“As consumers, we can make a difference by changing our diets.”

“All the cars, tractors, trucks, planes and ships in the world added together emit fewer greenhouse gases than livestock farming.”

“This huge environmental impact that livestock has is not well understood by the public” — Dr Henning Steinfeld, U.N. FAO

“Everybody needs to know that food and agriculture contributes to climate change and has environmental impact.”

“Between 40 and 50% of all cereals are not eaten by humans, but by livestock. And for soy that's about 75%” — Dr Harry Aiking, VU University, Amsterdam

“Half of the total global wheat harvest is used as livestock feed to support out meat and dairy consumption. At the same time, people in poor countries are starving.”

“To produce animal products you need up to ten times as much land as is needed to produce vegetable products.”

“People don't realise that it's actually the meat on their plate that's causing global warming rather than the car that they're driving.”

“In the US, the meat industry uses about one third of all the fossil fuels that we generate.”

“I do not believe that we can have a good situation for animals or the environment if we continue to eat as much meat as we're eating.” — Wayne Pacelle, HSUS President

“If you reduce your total [meat] consumption by half ... you cut in half the greenhouse gas emissions ... Our fork is a powerful tool.”

“I knew that what we were doing was wrong, was absolutely, totally non-sustainable.” — Howard Lyman, ex cattle rancher

“If we don't change our eating habits, we will be consuming 450 billion kilos of meat by 2050.”

“The production of 1kg of beef is just as bad for the environment as driving around in the car for three hours while you left all your lights on at home.”

“If all people in the world started eating as much meat as we do, then we'd need three planets to feed them all.”

“A vegetarian in a Hummer produces fewer greenhouse emissions than a meat eater in a Toyota Prius.”

Did you know that transport systems around the world make up 13% of global greenhouse gases? That may sound like a lot, but livestock farming and production systems make up a whopping 18%. That's right — livestock production is responsible for more greenhouse gases than every single car, bus, train, plane, tractor and scooter put together.

'Meat The Truth' shows us the startling environmental costs of raising animals for food, including how a single dairy cow produces 500-700 litres of methane a day. In one year that cow has created the same amount of greenhouse gas as a medium sized car travelling 70,000 kilometres.

Factory farming of animals also contributes to high levels of carbon dioxide in the air. Carbon sinks such as the Amazon and the Cerrado in Brazil are continuously being cleared for soya bean crops, 75% of which are exported to feed sheep, cattle, pigs and chickens in the Western world. It takes 7Kg of these crops to produce just 1Kg of meat — the livestock industry literally gobbles up this precious food.

To produce animal products, approximately ten times the amount of land is needed than to produce the same amount of vegetable product. It's not hard to see that this is an incredibly inefficient and unsustainable way to produce protein.

Whilst the Australian meat industry attempts to convince the public of its environmental credentials, the reality is that, with the Earth's population predicted to hit 9 billion by 2050, there is just no way for the unsustainable consumption of meat to continue. The answer is simple. Less meat means less animal production, which means less greenhouse gases, less water consumption, less deforestation and finally, less global warming.

We owe it to the Earth. We owe it to the animals. Please pledge to do your part, and share 'Meat The Truth' with everyone you know.