Greetings, eco-conscious viewers to today’s episode of Planet Earth: Our
Loving Home.
June 5th is World Environment Day, a day established
by the United Nations in 1973 to raise global awareness of the vital
importance of preserving of our biosphere.
This year’s theme is
“Many Species. One Planet. One Future.” In honor of this day, our
program features excerpts of interviews with respected climate
scientists, prominent political figures, knowledgeable environmental
specialists, and concerned citizens regarding how intensive animal
agriculture devastates our environment.
According to Livestock’s
Long Shadow,” a report released in 2006 by the Food and Agriculture
Organization (FAO) of the United Nations, the livestock industry is
chiefly responsible for almost all the very serious environmental issues
currently facing the planet, including land degradation,deforestation,
water pollution and shortages, and above all, global warming.
We
begin with how production of animal products takes up huge tracts of
land across the globe and thus robs humanity of the true productivity of
the soil.
Dr. Smith:
The whole operation of the meat system requires a lot of land. There is
a whole bunch of agricultural land somewhere making the food to grow
those animals. We’re all connected together, we live on the same planet;
we do one thing, it affects everybody. And this is a very important
illustration.