OBJECTIVE:
“Income inequality is on the rise—the richest 10 percent have up to 40 percent of global income whereas the poorest 10 percent earn only between 2 to 7 percent. If we take into account population growth inequality in developing countries, inequality has increased by 11 percent”.
“Income inequality requires global solutions. This involves improving the regulation and monitoring of financial markets and institutions, encouraging development assistance and foreign direct investment to regions where the need is greatest. Facilitating the safe migration and mobility of people is also key to bridging the widening divide”.
(Sustainable development goals: United Nations Development Programme: Goal 10 Reduced Inequalities)
HOW ANIMAL EXPLOITATION UNDERMINES THIS GOAL
Living Standards in AG: The animal and fish agriculture industries show consistent low wages, high health risks, and unique psychological pressures (1-2).
Unfair Distribution of Wealth: Farming subsidies benefit the wealthy rather than support small local farmers (3), and hide the superior costs paid by consumers in terms of degrading environmental quality and health standards (4). Subsidies in design cause disproportionate use of land that favours wealth over health (5).
Exploitation of Developing Nations: Land grabs from indigenous communities, (which are part of land inequalities associated with grazing and growing animal feed crops), exploit already marginalized citizenry (6-7). This leads to conflicts, food shortages, and the destruction of forests (8). The leather industry takes advantage of cheap labour in undeveloped countries (9-10), leaving the additional repercussion of pollution and health risks in its wake (11-12). The fishing industry is known to induce slave labour by imprisoning vulnerable people as labourers aboard ships with no independence nor supportive representation (13).
AG in Low-Income Areas: In developed countries, animal agriculture industries are often located in low-income areas and rely heavily on migrant workers (who if hired illegally, may not be able to claim the rights and compensation that they deserve) (14). Corporate CAFOs monopolize rural local industrial land and labour, which can limit other employment opportunities within those regions (15). Rural communities where intensive animal farming has taken root become wastelands rife with water and air pollution, leading to sickness and psychological stress over loss (16-17). Intensive animal agriculture waste pollutes air, river estuaries and inland aquatic ecosystems from which the wellbeing of disadvantaged communities suffers most (18-19). Industrial fishing negatively impacts the relative income, basic sustenance, and health of developing communities (20).
Download the document below to read the full list of the latest citations of evidence as to how animal exploitation undermines the progress of SDG Goal 10: Reduced Inequality
Further Reading:
Goal 10 : Sustainable Development Knowledge Platform (United Nations website)
“LAND INEQUALITIES AT THE HEART OF UNEQUAL SOCIETIES” – RESEARCH FINDINGS FROM THE LAND INEQUALITY INITIATIVE, Beyond its direct effects on smallholder agriculture, it is clear that land inequality undermines stability and the development of sustainable societies, affecting all of us in almost every aspect of our lives. – https://www.landcoalition.org
“The global burden of industrial livestock” – On question (1) – who benefits from growing meat consumption – Weis unpacks the extent of inequalities: people in rich countries consume more than three times as much meat, and more than four times as much dairy, as people in developing countries (see table). Tony Weis, The Ecological Hoofprint: The global burden of industrial livestock (Zed Books, 2013), reviewed by Gabriel Levy, September 5, 2014 – https://climateandcapitalism.com
