Aerial Photos Reveal The Disturbing Environmental Effects Caused By Killing Billions Of Animals for Meat

Today, global food production is unethical, unhealthy, and environmentally destructive. As consumers we are blinded by the ease of purchasing our food; disturbingly, not much thought is given to how limitless amounts of meat end up filling the shelves of grocery stores across the world.

As much as 99 percent of all farmed animals raised and slaughtered in the United States are based in factory farms, also known as Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations (CAFOs). The factory farm facilities can house more than 125,00 animals under one roof and "are designed to produce the highest possible output at the lowest possible cost to the operator."

“Feedlots are a brilliant representation of how abstract our food industry has come. It’s an efficient system for extracting the maximum yield from animals. That’s the world we live in now. We want to extract the maximum yield from everything, no matter what business you are in,” British artist Mishka Henner, told Business Insider.

Like many high-profit yielding industries, these facilities are making their profits by subjecting animals, humans and the environment alike to suffering and destruction. In the featured video, footage from North Carolina reveals the disturbing environmental implications of using such extreme farming methods.

Here is a little known fact, the leading cause of rainforest destruction is our own food supply. The forests are cleared piece by piece to make room for food crops and livestock grazing. According to a 2012 study released by Greenpeace, forest areas equivalent to the size of three football fields disappears every hour. Because of this, close to 100 plant/animal/insect species are lost every day.

The image above is one example of the environmental effects of factory farming. The waste produced by the animals contained within these facilities falls through slats in the floor. This waste then goes on to be drained into large lakes of waste. The chemicals that are excreted from this waste then ultimately turns the landscape into giant cesspools.

Additionally, in 2006, a report issues by the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization stated that the livestock business generates more greenhouse gas emissions than all forms of transportation combined. It has been estimated that roughly 51 percent of global greenhouse-gas emissions are cause by animal agriculture.

The Huffington Post reports, “The billions of chickens, turkeys, pigs, and cows who are raised for food each year in the U.S. produce a tremendous amount of excrement, releasing methane and other greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. Methane, which is at least 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide, accounts for 9 percent of the greenhouse-gas emissions in this country. And the 523 million chickens raised and killed each year in Delaware and Maryland alone generate enough waste to fill the dome of the U.S. Capitol about 50 times in a single year – or almost once a week. And each cow emits approximately 66 to 79 gallons of methane every single day. There are currently 88 million cattle in the United States. You do the math. Together, these cows reportedly produce more methane than landfills, natural gas leaks and fracking.”

Despite all of this evidence, factory farming is barely included within discussions focused on the environmental and global climate change caused by human activity. This must be changed. If we hope to restore the environment and remove injustice, eliminating factory farms must become a vital part of our species progressive plan.

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