The past couple of weeks, I have been writing a series of articles about the causes and effects of climate change. Catch up on part one, and part two.

This week, I am addressing the second major industry that is contributing to greenhouse gas emissions that is causing climate change: animal agriculture.

Animal agriculture is the most environmentally destructive industry on the planet. Not only is it the leading cause of greenhouse gas emissions, but the industry also consumes ridiculous amounts of resources for raising and processing animals for meat and other products. Animal agriculture uses 34-76 trillion gallons of water every year, overtakes 45 percent of the earth’s total land and causes seven million pounds of animal excrement to be produced every minute. This leads to nutrient poisoning in water sources and ecosystems and is also the reason for 91 percent of forest destruction, which happens in order to make room for farmland.

Farm animals produce CO₂ and methane gas, which both contribute to global warming. Additionally, large quantities of fossil fuels are required to transport and process animals for meat and other animal products for food. The animal agriculture industry alone causes 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. Essentially, producing 1 calorie from animal protein requires 11 times as much fossil fuel input — releasing 11 times as much carbon dioxide — as does producing 1 calorie from plant protein.

Fortunately, there is another option. People can chose to refuse meat and animal products. Vegan and vegetarian diets can cut emissions by 70 percent in comparison to the average omnivore diet. If the entire world were to stop eating meat right now, climate change would no longer be a serious problem.

Check back next week for my final article on the transportation industry and climate change.