For the Environment

Greenhouse Gases:

• Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation.
• Transportation exhaust is responsible for 13% of all greenhouse gas emissions.
• Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.
• Methane has a global warming potential 86 times that of CO2 on a 20 year time frame.
• Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.
• Emissions for agriculture projected to increase 80% by 2050. Energy related emissions expected to increase 20% by 2040.
• Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day.
• Reducing methane emissions would create tangible benefits almost immediately.
• Converting to wind and solar power will take 20+ years and roughly 43 trillion dollars.

Water:

• Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) water use ranges from 70-140 billion gallons annually.
• Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually.
• Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US.
• Californians use 1500 gallons of water per person per day. Close to Half is associated with meat and dairy products.
• 2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef.
• 477 gallons of water are required to produce 1lb. of eggs;  almost 900 gallons of water are needed for 1lb. of cheese.
• 1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.
• 5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture.
• Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today.

Country:

• Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land.
• Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.
• Livestock operations on land have created more than 500 nitrogen flooded deadzones around the world in our oceans.
• Largest mass extinction in 65 million years.
• 2-5 acres of land are used per cow.
• Nearly half of the contiguous US is devoted to animal agriculture.
• 1/3 of the planet is desertified, with livestock as the leading driver.

Waste:

• Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.
• A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.
• 130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US – 1.4 billion tons from the meat industry annually. 5 tons of animal waste is produced per person in the US.
• In the U.S. livestock produce 116,000 lbs of waste per second.
• Animals produce Enough waste to cover SF, NYC, Tokyo, etc.

Oceans:

• 3/4 of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted.
• We could see fishless oceans by 2048.
• 90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year.
• 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year.
• For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.
• 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded.
• Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels.
• Fish catch peaks at 85 million tons.
• 40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets.

Rainforest:

• Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction.
• 1-2 acres of rainforest are cleared every second.
• The leading causes of rainforest destruction are livestock and feedcrops.
• Up to 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to rainforest destruction.
• 26 million rainforest acres (10.8m hectares) have been cleared for palm oil production.
• 136 million rainforest acres cleared for animal agriculture.
• 1,100 Land activists have been killed in Brazil in the past 20 years.

Wildlife:

• USDA predator killing of wild animals to protect livestock.
• Washington state killed the wedge pack of wolves.
• More wild horses and burros in government holding facilities than are free on the range.
• Ten thousand years ago, 99% of biomass (i.e. zoomass) was wild animals. Today, humans and the animals that we raise as food make up 98% of the zoomass.

Humanity:

• 414 billion dollars in externalized cost from animal agriculture.
• 80% of antibiotic sold in the US are for livestock.
• 70 billion farmed animals are reared annually worldwide. More than 6 million animals are killed for food every hour.
• Throughout the world, humans drink 5.2 billion gallons of water and eat 21 billion pounds of food each day.
• Worldwide, cows drink 45 billion gallons of water and eat 135 billion pounds of food each day.
• Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock.
• 82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.
• 15x more protein on any given area of land with plants, rather than cows.
• The average American consumes 209 pounds of meat per year.
• World Population grows 228,000+ people everyday.
• Land required to feed 1 person for 1 year:
  Vegan: 1/6th acre
  Vegetarian: 3x as much as a vegan
  Meat Eater: 18x as much as a vegan
• 1.5 acres can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food or 375 pounds of beef.
• A person who follows a vegan diet produces the equivalent of 50% less carbon dioxide, uses 1/11th oil, 1/13th water, and 1/18th land compared to a meat-lover for their food.

Each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forested land, 20 lbs CO2 equivalent, and one animal’s life.

Source: http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/