Eating Meat Threatens Wolves, Polar Bears to Extinction

We already know that forgoing meat saves lives: it helps protect farmed animals as well as our own personal health. According to Stephanie Feldstein, population and sustainability director for the Center for Biological Diversity, cutting back on burgers may save even more lives than we thought:

In her recent article published on Huffington Post, she explains:

“Most people don’t think about polar bears when they sit down to dinner. No more than they think about grizzly bears or prairie dogs or salamanders or the hundreds of other species threatened by the emissions, pollution, water use and land degradation of the livestock industry. But all those statistics about the incredible amount of resources that go into — and waste that comes out of — raising cows, chickens, pigs and other animals for food represent consequences for wildlife. Serious ones.”

The conservation group argues that the meat industry is driving many species of bears and wolves to extinction — and an additional 175 other endangered species could soon follow. With huge herds of cattle sent to graze on 270 million acres of public lands in 11 states, bears and wolves who prey on cows increasingly run into conflict with ranchers who then kill the carnivores. Moreover, as cows graze, they damage vegetation, soil, and stream banks, destroying the habitats of prairie dogs, elk, and other animals.

“For many people, the cost of meat to the farm animals themselves is enough,” Feldstein offered. “Once you add in the cost to wildlife and the environment we all need to survive, then multiply it by the growing demand for meat in a world of seven billion people, the price is too high for any of us.”

The solution is simple: we can protect farmed animals and wildlife simply by choosing plant-based foods! Start now with a 7-Day VegPledge and be sure to visit TryVeg.com now for easy plant-based recipes!