Startling Statistics That Will Make You Want To Go Vegetarian, Or Reduce Meat Intake

I have recently watched a really interesting documentary on Netflix called Cowspiracy. The doc film makes a pretty convincing case to go vegetarian or vegan, or at the very least considerably reduce one's meat consumption, not for the sake of animal rights/welfare, but for the sake of the environment. On the film's website are many statistics from all pretty legit sources(nope, not PETA!) on why this is such an important step to consider taking for the planet.
Cowspiracy: Startling Statistics That Will Make You Want To Go Vegetarian, Or At Least Reduce Your Meat Consumption:

Animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions, more than the combined exhaust from all transportation(source: 2006 UN report)
Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 32,000 million tons of carbon dioxide (CO2) per year, or 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions(source: 2015 Georgetown Environmental Law Review study)
Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide – a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years(sources: 2006 UN report, 2011 US Energy Information Administration study)
Cows produce 150 billion gallons of methane per day(sources: 2013 International Business Times report, 2013 National Academy of Sciences report)
Animal agriculture water consumption ranges from 34-76 trillion gallons annually. (source: 2005 United States Geological Service study)
Growing feed crops for livestock consumes 56% of water in the US. (source: 2006 Center for Science in the Public Interest study)
Californians use 1500 gallons of water per person per day. Close to Half is associated with meat and dairy products. (source: 2012 Pacific Institute study)
2,500 gallons of water are needed to produce 1 pound of beef. (sources: 2004 BioScience report, 1993 Journal of Animal Science report)
1,000 gallons of water are required to produce 1 gallon of milk.(source: 2012 Ecosystems study)
5% of water consumed in the US is by private homes. 55% of water consumed in the US is for animal agriculture. (source: 2006 Center for Science in the Public Interest study)
Animal Agriculture is responsible for 20%-33% of all fresh water consumption in the world today. (source: 2012 Ecosystems report, 2013 Water Resources and Industry study)
Livestock or livestock feed occupies 1/3 of the earth’s ice-free land. (sources: 2006 FAO study)
Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land. (source: 2011 International Livestock Research Institute study)
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction. (sources: 2012 and 2014 Global Depletion and Food Choice Responsibility reports, 2006 UN report, 2015 US Environmental Protection Agency report)
Livestock operations on land have created more than 500 nitrogen flooded deadzones around the world in our oceans. (source: 2014 National Oceanic and Atmopsheric Administration report)
2-5 acres of land are used per cow. (source: 2011 USDA report)
Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US. (source: 1995 USDA study)
A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people. (source: 2004 Environmental Protection Agency report)
130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US – 1.4 billion tons from the meat industry annually. 5 tons of animal waste is produced per person in the US. (source: 1999 United States General Accounting Office study)
3/4 of the world’s fisheries are exploited or depleted. (source: UN Food and Agriculture report)
We could see fishless oceans by 2048. (sources: 2006 National Geographic News report)
90-100 million tons of fish are pulled from our oceans each year. (source: UN Food and Agriculture report)
As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year. (source: 2010 study)
For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill. (source: FAO report)
As many as 40% (63 billion pounds) of fish caught globally every year are discarded. (sources: 2014 Oceana study, 2014 The Guardian report)
Scientists estimate as many as 650,000 whales, dolphins and seals are killed every year by fishing vessels. (sources: 2014 Oceana study, 2014 The Guardian report)
40-50 million sharks killed in fishing lines and nets. (sources: Shark Savers, Animal Welfare Institute, 2013 National Geographic report)
Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of Amazon destruction. (sources: 2003 World Bank Working Paper study, 2017 New York Times report)
The leading causes of rainforest destruction are livestock and feedcrops. (sources: UN Food and Agriculture Organization study, Yale School of Forestry and Environmental Studies study)
Up to 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day due to rainforest destruction. (source: 2010 The Guardian report)
80% of antibiotic sold in the US are for livestock. (source: 2014 FDA study, 2015 Food Safety News report)
70 billion farmed animals are reared annually worldwide. More than 6 million animals are killed for food every hour. (sources: A Well Fed World, Compassion in World Farming)
Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock. (sources: UN Food and Agriculture Organization, 2010 Global Issues report)
82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries. (sources: 2013 UNICEF report, 2011 UN report)
The average American consumes 209 pounds of meat per year. (sources: 2011 John Hopkins Center for a Liveable Future report, 2012 The Economist report, 2011 Huffington Post report, 2015 Business Insider report)
Land required to feed 1 person for 1 year: Vegan: 1/6th acre, Vegetarian: 3x as much as a vegan, Meat Eater: 18x as much as a vegan (sources: Diet for a New America, EarthSave International, 2014 National Academy of Sciences study)

Not ready to go vegetarian or vegan overnight? Every little bit helps. You can start by removing beef, pork, veal, lamb, and most seafood from your diet(small shellfish such as clams, oysters, and mussels are generally the most sustainable, with the worst being large predatory fish such as tuna and swordfish), then move on to eliminating poultry, such as chicken and turkey. Once you’ve reached lacto-ovo vegetarian status, you can work on reducing your dairy and egg consumption by, for example, using soy or almond milk instead of dairy milk. I’ve been lacto-ovo vegetarian myself for two years now, and while I’m not completely dairy-free by any means, I stopped drinking milk and instead use soy or almond milk in my coffee, cereal, and more, and am trying my best to avoid byproducts of the meat industry, such as gelatin, and I also only buy non-leather shoes(fun fact: I really only own two pairs of shoes, and I only wear only regularly)
If you're a person who is used to consuming a high-meat diet and can't imagine seriously cutting back on animal products, whether for personal health reasons or for taste reasons, you might want to start by practicing Meatless Mondays and eating vegetarian at least one day a week. While the film makes a strong case that such baby steps aren't really enough in the long run, I personally think gradual transition is the easiest way to go for most people.