As we celebrate wildlife conservation on this world environment day, did you know that you can save wildlife, sitting in the comforts of your homes?
The answer lies in understanding that demand for milk, leather and beef is the main driving force behind deforestation, other than timber. Trees are cut and the land is converted into a pasture for cattle grazing.
Two football fields of Amazon forest gets destroyed for every cow raised for beef and that kills thousands of wildlife within, big and small.
According to one report, an estimated 70 percent of deforestation in the Amazon basin can be attributed to cattle ranching.
Brazil is the world’s 2nd largest exporter of beef, which is the most carbon-intensive form of meat production on the planet. The United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization finds that beef production gives rise to more greenhouse gases than all the transportation industry combined.
In 2013, 26 Brazilian beef producers faced fines of nearly $300 million from government prosecutors for buying cattle raised illegally on deforested Amazon rainforest land.
World’s top beef producer is India, which is driven not only by high export demand but also its internal demand for dairy products. It takes 16,000 litres of water to produce 1kg of beef, while only 800 litres to produce 1kg rice, which is considered the most water intensive crop. In addition, leather producing tanneries in northern India, are polluting the river Ganga which presents a bleak future for water resources and marine life.
The power lies with people, about the choices they make with respect to what they eat and wear. Let this World Environment Day, be that of realisation and resolution, for our own good.
Question is can we resist that one ham burger or leather jacket?