Our meat obsession is destroying the planet – the solution is to change how we see animals

Globally, we consume around 900 billion calories 318 Million TonnesEvery year, the world consumes approximately 1 billion metric tons of meat. This number is projected to increase to 20% by 2050. 517 million tonnes. This is a reflection of how Agriculture of animalsLike pigs, chickens, and cows for human consumption has been It is largely accepted as essential to our existence. This Stunning separationThe core value of the human-animal relationship was to be shared. European colonizationMany places like the US.

In New England, as English colonisers’ practice of continually farming maize without giving the fields a rest was destroying soils – leading to reduced crop output – the English began hunting local animals for extra food. They began to raise domesticated animals and colonize more people when these species became scarce.

This practice of taming animals was used by colonisers not only to distinguish themselves from the native “savages” they believed to be in their way, but also to assert land ownership through making animal domestication a precondition for claiming private property rights.

This had disastrous consequences. The result? Great Plains region in central North America began Not to be overwhelmedEuropean domesticated species such as cows, pigs and sheep, goats, horses, and other invasive foreign plants, including grasses and associated insects and microbes.

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These species quickly compressed soils, and destroyed much of the long-grass needed to support key species like The bison. Bison were not only highly valuable within local ecosystems thanks to their grazing patterns, they also played a vital role in many Indigenous populations’ food systems and spiritual beliefs.

Inadvertently, settlers threatened bison populations through their farming practices. They also began to slaughter them in droves for food. Their hides. These were used to create drive belts for factories that produce mass-produced consumer goods in North America or Europe. This led to an increase in bison populations throughout North America. Plunged FromAn estimated 30 million people lived in 1800, and only 1,000 in 1900.

Cree filmmaker Tasha HubbardThe destruction of bison is a form genocide according to some. Their slaughter was partly intended to exterminate Native Americans and their culture. The decline of Indigenous plants was also caused by the loss bison. Foods and medicines such as wild rye, the compass plant, big bluestem and Golden Alexander – plants which colonisers called weeds.

Meat economy

The transformation of these once biodiverse lands to ecologically sparse tracts was necessary for the birth of the modern meat business. industrial meat productionThese are where animals are crowded together, often in tiny compounds that extend for miles. These systems have replaced the Indigenous approach of mutual dependency between non-human and human animals in a balanced ecosystem.

Despite the fact that animals were hunted by Indigenous peoples, they are now also Spiritually reveredThis has important implications. Hunted populations are allowed the chance to replenish themselves.

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In contrast, around two-thirdsMany farm animals are raised in factory farms around the world. Many animals are raised in cramped, squalid conditions that lead to early death, abuse, and mistreatment. They are commonplace. This was demonstrated in the UK by the mass Culling of pigsDue to labour shortages within the UK abattoir sector in October 2021.

What’s more, the global meat industry now accounts for 60% of greenhouse gas emissionsFood production, which itself Contribute 37% of total emissions – creating even greater imbalances in our planetary environment.

Indigenous ethics

There is an alternative. Indigenous ideas like “relationality” and “reciprocity” can help us all challenge our outlook on nonhuman animals. RelationshipThe idea that all living things are interconnected means that human lives depend on our ability to live ethically alongside other species. Similarly, ReciprocityThis is a commitment to care for one another by acknowledging the webof ecological, spiritual, and social relationships that surround us all.

For example, culturesSuch as the Sub-arctic Innu Inuit of the ArcticWhile hunting, killing and eating animals is acceptable, it is important to uphold strong ethics of reciprocity and relationality. Understanding how the widespread commodification has affected ecosystems has driven me to seek out ways to improve my relationships with them. Climate changecan help us fight these effects and create a more sustainable world.

These communities live by hunting, fishing, and foraging. To ensure their abundant supply, however, respect is shown to all living creatures. This is achieved through limiting kills and sharing all parts of the animal, as well as paying spiritual tributes to animal deities.

Although these activities may not be possible for most of us, we can use similar principles to promote respect for animals – and for the planet – through Rewilding landTo ensure wild animals thrive we must abolish industrial farmingTransitioning to plant-based diets.

The ultimate goal of debates about how to best protect our increasingly damaged planet is to prioritise, not marginalise. Non-human animalsTheir immense value.