How does agriculture affect climate change?

World population is rising every second. It is believed that at some time this year the world population will reach 7.5 billion people. This growth in population only means the demand for food will continue to rise and farmers must find creative ways to feed each human being on earth. In order to be able to do this, sacrifices must be made, such as increasing deforestation and increasing meat production to meet consumer demands.

Global demand for beef and for animal feed has led farmers to cut down millions of trees all over the world. Some people argue that these actions are a necessary evil as more people need to be fed and the only way to do this is by increasing deforestation and increasing meat production. It is estimated that meat production will continue to rise as richer countries demands for meat continues to rise. Meat coming from cows, pigs, and chicken are at an all time high and farmers are working very hard to fulfill the demand.

Agriculture's emissions do not come from cattle alone but also by the various methods of irrigation, tillage and soil management. Unfortunately, some of the above methods are necessary in order to continue producing the enormous amounts of food required to sustain 7.5 billion people. Agriculture is the most essential sector of the global economy and its importance has been demonstrated for thousands of years. But  we can definitely contribute and help farmers reduce greenhouse emissions by reducing the amounts of red meats we consume. Scientific data indicates that producing beef requires 28 times more land, six times more fertilizers, and 11 times more water than producing pork or chicken. This data clearly indicates that cattle growth seriously  harms our environment.

It order to cut greenhouse gas emissions people must be informed of the dangers involved in the consumption of red meat. If every human being decided to stop eating at least one pound of red meat per year we can reduce greenhouse gases significantly. The consumption of more vegetables will lead to a healthier diet and reduce global warming.