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Michelle Kucerak
SVP, Programs and Development |
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As COP26 (AKA the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference) wraps this week, I can’t stop thinking about how horrible factory farms are for the environment.
The meat, dairy, and egg industries are abusing millions of animals every single day—and these corporations are devastating our planet at the exact same time. 💔
Did you know...
🌎 The percentage of global greenhouse gas emissions caused by animal agriculture
🌎 The amount of water needed to make one quarter-pound beef patty (or take 23 showers)
🌎 The number of trees we cut down each year, mostly to clear space for grazing livestock and the crops that feed them
🌎 The amount of methane a single cow can belch each year
🌎 The amount of methane cows produce all around the globe
The numbers are pretty grim. But, together, we’re fighting hard to build a kinder world. Because what’s good for animals is also good for the environment.
I’m so honored that I get to be in a community with some amazing changemakers, who give me so much hope for our plant-based movement—and for our planet!
| Grace Pugh
Changemaker Captain, Chicago
As an activist, I try to highlight all the benefits of ending animal agriculture. Beyond ethics and health, another huge benefit of switching to a plant-based diet is the reduced environmental impact. Studies have found that veganism is the single biggest way to reduce our environmental impact! I don’t think that many people realize this, so I try to emphasize this in my activism.
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| Marla Di Benedetto
Changemaker Captain, Kansas City
I lived in an area plagued by coal mines, along with the slaughterhouse byproduct run-off into the soil and water. The community affected was low-income—with non-white and Indigenous residents—as is common for animal agriculture and environmental waste. The cycle of injustice is a circular one: abuse to the environment, animals, and people affects the delicate web of life. I have seen in my years on this planet an absolute destruction of respect for the environment and other life forms, who are seen as just things. They are not things. They are someone in my eyes. I fight for their—and the planet's—rights to exist and thrive.
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| Zerubbabel Lindsey
Changemaker Captain, Boise
One day I bit into a chicken bone in a meal—which was a shock. Then I learned, through documentaries and books, that I was unknowingly supporting an industry that hurts the environment and animals. It breaks my heart to hear about low-income communities being affected most by the placement of factory farms and slaughterhouses, which specifically target communities of color and Indigenous lands. Deforestation, biodiversity, ocean acidification, antibiotic resistance all are linked to animal agriculture. These issues are inseparable.
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| Beau Broughton
Regional Organizing Manager, San Diego
In middle school, I watched the documentary An Inconvenient Truth and read the book Fast Food Nation. As someone who always had a soft spot for animals and grew up in a coastal redwood forest, I was shocked. I saw the grim simulations that predicted what would happen to my hometown, with wildfires and ocean levels rising. And as I learned more about the way factory farms recklessly abused animals while emitting massive amounts of greenhouse gases, I started to eliminate animal products from my diet. I've always cared about both animals and the environment. The animal rights movement is stronger when we advocate for both.
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From all your friends at The Humane League, thank you for all you do to make a difference for animals!
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