Devour the Earth

(This video is the production of the UK Vegetarian Society, hosted via YouTube - thanks both!)

Have you ever wondered what effect your diet has on our planet? Ever pondered about what your carbon footprint on the Earth really is? If so, please make a plan and watch the very informative short film, entitled: “Devour the Earth.”“Devour the Earth” is a succinct documentary produced by the Vegetarian Society in the United Kingdom with narration by the famous vegetarian and lead vocalist of The Beatles, Sir Paul McCartney, and includes a prologue by the former Slovenian President: Dr Janez Drnovsek.

The film clearly illustrates the consequences of human activities and the effect that the meat eating diet has on our beautiful and precious planet. The scientific evidence which is now endorsed by the United Nations and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC), clearly indicates the chilling factor, that meat eating is the main contributor to global warming and has countless other adverse effects on our planet. The film unmistakably shows that the Earth has existed in balance for 4,000 million years and that it is only during the last 100 years of the industrial revolution that it has been so badly damaged. It displays the harsh realities of how the meat industry is leading to much calamity on Earth. Herewith some data quoted from the film:

In 1995; 38% of all grain produced was used to feed livestock; (however recent research suggests that currently up to 80% of all soy-beans produced are fed to factory farmed animals)

80% of agricultural land in Britain alone is used to support farmed animals for the meat diet.

The plant based diet only requires 30% of the land, which can even be achieved without the use of chemicals;

It takes 10 kg of plant based protein to produce a mere 1 kg of meat;

a single cow generates 23 tons of manure while a pig generates 22 tons annually;

18% of harmful methane gas, polluting our planet, comes from livestock;

Ammonia caused by animal farming results in up to 70% of soil acidity in some areas ;

The meat eating diet requires double the amount of land compared to the vegetarian diet , and 4 times the amount of land compared to the vegan diet;

If the entire world lived by an American style meat diet, only half the worlds’ populations could be fed;

Over 40% of fish caught are often found diseased in the North Sea—mainly with cancerous tumors.

The movie clearly indicates that the meat industry is very inefficient in mass, land and energy usage and extremely detrimental to the environment. As a matter of fact, huge areas of rainforest (housing 90% of all of Earth’s animal species) including up to 70% of the Amazon, have been converted to pasture in order to grow crops for feeding livestock. Deforestation not only causes the loss of habitat and subsequent extinction of many animals but also contributes heavily to global warming. The trees are the lungs of our planet, absorbing carbon dioxide and releasing oxygen, and by cutting them down we are removing the lungs of the Earth. The combination of burning trees and animal waste worsens the carbon emissions released into our precious atmosphere. Even worse – recent research supported by the United Nations indicates that the methane gas produced by animal waste is 23 times more potent than regular C02’s and the nitrous oxide produced by factory farming 296 times more potent!

Taking into consideration the massive amount of manure generated by billions of distraught factory farmed animals, it is easy to recognize that it is the main source of water and soil pollution, as well as the cause of acid rain.

In aspects of human as well as animal health, this very informative film highlights how the meat eating diet causes many diseases including various forms of cancers, BSE (Mad cow disease) as well as heart conditions.

The film also highlights how beautiful, intelligent and loving our animal, co-inhabitants are; how they experience feelings of love, pain, sadness and joy; and how the human stomach inconsiderately and cruelly cuts the life short of our extraordinary animal friends, who crave to live a life of peace and harmony, just like we do.

In the section about whale hunting, one can learn that these gentle giants of the ocean have a language even more complex than our own human language; however, even today some countries still continue to hunt and torture them to the point of near extinction. In fishermen’s nets millions of our innocent fish, dolphins, manta rays and other beautiful sentient beings of the ocean continue to suffer, due to the humans’ insatiable and inconsiderate palette. Entire species have been wiped out, due to human delicacies, and our oceans continuously polluted with drifting fishermen’s nets, only to entangle yet another innocent inhabitant of the ocean and to accelerate the destruction of our coral reefs.

Unfortunately humans do not realize: if you harm this planet, the oceans, or our animals; you are hurting yourself. Poisons, rubbish and fuels expelled from fishing boats affect our beautiful fish, which often end up on an unsuspecting human’s plate, unknowingly eating heavily polluted fish for lunch or dinner. The destructive cycle of pesticides includes poisoning many species of insects, small animals as well as birds. Milk, cheese and meat is also heavily polluted and infected with these pesticides, as well as antibiotics and fertilizers that eventually end up in a human body. Research suspects that at least 50 of these chemical pesticides can cause cancer. When we harm animals, we are truly harming ourselves as well.

Save the Earth, Go Veggie!

The ultimate message from this film is to inform us about the huge adverse effects of the meat eating diet, for a meal of which we have no nutritional need at all! By adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet we can not only dramatically increase our own health, but also have a healthier, happier and cleaner planet in harmony with our Animal Co-inhabitants. We must do something to preserve this planet for our future generations. And most importantly animals would be extremely grateful!

If you would like to stop the unnecessary pain and suffering inflicted upon our beautiful animals, if you would like others to increase their health, to lessen the pollution of our planet and to ultimately save our Earth then please watch the film “Devour our Earth” and go veggie! It is available on video or via youtube.com, just click on the video at the top of the page.

Alternatively a simple internet search should lead you to it. The script of the film is also available on line in multiple languages at: http://www.vegetarismus.ch/video/vsuk_skripte.htm