Ethical eating: Difference between revisions - Wikipedia

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{{See also|Environmental impact of agriculture|Environmental impact of meat production|Environmental impact of fishing|Sustainable diet}}

[[File:Cattle grazing Ochiltree County, TX IMG 6050.JPG|thumb|Cattle grazing in Texas]]

The extent of environmental impacts depends on the methods of food production and types of food. The [[Union of Concerned Scientists]] advises that avoiding eating beef may potentially help the environment,<ref name="earthsave">{{cite web | url=http://www.earthsave.org/environment/foodchoices.htm | title=How Our Food Choices can Help Save the Environment | publisher=EarthSave | accessdate=August 15, 2015 | author=Boyan, Steve}}</ref> because of the large amounts of water needed to produce beef, the pollution from fecal, ammonia, carbon dioxide and methane waste associated with raising cows, the physical damage from grazing, and the destruction of wildlife habitat and rainforests to produce land for grazing.<ref name=earthsave /> Industrially produced meat, such as that from animals raised in [[CAFO|Confined Animal Feeding Operations or CAFOs]], has "the greatest impact of any food product on the environment".<ref name=time1208 /> Livestock production takes up the majority of agricultural land use, which ultimately results in the increase of methane and nitrous oxide emissions. These two gases are known for being harmful and damaging to the environment. It also takes 7 kilograms of grain to produce 1 kilogram of beef, and the process to convert this requires even more energy and water usage.<ref>{{Cite web|title=Food and climate change|url=https://davidsuzuki.org/queen-of-green/food-climate-change/|access-date=2021-12-02|website=David Suzuki Foundation|language=en-US}}</ref> This poses another ethical dilemma, which is choosing to feed the cattle over people in poverty. The latter is what brings in the most revenue, so that is where the attention and resources go towards.

Packaging of commercially produced foods is also an area of concern,<ref name=time1208 /> because of the environmental impact of both the production of the packaging and the disposal of the packaging.