Actually, quite the opposite is true … The driving force behind global deforestation is animal agriculture. We humans are cutting down approximately one acre of Amazonian rainforest per second every day right now (and over 260 million acres have been razed in the United States as well), and the reason behind this massive destruction of our woodlands is meat, dairy products and eggs: leveling forests to provide grazing land for cattle or growing soybeans, over 70 percent of which go to feed imprisoned chickens, cows, pigs, and factory-farmed fish.

If we were to adopt a vegan lifestyle, there would be a reduction of grazing farmed animals, and more land would become available for growing crops; crops that produce far more food per acre than the animals do currently. 60% of the world’s usable farmland is being stripped and destroyed by livestock — all to produce an incredibly inefficient amount of food (food that has proven to be extremely unhealthy for human consumption).   A single acre of grazing land currently produces 250 pounds of beef. In contrast, that same acre could be producing 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 30,000 pounds of carrots, or 50,000 pounds of tomatoes.

 

Current status of this Myth: Demolished
Justification it provides for eating animals: NONE

“The driving force behind deforestation is animal agriculture. We’re cutting down approximately 1 acre per second of Amazonian rainforest every day right now, and the driving force behind it is eating meat, dairy products and eggs.” ~ Will Tuttle

 

Filed under: Minimizing the Myths of Meat by Scaughdt