WHAT ABOUT ANIMALS?

What Do Animals Have to Do With Sustainability and What Does Sustainability Have To Do With Animals?

            Many do not understand how interlinked sustainability is with animals, which is only human, as we live in a society that purposefully disconnects the two. Sustainability and going green are things that have been classified as “hippie” or something only “tree huggers” participate in, but this cannot be true. Our lives, the lives of our children, the lives of their children, the life of your favorite animal or flower, all depend on it. Sustainability is not a “hippie” thing, it is a survival thing. Simply put, sustainability is treating the planet as if we planned to stay.

            Our society has experienced a massive change over the last century, with increasing human populations, habitat destruction, fossil fuel combustion, etc., which has resulted in a climate crisis that affects all beings on the planet. We must begin our efforts to live more sustainably for the benefit of ourselves and all other beings. Our health, well-being, and future depend on the health and well-being of animals and our environment; furthermore, whatever affects one will affect the others as all living things are connected. Despite how detached our society has become from nature, the relationship between humans, animals, and nature remains critical.

What about the animals that are typically killed for food?

            Animals tend to be ignored or not considered a crucial part of sustainability, especially animals that are typically consumed, such as the wonderful animals we have here at the ranch whom we have saved from that fate. However, sustainability is directly linked with animal welfare and wildlife conservation. Industries such as factory farming, deforestation, and illegal trade not only are the cause of hundreds of billions of animals killed yearly, but can also cause climate change, disease outbreaks, and other environmental disasters which kill even more animals, it is a vicious cycle. Agriculture, specifically animal agriculture (although most plant agriculture could be considered part of animal agriculture, since most of it is grown to feed livestock) is a major contributor to anthropogenic (human-caused) climate change which is caused by climate pollutants CO2, CH4, and N2O. Surprise! Agricultural activity generates about ½ of all human methane emissions and about ¾ of human N2O emissions.

            Sustainability efforts will not succeed without considering animal welfare. If climate change mitigation strategies were to solely focus on preserving humanity, the strategies would fail as humanity cannot thrive without wildlife, ecosystems, etc. also flourishing. Including animal welfare would allow us to achieve many things. For example, switching to dominantly plant agriculture rather than animal agriculture would save billions of animals from suffering and being killed while also reducing air pollution, water pollution, land pollution, land use, water use, greenhouse gas emissions, antibiotic resistance, and other environmental/health hazards.

What about wildlife?

            We are amid a climate crisis and have already endangered many species and destroyed many habitats. Wildlife faces many threats including deforestation, land degradation, pollution, hunting, etc. and as we have discussed, humans and wildlife are interlinked, so if one is to suffer then so is the other. People are beginning to realize that animals and their habitats contain value that cannot be defined or amounted by economics. For example, wildlife provides pest control and pollination, and 75% of global crop species depend on animal pollination in order to reproduce. This means that if we were to lose these animal pollinators, our agricultural production would be severely hindered causing a cascade of unfortunate events. One of the most essential ways we can encourage the well-being of all beings is by reducing our carbon emissions. Humanity’s carbon emissions have led to increasing acidity of the ocean, melting of the polar ice caps, extreme weather, species extinction, and the disruption of the balance of nature.

Why does it matter?

            We will continue to face many environmental hazards caused by the damage that humanity has already done, which is why our relationship with nature is now more important than ever. We hope that you have learned that the health of both domestic and wild animals is essential for the balance of nature and the well-being of human beings, and that sustainability is essential for the balance of nature and the well-being of all of us. It is crucial that we all come to realize that human and nonhuman fates are intertwined and incorporating animal welfare into our sustainability movement will allow us to create a more sustainable, healthy, compassionate planet (home) for all of us.