Drought & Livestock Animals: The Elephant in the Room
We collectively breed, raise, feed, water, kill, and eat over 70 billion animals each year for food. That is 10 times as many people as we have on the entire planet. Our land and water is primarily used not by humans, but by cattle, which are intentionally bred by humans in astronomical numbers. Of the 99 million acres of land in CA, NV, and AZ, 82 million acres are used by cattle, none of whom needed to exist in the first place. About 70% of the water used in the eleven western states is dedicated to the unnecessary raising of animals for food. The water required to produce just ten pounds of steak equals the average water consumption of one household for a year. 80% of all soy grown is fed to livestock instead of people. Almost all water-intensive alfafa grown is fed to cows, with much of the alfafa grown in CA actually being shipped to China to feed Chinese cows. All the while, we are told to take shorter showers and water our lawns less, but regulating animal agriculture and limiting animal food consumption is not mentioned. Household use only accounts for 5% of freshwater use in CA. The majority of water goes to – you guessed it, livestock. The meat, dairy, and egg industry is draining our state and our world dry. Even nonrenewable, pristine drinking water formed from glaciers thousands of years ago in underground aquifers is used mostly for the short-term economic gain of feeding and slaughtering cattle. Are you angry yet? When you learn this, doesn't it make focusing on taking shorter showers but not transitioning to a plant-based diet seem downright silly? Source: Comfortably Unaware by Dr. Richard Oppendlander Share this image and info from our Facebook page.
