On Monday, Nov. 28, Ecology Club welcomed guest speaker, Brece Clark, an educator for the New Roots Institute. The nonprofit organization aims to spread awareness about the global impact of factory farming, with the goal to completely eradicate factory farming in the future.

Many animal products are factory-farmed, such as eggs, milk, meat and other dairy products. Clark covered how the farming of these products contributes to many environmental issues such as climate change, deforestation, inhumane animal welfare practices and other global health issues.

Sofi Das, member of Ecology Club, learned lots of new things about factory farming and its link to environmental problems.

“I thought it was really interesting how 10 billion animals are getting killed in the US just in one year, that’s like 300 per second,” Das said. “I thought that was insane. The animals never get to see the outside and they’re just stuck for their whole lives. They’re just crammed in these factories.”

Clark shared how our society can work together to stop factory farming. Every person can take small steps to stop the barbaric practices of factory farms. Simple actions, such as purchasing locally grown products instead of large chain company-produced goods, or opting for a meatless option for your next meal can really make a difference.