Hasn't anyone noticed...?!
Please tell me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the government made laws against farming all they can because of the surplus? So really, don't we have enough farmland?
Also, if we all had our own gardens (if, that is, we have a yard), don't you think that would reduce this problem?
Answers: I'm just wondering and I don't mean to insult anyone, but a lot of people are saying that vegetarianism is pointless because of all the natural habitat destroyed by farming.
Please tell me if I'm wrong, but hasn't the government made laws against farming all they can because of the surplus? So really, don't we have enough farmland?
Also, if we all had our own gardens (if, that is, we have a yard), don't you think that would reduce this problem?
Natural habitat is definitely destroyed by agriculture. The farmland we already have was once a natural habitat, but producing animal products is even *more* destructive. If people stopped eating meat, and even eggs and dairy, part of the farmland could be converted back to native prairie or whatever other ecosystem it once supported (eventually).
The only thing that might be ecologically better than plant agriculture is hunting and gathering, within reasonable limits, but that cannot sustain the current global population of humans. Plant agriculture can.
I do not know if I entirely understand your question, but the fact is that 80% of the grain grown in the USA is for "livestock" to consume.
It takes more land and resources to raise animals for food than it does to raise vegetarian food for people to eat.
Of course, that's a simplistic statement. There are no easy, perfect answers to any of this. One person can't make a decision that's going to fix everything.
What we can each do is make a stand in our own lives. If, given all the evidence, you believe that it's healthier/kinder for the planet for you to live a vegetarian lifestyle, then do it. If someone asks you why, educate them as much as you're able. It isn't your job to convert them, merely to communicate about your own experience.
Most journeys start with a single step. Living "rightly" upon the planet is a journey composed of many first steps, taken by many people for many reasons.
Ultimately, we'll all realize we're on the same path. With luck, we'll find that it's the right path. Just remember that almost all great decisions are made with insufficient evidence. You just have to trust your gut and do the best you can.
More farmland is used to produce food for meat animals than there ever will be for humans to eat. It's a weak argument. Much like "omg plants have feelings, you murderers!" They don't put the two seconds in to think about how stupid that is considering their food eats more plants than we do.
Well, you can also think about it this way
What were naturally growing or living on all that land before they became farms? How much natural flora and fauna were destroyed so people could have farms (both animal and crop)?
It was theorized that the great dust bowl became so because crop farmers removed all the heavy top soil on their farms creating millions of acres of basically dust/thin top soil which the wind blew away. There was one Iowan farmer who bitterly joked " I did not lose my farm, but most of it is in Nebraska now".