Animal Agriculture is currently the greatest threat to our species survival

I would like to start off by saying thank you to Con for the challenge, I look forward to an educated debate! Just to start off, I'd like to look at current issues that could endanger our species. Obviously these issues are not part of the argument, they are simply being stated to compare the intensity of the situations compared to animal agriculture and its' effects: War - The current danger here is ISIS and they are actually causing the world to band together, thus the chance of a serious nuclear war stemming from it is very slim. Disease - While this is always a possibility, there is nothing currently that could pose an endangering type threat [1]. Mother Nature - Storms becoming more frequent and more intense, changing our landscape and living patterns. Definitely a threat, but not one that would endanger our species. Meteors - Nothing as of yet that could pose any serious threats [2]. Animal Agriculture - 3/4 of the world"s fisheries are exploited or depleted [4]. Animal agriculture is responsible for 18% of the total release of greenhouse gases world-wide (this is more than all the cars, trucks, planes, and ships in the world combined) [3]. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction [4]. With that in mind, let's get on to more facts about greenhouse gases and animal agriculture. As greenhouse gas emissions from human activities increase (animal agriculture being one), they build up in the atmosphere and warm the climate, leading to many other changes around the world"in the atmosphere, on land, and in the oceans [7]. Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions [4]. Methane (a greenhouse gas), is 25-100 times more destructive than CO2 on a 20 year time frame [4]. Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide " a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years [7][4]. Fracking (hydraulic fracturing) water use ranges from 70-140 billion gallons annually compared to animal agriculture water consumption which ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually [4]. Livestock covers 45% of the earth"s total land [4] and it continues to grow, causing mass amounts of deforestation, thus enhancing the ability of greenhouse gases. Not only does livestock undeniably affect the air in our atmosphere and consume mass amounts of resources, it also plays a huge role in polluting the nearby waters that eventually lead to the oceans and cause dead zones. - Dead zones are hypoxic (low-oxygen) areas in the world's oceans and large lakes, caused by "excessive nutrient pollution from human activities coupled with other factors that deplete the oxygen required to support most marine life in bottom and near-bottom water. (NOAA) Unless humans act now, seafood may disappear by 2048 [8]. 3/4 of the world"s fisheries are exploited or depleted [4]. With these types of numbers, could we deny that these affects are going to have a massive impact on life as we know it within the next century? Due to the increase of greenhouse gases, which cause global warming & climate change, we are looking at a sea level rise of about 2.5-6.5ft by 2100, enough to swamp many of the cities along the U.S. East Coast [9]. Not to mention many other areas that are near or below sea level. Taking into account all of these startling facts, one could see how animal agriculture would have devastating effects on hundreds/thousands of species on the planet, thus effecting the human race as well. Looking at all of these effects that animal agriculture has on the environment should at least give you insight to the immediate dangers it poses. If we don't act on this soon i.e. reduce our consumption of animal products, we could see life altering affects begin to occur within our lifetime. Looking forward to your response! Sources: [1] http://www.cdc.gov... [2] http://neo.jpl.nasa.gov... [3] http://www.onegreenplanet.org... [4] http://www.cowspiracy.com... [5] http://www.humanesociety.org... [6] http://www.ncifap.org... [7] http://www3.epa.gov... [8] http://news.nationalgeographic.com... [9] http://ocean.nationalgeographic.com...