It is no secret that the fate of our earth is in a questionable place. Recently while watching Before The Flood I was reminded of the extent our planet and our actions are in desperate need of reform. When we think of climate change it is easy to shift the blame away from ourselves and blame mega corporations and their emissions of green house gasses for the state our planet is in, and while they do play a giant role in the state of the environment, there are actions we as individuals are capable of partaking in that have the potential of making substantial changes.
The worlds most common vegetable oil, Palm oil, is found in everything from animal feed and processed foods to shampoo and beauty products. Palm oil extraction is done primarily in Indonesia and Malaysia, in the past decades, expansion of palm oil plantations has taken over 80% of Indonesia’s rain forests. The oil is a cheap commodity with tremendous enviornmental cost. The burning of the rain forests releases massive amounts of carbon and in turn destroys local ecosystems and seriously threatens the health and safety of indigenous populations. Just 15% of the native animal species of the area are able to survive the transition from rain forest to plantation. Corporate disregard for environment, people and animals and prioritization of money have turned a once flourishing and abundant ecosystem into a wasteland no longer able to provide for its inhabitants.
In the United States, 47% of land is used for agricultural production, 70% of that is used for feeding livestock (compared to only 1% used for fruit and vegetable production). Beef livestock and their methane production are responsible for 12% of total emissions in the U.S. As Gidon Eshel, a scientist and professor at Bard college stated,” If you switch to chicken, you will have eliminated 80 percent of what you emit”. Though climate change often seems distant and abstract, the sooner we take action, the less harm will result.