But they continue to be fished. Impact on the land Raising livestock in large numbers uses vast amounts of available land and takes a heavy toll on the land that is used. Valuable topsoil is being irrevocably lost the world over and millions of acres of once-productive land turned into desert all due to our SAD dietary habits. Obviously, two additional major environmental concerns are energy-efficiency and global warming. But few of the dialogues about solar heating or battery operated cars take into account the energy efficiency of our current farming system.
Animal agriculture is terribly inefficient.
All told, when combined with the destruction of rain forests for pastures and increasing global desertification, animal agriculture creates truly dire global consequences. What You Can Do Today's headlines about environmental ills can often leave us feeling powerless to make any change. But the good news about the environmental impact of food is that we have the ability to make our own choices in this area. It's as simple as picking up a fork. A move toward a plant-based diet centered around fruits, vegetables, grains and legumes uses fewer resources and takes less of a toll on our planet.