Ending animal agriculture isn’t the solution you think it is. Here’s how it helps girls around the world

February 9, 2023
By Sirena Cordova
February 9, 2023
~6 min read

Around the world, environmental activists like Greta Thunberg are leading a social shift among younger generations. More and more, they’re pushing their peers to go beyond changing their personal lifestyles to be more sustainable — they’re also demanding action from policymakers and corporations around the world to combat climate change at a systemic level.  

It’s inspiring, but also incredibly complicated.  

In the U.S., going vegan, or at least vegetarian, can be portrayed as something as simple as swapping the usual package of ground beef for extra beans or tofu. From ad campaigns pulling at viewers’ heartstrings about the living conditions of livestock in factory farms, to a blooming industry of cultivated meat, the push away from consuming animal products is more popular than ever. 

Through my work at Plan, though, I’ve realized that this position comes from a place of privilege unique to high-income countries — and it’s one that can sometimes steamroll the lived experiences of people even within countries like ours. It’s not that we shouldn’t switch to a plant-based diet, but things are easier said than done.

With more than 80 years of work with communities around the world where farms are central to people’s livelihoods, Plan has learned how relevant animal agriculture still is for girls and their families. We aren’t telling them about the benefits of raising cattle, or how they’d be financially stable if they’d just start a farm. They’re telling us that it’s an integral part of their ability to succeed, and we listen. 

Our Gifts of Hope catalog includes a series of gifts that provide animals and training to help people start livestock businesses, not despite, but because of their value amid circumstances like displacement and hunger. 

Animal agriculture isn’t the problem

At least, it isn’t the problem in and of itself when we talk about the impacts of animal agriculture on our environment. In my view, the problem is, rather, how we produce meat.  

Several long buildings and a large body of water constituting a concentrated animal feeding operation in North Carolina, U.S. 
Many of our animal meat products come from concentrated animal feeding operations, which are defined as operations where over 1,000 “animal units” are confined for over 45 days a year. Image by Jo-Anne McArthur via Unsplash.

Food production accounts for nearly one-quarter of all greenhouse gas emissions globally, much of which comes from land use, crop production, and farm and fishery operations. And, high-income countries are the ones leading in the amounts of gases like carbon dioxide and methane being pumped into the atmosphere.

In the U.S., most of our meat comes from “factory farms” (technically called CAFOs) where thousands of livestock are confined in horrific conditions and prone to disease outbreaks that kill millions of animals (and lead to higher prices for the average consumer). 

I was an impressionable preteen when I first started seeing the images and videos of tiny, dirty cages and overcrowded facilities. It’s not something I can forget. Nor do I want to ignore this reality. 

This doesn’t mean all farms across the U.S. are torturing animals or being careless in their operations. Many rural regions depend on smaller family farms who are genuinely trying to keep up with the demands for sustainable agriculture. 

Still, data on the meat industry as a whole begs the question: Wouldn’t the solution to this problem be for everyone around the world to stop eating meat?

Well, no, not exactly.  

Families in low-income communities and countries rely on livestock to survive. Over and over, Plan sees how with animal agriculture businesses, parents can pay bills and their daughters’ school fees without worry. And, they provide food for other families around them. 

In fact, without the infrastructure to produce alternatives like Beyond Meat at scale like in North America and Europe, nor the income to afford these more expensive options in the first place, animal-based products are often the only source of protein and nutrients for people in places like Guinea or Burkina Faso. These countries don’t produce meat the way we do anyway, and they aren’t contributing to massive greenhouse gas emissions at the same rate as us. 

Girls’ and young women’s needs are our priority 

When it comes to the climate change-induced crises that push people from their homes and kill their livestock, one of the most important elements of our response is to actually help families restart their farms. The immediate financial relief that this business provides (especially for people whose livelihoods are rooted in pastoralism) is necessary for their survival and resilience in the long term.  

[Read more: These gifts are the GOAT at ending hunger] 

Here’s an example: In Burkina Faso, 24-year-old Safiata and her family fled their village due to security threats from armed groups. After moving from town to town, they finally settled in a southern city called Kongoussi. 

Safiata, a young woman from Burkina Faso, stands among her chickens in the yard of her house with one of her children beside her.
Safiata and her family were able to find a house in Kongoussi, and her husband opened a shop selling a variety of goods to their community.

“When we arrived in Kongoussi, we stayed for a few days in a displacement camp before my husband found us a house,” Safiata says. “Here, I live with my husband, my three children, my husband’s second wife and her children. My husband was a gold miner, but with the situation, he became a trader and opened a small shop.” 

To support displaced families living in regions like Safiata’s, Plan launched a program to support women’s and girls’ economic security and ensure access to quality education in a safe learning environment. Part of the program is to provide skills training and cash transfers so they can set up income-generating activities of their choosing. 

When Safiata enrolled in the program, she chose to learn about livestock farming, and when she graduated from the project, she received money to start her own farm. 

“I bought five chickens, hay and two homemade baskets to cover the chicks,” she says. “I also bought two sheep (a ram and a lamb). Today, I am very happy because I have more than 30 chickens now and there are other chickens who continue to lay.” 

Safiata brings a bucket of water from inside her house for two goats to drink from.
In addition to the chickens and sheep she bought with the money she received from the project, Safiata now raises several goats.

In projects like the one Safiata enrolled in, we don’t just train people on breeding and selling livestock. We also work with people to incorporate small-scale production methods that ensure their businesses are environmentally conscious and sustainable. Our staff, who work and live in the countries where our projects are implemented, partner with local organizations and speak directly with girls and families facing the toughest circumstances to understand what they need and design initiatives that they ask for.  

And as our work continues, we’re learning ways to offer livestock programs for families that include addressing the impacts of climate change in countries like Zimbabwe, where meat is a staple in most people’s diets. These programs focus on spreading awareness about climate-induced risks while training families on techniques to protect their livestock and crop fields from the negative impacts of climate crises.  

The support is especially important to women, who, like Safiata, use their newfound knowledge and skills to become financially independent and support their children’s education and well-being. 

Donating to projects or purchasing a Livestock Gift of Hope sends the necessary support to meet girls’ and families’ immediate needs so that they no longer need to fight for survival and can go on to fight for a better world.