By LORRAINE NICOTERA
East Weymouth, Vice President, South Shore Humane Society
Monday, April 18, 2005
http://www.patriotledger.com/
One of the greatest ways we can acknowledge Earth Day and
protect the environment is to shift toward a plant-based diet
centered on fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes, while eliminating
meat and other animal products from our diets.
Raising animals for food is a leading cause of resource depletion and
environmental degradation. Meat production is inefficient and results
in the needless waste of precious environmental resources. One acre
of land could produce 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, 40,000 pounds of
potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots or just 250 pounds of beef. In the
United States and around the world, millions of acres of forests are
cleared and burned to create grazing land for cattle, and crop lands
to grow animal feed.
The nearly 10 billion animals raised for human consumption each year
in the United States excrete massive quantities of urine and feces.
Because these animals are injected, fed and sprayed with antibiotics
and pesticides, their waste is filled with toxic chemicals. Much of
it is washed by rains, untreated, into our waters.
Animal agriculture poses a greater threat to our natural environment
than all other human activities combined. We directly contribute to
massive amounts of ecological devastation by eating meat, eggs and
dairy products. Every dollar spent to purchase animals products
subsidizes this devastation. Each of us can refuse to subsidize
environmental destruction every day by boycotting animal foods. If we
truly care about the planet and its inhabitants, becoming vegan is
crucial for putting our principles into practice.
For more information, see http://www.vegforlife.org
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