There are many ways we can be sustainable and help the Earth, this blog post explores veganism and the environment how it can help our planet flourish.
Veganism and the Environment at a Glance
A lot of people think about and become vegan because of the many health benefits. But have you ever thought about veganism and the environment? This post will inform you how your choice to go vegan has many benefits to the environment and the world.
The consumption of meat and animal products has massive impacts on the planet. According to the UN, the meat and dairy industry accounts for almost 15% of manmade greenhouse gas emissions… that is a lot! Luckily, veganism and the environment go hand in hand in combating this issue.
The good news is that we can reduce this figure dramatically by switching to a plant-based diet. A vegan diet is proven to use a lot less of the earth’s renewable sources of energy. This diet also reduces the amount of water used to create the food we eat and has a lower carbon footprint. So, let’s break it down…
The Downfalls of Meat & Dairy Farming
The need to raise animals to provide food requires an enormous amount of land. If we just eat the plants the earth provides for us, then we have less of a need to rare cattle for example, that also eat plants.
Raising these animals for food produces a lot of waste, not to mention almost 26% of the earth’s land is used for livestock. The problem that comes with the vast number of animals being reared for food all over the world, is the number of dangerous gasses that these animals let off into the atmosphere.
Cattle, for example, generate a gas called methane through their waste and their digestion. Methane is a greenhouse gas which means if it is leaked into the air without being used, it warms up the atmosphere, therefore linking it to global warming.
In fact, a lot of us have grown up believing that the transport industry is awful for the environment, and while it is bad, the meat and dairy industry is far worse – it generates more than the transport industry as a whole!
Let’s be Water Conscious!
When talking about veganism and the environment, it is important to consider water. Water is one of our most valuable resources, and thankfully, vegan diets are a lot more water efficient. Growing crops to raise animals takes massive amounts of water. One pound of beef can take anywhere between 1,800 to 4,000 gallons of water to produce, compared to vegetables which only takes 39, this number may be shocking to some of you reading.
Helping the Earth Flourish
Facts like these may make you put more thought into the amount of meat and dairy you consume, especially if you love and care for our planet. Veganism and the environment are something that should be known more widely because if we, as a world population, all went vegan, we would see a 70% decrease in greenhouse gasses caused by the meat and dairy industry. Wouldn’t that be great!?
Veganism and the environment are a match made in heaven. If we all tried to make a conscious decision each day to avoid meat and dairy, or at least cut down, the planet would be able to flourish once again and restore itself to be a happy and healthy place.