Discuss two major environmental impacts of producing and managing large numbers of domestic animals for food

Question

What will be an ideal response?

Answer 1

The major issues related to dealing with large numbers of domestic animals are focused on the great volume of animal wastes produced and the dramatic changes in land use required for raising these animals. When exposed to weather, animal wastes release inorganic nutrients such as nitrates, ammonia, and phosphates that can pollute surface waters and nearby streams. These excess nutrients often lead to eutrophication and depletion of dissolved oxygen in aquatic ecosystems, with the subsequent death of aquatic species. Also, methane gas is a by-product of the digestion of nearly all herbivores. Since methane is a powerful greenhouse gas, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has estimated that methane emissions from livestock is accounting for more than 5% of current global warming. A second important environmental effect of domestic livestock operations is the major changes in land use. In many developing countries, forests are being cleared to create pasture land, thereby resulting in subsequent herbivore overgrazing and soil erosion. Removal of forests also reduces watershed protection, threatens biodiversity, and contributes to increased climate change, in that photosynthetic potential is reduced when vegetation is removed.