In a new report entitled Assessing the Environmental Impacts of Consumption And Production, UNEP (United Nations Environment Programme) calls for a global dietary shift away from animal products in the face of these findings:
Agricultural production accounts for a staggering 70% of the global freshwater consumption, 38% of the total land use, and 14% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions.
From the conclusions of the report:
Impacts from agriculture are expected to increase substantially due to population growth, increasing consumption of animal products. Unlike fossil fuels, it is difficult to look for alternatives: people have to eat. A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change, away from animal products.
Click here for the full UNEP report (112-page PDF).