Over the last few years, report after report has surfaced, conclusively linking animal agriculture to global warming, air and water pollution, and land degradation. The most prominent of these reports, the UN FAO’s Livestock’s Long Shadow, famously credited 18% of all greenhouse gas emissions to animal agriculture, and blamed the sector for a myriad of other environmental troubles. The report stopped short, however, of actually recommending a change in diet, and instead called for improved agriculture practices.

A new United Nations report entitled Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption and Production is the first of its stature to actually stress the necessity of moving away from meat and dairy. Specifically, the paper says that “impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth [and] increasing consumption of animal products [...] A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products.”

View the Executive Summary and the Findings and Conclusions (PDFs).

The report goes into detail about the consequences we can expect if business continues as usual. Increases in population and wealth have historically resulted in increased consumption of meat, dairy, and eggs, which they blame for the bulk of agriculture’s environmental impact. Agriculture is said to be responsible 70% of global freshwater consumption, 38% of the total land use and 19% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.

It is now undeniable that we need to substantially reduce our use of animal products in order to prevent global catastrophe. The simplest way to do this is to adopt a vegan diet, which, in addition to avoiding all of animal agriculture’s ecological impacts, also spares the lives of dozens of animals each year- amounting to thousands over one’s lifetime. The American Dietetic Association calls a well planned vegan diet “healthful and nutritionally adequate […] for individuals during all stages of the lifecycle, including pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence, and for athletes” and adds that it “may provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases.”

Ready to consider the switch? Visit www.VegKit.org for a free Vegan Starter Guide!

Already vegan? Distribute our free handouts or share this page with friends & family!

By now, you have probably seen the most recent Mercy for Animals undercover investigation, documenting horrific cruelties in an Ohio dairy operation. If you have not yet seen the video, please watch it, and read on to find out how you can get active to help dairy cows and calves. Animal science professor Dr. Bernard Rollin called the video “probably the most gratuitous, sustained, sadistic animal abuse I have ever seen.”

I agree with Rollins. The footage may not be the most graphic that has been published, but the abuses documented are so disturbing because they are not even done under the guise of “increased productivity” or “delivering low-cost food.” As Rollins goes on to say, “the video depicts calculated, deliberate cruelty, based not on momentary rage but on taking pleasure through causing pain to cows and calves who are defenseless.”

We must use the public outcry about this cruelty to the advantage of dairy cows across the country. The incidences may seem isolated, but the fact that this took place on a relatively small “family farm” actually emphasize an important point: family farms often ARE factory farms, and even on supposed family, organic, or free-range operations, we NEVER know what cruelties are going on behind closed doors to bring people milk, eggs, and meat. The only way to end animal abuse is to end animal use!

Free Handouts to Spread the Word!

Help us put a stop to this abuse, and similar offenses across the globe: share the investigation video via email, Facebook, and Twitter, and spread the word about cow and chicken treatment with our free Dark Side of Dairy and Eggs handout. This dramatic card explains the inherent cruelties to those industries and calls upon caring consumers to ditch dairy and eggs. Fill out our handout request form to create awareness about alternatives to cruel milk products.

Need some ideas? How about leafleting at a concert or festival (especially near the food stand!), or asking a health food store to display the cards. Email us, comment below, or call us at 888-FARMUSA if you need more than 100 handouts, if you’d like additional outreach materials (including posters or stickers), or if you have other ideas about how to get active on this important issue.

Thank you for taking a stand!

*Sigh*. Where to begin? I have already gone into about as much depth as a blog allows one to, detailing the effects of animal agriculture on the environment. But misinformation seems to have no end, and this Earth Day it is again time to refute some of the newest “findings”.

Telegraph, UK: Cows Absolved of Causing Global Warming

AFP (Wire): Eating Less Meat Won’t Reduce Global Warming: Study

UK Times: Tofu Can Harm Environment More Than Meat, Finds WWF Study

Telegraph, UK: UN Admits Flaw in Report on Meat and Climate Change

These headlines would be great news for meat-eaters and the environment if, well, they were true. It’s a minor detail, I know. But reality must rear its ugly face and inform us that eating animal products is just as destructive as it was on Earth Day last year.  I could easily write a separate post for every one of the above articles, but I’ll try to stick to a paragraph each. Continue reading »

The city of San Francisco has declared every Monday “Meat-Free” Monday. Encouraging people to refrain from eating animal products is a small step towards environmental sustainability and good personal health. If every American were to embrace vegan eating every Monday, as is suggested by FARM’s Meatout Mondays, over one billion animals’ lives would be spared every year.

San Francisco is the first major US city to declare a Meat-Free day. Hopefully more cities will follow them, and will condemn not just meat, but all animal products at least one day a week.

FARM has created our first ever TV ad! It will run on cable TV in selected cities. Check it out here, tell us what you think, and, if you can, make a small contribution to help us air the ad in more cities! Running an ad costs about a penny-per-view, so each dollar donated exposes 100 more people to vegan living!

A few quick Meatout updates:

- PETA2 is teaming up with Veg Fund to provide FREE vegan food to college Meatout activists!

- PETA is also offering the book Eating Animals at a 10 dollar discount in honor of Meatout!

- Mercy for Animals is again allowing FARM to give out free copies of Fowl Play for public screenings.

- FARM Underground has a ton of other free ideas for Meatout activism, including concert tablings. Check it out!

Hope that everyone gets active for Meatout, whether your event is large or small!

Are you getting geared up for Meatout? We hope you are! If you haven’t signed up to do a Meatout event yet (on or around March 21st), please visit our Action Center and Registration Page. Here are the most recent updates for Meatout 2010:

New Handout!

Our new leaflet reflects this year’s theme: “Eat for Life – Live Vegan!” The handout (pictured left) offers a free Vegan Starter Guide and invites people to receive Meatout Mondays, our colorful weekly e-mail with recipes.

The card details compelling reasons to “kick the meat habit”- for people, for the environment, and for the animals. Click on the image to view the front and back.

Event Directory Posted!

The online Events Directory is now available to the public. Check it out to make sure that your activities are listed correctly. It is updated a few times a week, so any event not listed yet will be made public shortly.

Product Sponsors Confirmed!

Are you doing a feed-in or offering free meatless samples to people who stop by your table? Well, you’re in luck, because Tofurky, Gardein, and Primal Strips are just a few of the vegan food companies who will donating free products to Meatout event coordinators. Check out our Manufacturers page, where full details and a list of all sponsors are available.

Please make use of all the great resources available to Meatout event coordinators. Don’t hesitate to contact me with questions at Michael@meatout.org or at 1-800-MEATOUT