By Lee Hall
Part 6 of a Series
Sustainable Development Goals: They’re a major topic on social media. But if humans want to be sustainable, we’ve got to get serious. We must divest from customs and businesses that treat animal life as commodities. This blog entry is the fourth in a series, as we look at each of the United Nations’ 17 Sustainable Development Goals. The sixth goal is “Clean Water and Sanitation.”
Non-animal foods would serve Goal #6 well. Contaminants from animal agribusiness can seep into drinking water systems.
And as global heating drives flooding hazards, exposure to contaminated floodwaters increases.
Imagine how much simpler sanitation would be without the heaps of manure and toxic sludge we add to our surroundings because we rear animals for no good reason.
Insofar as society shifts away from breeding, feeding, and killing animals to make edible products, we gain a cleaner world.
Lee Hall is a member of the Speakers Bureau of the American Vegan Society. Lee’s entry on “Nonhuman Rights and Human Sustainability” appears in the Encyclopedia of the UN Sustainable Development Goals (Springer). Lee holds a Master’s degree in environmental law with a focus on climate change from Vermont Law School, and has taught environmental law at the University level.
