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For the Earth

The foods we eat have a big effect on the Earth. Right now, most animal foods come from factory farms. Factory farming pollutes the land, water and air. It also uses up and destroys natural resources. If we don't try to change the way we eat very soon, we may not be able to fix the damage caused by factory farming. Check out the facts below to find out why it's so important to "go vegetarian" for the Earth:

• More than half of the world's precious forests and rainforests have been cut down so livestock can graze and animal feed can be grown. As long as people eat meat, more and more forests will be cleared.
  
  
• Grazing hurts and even kills plants and wild animals by destroying good, healthy land and turning it into desert.
  
  
• American factory farms produce an enormous amount (about 788,000 tons!) of manure every day. Manure often spills or leaks into groundwater, pollutes rivers, lakes and streams, and kills fish and other animals.
  
  
• Factory farms release many dangerous gases into the air. These gases can make people who live near these farms very sick.
  
  
• Some gases from factory farms add to the problem of global warming, damage soil and destroy certain kinds of trees and plants.
  
  
• When we use farm animals for food, we are not using our natural resources very wisely. In fact, a very large amount of the food grown in our country is fed to farm animals instead of people. If this food was put to better use, it could potentially feed lots of hungry people!
  
  
• Water is one of our most important natural resources. Our supply of it becomes smaller and smaller every day, yet we still use way too much of it to raise animals for meat. It takes much less water to produce plants than meat, so growing more fruits and veggies rather than raising more "food animals" could help save water.

Every time you eat vegetarian food, you help save the environment. Reach out to friends and family, share the new facts you've learned, and let them know that they can help too. Whether they eat less meat or stop buying it from factory farms, they can be friendlier to the Earth. "Going veg," of course, is friendliest of all!