Footprint Calculator
So-called "farm animals" killed and exploited for our food are considered anonymous by our society. Although most people are empathetic towards animals and consider themselves animal-lovers, the disconnect between the animals and the food makes them reluctant to acknowledge the killings and abuses. An interesting question then arises. How many individuals does a person indirectly kill or exploit through their consumption?
Based on public statistics on consumption in Germany and individual settings, the calculator allows the most accurate calculation of a personal footprint.
Many people have decided not to participate in the killing and exploitation of innocent beings. By demonstrating this lifestyle and informing other people around them, or by actively promoting animal rights, they inspire others to switch to alternatives.
This calculator calculates the potentially rescued animals based on the average German consumption. It considers the exponential effect, expected decreases in consumption due to plant and cultivated alternatives, and the probable general phase-out of "animal products" for nutrition.
The calculator only takes into account the effects of excluding meat as well as dairy products and eggs of the most consumed species from the diet (not, for example, rabbits, horses, deer, goats). For the exploitation and killings of animals for e.g. leather, fur, down, wool, animal testing, zoos, circuses, hunting, etc., there are not enough detailed numbers, so they were not included in the calculations.
Also not included are the negative impacts on the environment (CO2, methane and N2O emissions, rainforest deforestation, land use, water consumption, soil degradation, use of pesticides, ocean dead zones, species extinction, etc.), negative impacts on human health and negative impacts on people especially in the third world (rising crop prices, drought, floods, hurricanes, lack of water, etc.).
All sources and details of the calculations can be found in the following study, actually being the basis for the calculators: