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2006 report by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations found that animal agriculture is a significant contributor to global climate change, contributing more to climate change than all forms of transportation on Earth, combined. This makes sense when put into perspective: Worldwide, the farmed animal population outweighs the human population by five times . Furthermore, the amount of grain that it takes to feed farmed animals in the United States alone could feed 840 million humans on a plant-based diet. As such, animal agriculture is a significant contributor to land degradation, water shortages, loss of biodiversity, and significant pollution . It also contributes 65% of human-generated nitrous oxide emissions and 37% of human-generated methane emissions; these gasses are respectively 296 and 23 times more potent in their contribution to climate change than carbon dioxide. Meat and dairy products are responsible for the majority of the environmental burden of food production, and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets require significantly less energy, land, and water resources than meat-based diets. Vegan diets have an even smaller environmental footprint. To put things into perspective, producing animal protein takes, on average, 11 times more fossil fuel than the same amount of plant protein. This amount is 4 times greater for chicken, and 40 times greater for beef, compared to grain. Animal protein takes 4 to 26 times more water to produce equivalent amounts of soy protein, and 100 times more water to produce equivalent amounts of grain protein. The land required to produce animal protein, in terms of animal feed alone, is 6 to 17 times greater than that required to produce soy protein.

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2006 report by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations found that animal agriculture is a significant contributor to global climate change, contributing more to climate change than all forms of transportation on Earth, combined. This makes sense when put into perspective: Worldwide, the farmed animal population outweighs the human population by five times . Furthermore, the amount of grain that it takes to feed farmed animals in the United States alone could feed 840 million humans on a plant-based diet. As such, animal agriculture is a significant contributor to land degradation, water shortages, loss of biodiversity, and significant pollution . It also contributes 65% of human-generated nitrous oxide emissions and 37% of human-generated methane emissions; these gasses are respectively 296 and 23 times more potent in their contribution to climate change than carbon dioxide. Meat and dairy products are responsible for the majority of the environmental burden of food production, and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets require significantly less energy, land, and water resources than meat-based diets. Vegan diets have an even smaller environmental footprint. To put things into perspective, producing animal protein takes, on average, 11 times more fossil fuel than the same amount of plant protein. This amount is 4 times greater for chicken, and 40 times greater for beef, compared to grain. Animal protein takes 4 to 26 times more water to produce equivalent amounts of soy protein, and 100 times more water to produce equivalent amounts of grain protein. The land required to produce animal protein, in terms of animal feed alone, is 6 to 17 times greater than that required to produce soy protein.

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2006 report by the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations found that animal agriculture is a significant contributor to global climate change, contributing more to climate change than all forms of transportation on Earth, combined. This makes sense when put into perspective: Worldwide, the farmed animal population outweighs the human population by five times . Furthermore, the amount of grain that it takes to feed farmed animals in the United States alone could feed 840 million humans on a plant-based diet. As such, animal agriculture is a significant contributor to land degradation, water shortages, loss of biodiversity, and significant pollution . It also contributes 65% of human-generated nitrous oxide emissions and 37% of human-generated methane emissions; these gasses are respectively 296 and 23 times more potent in their contribution to climate change than carbon dioxide. Meat and dairy products are responsible for the majority of the environmental burden of food production, and lacto-ovo-vegetarian diets require significantly less energy, land, and water resources than meat-based diets. Vegan diets have an even smaller environmental footprint. To put things into perspective, producing animal protein takes, on average, 11 times more fossil fuel than the same amount of plant protein. This amount is 4 times greater for chicken, and 40 times greater for beef, compared to grain. Animal protein takes 4 to 26 times more water to produce equivalent amounts of soy protein, and 100 times more water to produce equivalent amounts of grain protein. The land required to produce animal protein, in terms of animal feed alone, is 6 to 17 times greater than that required to produce soy protein.

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