrn.org.uk/fcrn-blogs/helen-breewood/are-modern-plant-based-diets-and-foods-actually-sustainable

71. Tackling climate change through livestock
http://www.fao.org/ag/againfo/resources/en/publications/tackling_climate_change/index.htm

72. Cows driving record methane emissions 

https://amp.cnn.com/cnn/2020/07/15/world/methane-emissions-record-scli-intl-scn/index.html

73. Environment Agency finds salmonella, toxic chemicals and plastic in sewage spread on farmland. 
https://unearthed.greenpeace.org/2020/02/04/sewage-sludge-landspreading-environment-agency-report/

74. One of the biggest causes of water pollution is animal agriculture. This articles examines the subsequent effects on human health.
https://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/water-pollution-and-human-health#water-pollution-and-human-health

75. Chickens raised for human food linked to Brazilian rainforest destruction. https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/nov/25/revealed-uk-supermarket-and-fast-food-chicken-linked-to-brazil-deforestation-soy-soya

76. Causes of damage to soils are intensive agriculture, with excessive use of fertilisers, pesticides and antibiotics killing soil organisms and leaving it prone to erosion. The destruction of forests and natural habitats to create farmland also degrades soil.
https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2020/dec/04/global-soils-underpin-life-but-future-looks-bleak-warns-un-report 

77. The climate problem is so humongous, it cannot be solved effectively unless agriculture and soil are part of the overall agenda.
https://civileats.com/2020/07/15/the-world-food-prize-winner-says-soil-should-have-rights/

78. Science powered data about animal agriculture.
a. Myths of Animal Agriculture

https://bayern.landwirtschaft.jetzt/en/mythen/
b. Climate Change
https://bayern.landwirtschaft.jetzt/en/klimawandel/
c. The contributions of animal agriculture to climate change - Detailed overview of various papers
https://bayern.landwirtschaft.jetzt/wp-content/uploads/2021/01/20210105AACC-Overview.pdf 

79. Halting European Union soybean feed imports favours ruminants over pigs and poultry
https://www.nature.com/articles/s43016-020-00203-7

If anyone knows anymore reports with links to add please let me know! The first 15 links were collated by Vincent Laresca.

Solutions
  • ​Transition to a Plant-Based food system Businesses   Individuals
  • ​Animal Farmers Gone Vegan http://bevegantoday.blogspot.com/p/animal-farmers-gone-vegan.html
  • Transforming food and agricultural systems​http://www.fao.org/fao-stories/article/en/c/1254608

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