Vegetarianism and the environment

Global climate change is effected by several factors. Several of the factors directly have to do with what we eat and they way we get our food. 1/3 of all fossil fuels produced in the United States are used towards animal agriculture. The American Journal of Clinical Nutrition (1), says the production of one calorie of animal protein requires more than ten times the fossil fuel input as a calorie of plant protein. Many agricultural crops farmed in the United States aren't even harvested to feed people, they are used to feed livestock. The average hog eats 500 pounds of grains, soy, and nuts before its time of slaughter, which means hogs in the United States eat tens of millions of pounds each year. With that being said, do you believe that global climate change is truly being greatly effected by they way we eat or do you believe it is other causes that are changing our environment?





Source:
(1) David Pimentel and Marcia Pimentel, “Sustainability of Meat-Based and Plant-Based Diets and the Environment,” American Journal of Clinical Nutrition 78.3 (2003)
The New Scientist,“It’s Better to Green Your Diet Than Your Car,” 17 Dec. 2005.