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When pasture areas are cleared the original vegetation is removed, which contributes to deforestation (legal and illegal);
More than 80% of Brazilian deforestation between 1990 to 2008 was due to clearing pasture land; * ¹
Animal trampling causes soil compression, which influences the soil permeability and aggravates erosion; * ²
0
%
75% of the world’s agricultural land is used for pasture or to produce animal feed. *³
Pollution of the soil by animal waste that may be contaminated by pathogens or by antibiotics in their food as growth promoters
(viruses and bacteria that can cause disease in humans and other animals).
The livestock industry is responsible for 14.5% of greenhouse gas emissions (such as carbon dioxide, methane and nitrous oxide)* ⁴
In Brazil, livestock is responsible for 77% of greenhouse gas emissions from all agricultural activity * ⁵
The destruction of tropical forests contributes significantly to ecological instability and the extinction of species;
Through deforestation, wild species end up living closer to humans, increasing the likelihood of transmitting zoonoses as rabies and Influenza.
The use of pesticides, sprayed by airplanes, affects local biodiversity. * ³
70%
70% of the fresh water available in the world is used in agriculture. 1/3 of this total is destined for livestock. * ³
The production of 1000 calories in the form of cereals requires about 500 liters of water. To produce the same quantity of calories in the form of meat, 4000 liters are needed and for dairy products even 6000 liters. * ³
The uncontrolled use of fertilizers and pesticides contaminates both groundwater and seas. The excess of nitrogen and phosphorus that reaches the oceans causes the reduction of oxygen in the seawater and consequently creates so-called dead zones. * ³
Animal based food supplies 18% of all calories consumed, while approximately 83% of the world’s agricultural land is used to produce them. * 6
Without the need to raise and feed animals for consumption, it would be possible to feed another 3.5 billion people by maintaining the same amount of agricultural land used today. * 7
Workers in slaughterhouses have little social recognition, face precarious working conditions and are underpaid. * ³
The meat industry is concentrated in just a handful of companies and this prevents the development of smaller and more sustainable producers * ³
*¹ Relatório Estado das Florestas no Mundo (FAO 2016) – http://www.fao.org/brasil/noticias/detail-events/pt/c/426091/
*² Relatório A grande sombra da pecuária (FAO 2006) –http://www.fao.org/3/a0701e/a0701e00.htm
*³ Atlas da Carne (Fundação Heinrich Böll Brasil 2016) – https://br.boell.org/pt-br/2016/08/29/atlas-da-carne-publicacao-reune-fatos-e-numeros-sobre-os-animais-que-comemos
*⁴ Combatendo as Mudanças Climáticas por Meio da Pecuária (FAO 2013) – http://www.fao.org/3/i3437e/i3437e00.htm
*⁵ SEEG 2019 – ANÁLISE DAS EMISSÕES BRASILEIRAS DE GASES DE EFEITO ESTUFA E SUAS IMPLICAÇÕES PARA AS METAS DO BRASIL (Observatório do Clima 2019) –http://www.observatoriodoclima.eco.br/wp-content/uploads/2019/11/OC_SEEG_Relatorio_2019pdf.pdf
*6 Reducing food’s environmental impacts through producers and consumers -Poore, J. & Nemecek, T. Science 360, 987–992 (2018) – https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987/tab-pdf
*7 Nellemann, C., MacDevette, M., Manders, T., Eickhout, B., Svihus, B., Prins, A. G., Kaltenborn, B. P. (Eds). February 2009. The environmental food crisis – The environment’s role in averting future food crises. A UNEP rapid response assessment. United Nations Environment Programme, GRID-Arendal, https://wedocs.unep.org/bitstream/handle/20.500.11822/7774/-The%20Environmental%20Food%20Crisis-2009843.pdf?sequence=3&%3BisAllowed=
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