Beyond clear health benefits, being a vegan may mitigate global warming.
An eco-friendly produce stand. Mikaela Vazquez Rico. CC BY-NC-ND 2.0
One of the easiest and most beneficial ways an individual can reduce their personal effect on the environment is through a diet that eliminates both meat and dairy. Vegan diets are often seen as a trend or a fad as many celebrities and young people have embraced this diet for a healthier lifestyle, but it is much more than that. These diets have the ability to reduce our carbon footprint nearly beyond any other practice. By adopting a lifestyle free of animal products, not only are you reducing the harm done to animals raised for commercial farming but you are also saving the planet!
The impact of eating meat
For many, the first issue that comes to mind when thinking of animal agriculture is the inhumane treatment of these animals. While that is incredibly important to note, the meat and dairy industries’ environmental impact can be even more damaging to both animal and human species. According to Ben Houlton, an environmental researcher at University of California-Davis, about 25% of issues at hand concerning climate change can be attributed to our food. Houlton notes that this is about twice as much pollution than all cars combined! This industry is said to be one of the most devastating industries to our planet as it fuels deforestation, species population decline and greenhouse gas emissions on top of disrupting delicate ecosystems. It is true that burning fossil fuels for industry, electricity and transportation comprises the bulk of greenhouse gas emissions, and not all scientists are in agreement that the meat and dairy industries are the top contributors to climate change, but there is a general consensus that reducing one’s meat and dairy intake significantly benefits the environment. Additionally, the animal agriculture industry must use fossil fuels, electricity and transportation thus contributing to those effects even further.
Industries like transportation and fossil fuels rival the meat industry in terms of environmental impact, but in comparison to the top oil and gas companies ExxonMobil, BP or Shell, the top five meat and dairy corporations are already responsible for more emissions. Additionally in a 2018 study by the Institute for Agriculture and Trade Policy and GRAIN reveals that the animal agriculture industry will take up 80% of the greenhouse gas budget by 2050. The greatest source of greenhouse gases, carbon dioxide, is contributed through human activity like forestry and other land use, deforestation, land clearing for agriculture, and degradation of soils according to the EPA.
Agricultural deforestation in Madagascar. USAID Biodiversity & Forestry. CC BY-NC 2.0
Meat and dairy industries contribute to nearly 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions as well as causing 65% of the nitrous oxide output on the earth, the most harmful of all greenhouse gases. It is important to recognize too, that cows farmed for both their flesh and dairy products emit mass amounts of methane gas which holds heat in the atmosphere at a rate 20 times higher than that of other gases. Methane does stay in the atmosphere for a small amount of time, but its proliferation must be taken into account as it is 20 times more potent than carbon dioxide. In addition to the gases released by this type of agriculture, 50% of water used in the United States goes toward the meat industry. It takes 150 gallons of water to make a single quarter-pound hamburger! Eliminating or even reducing the consumption of these products can combat the issues it brings greatly.
Environmental benefits of veganism
Veganism became a rising trend because of its nutritional and ethical value as vegetables and fruits provide many more essential vitamins and minerals than diets based around meat and dairy products, and animals do not have to suffer for the sake of consumption. With that in mind, the environmental benefits cannot be overlooked as it is even greater than the health benefits provided. To combat all the devastating environmental impacts created by the animal agriculture industry, it is essential to reduce meat and dairy consumption.
A harvest of garlic, green tomatillos, red tomatoes and red onions. Natalie Walters. Unsplash License
It may not seem as if one person’s diet can truly benefit the environment, but veganism has proven this perspective wrong. One of the most glaring statistics is the fact that the diets of meat eaters contribute seven times more greenhouse gases than that of vegans. By cutting out meat from your diet completely or even for a few meals, the amount of greenhouse gases contributed by the food on your plate decreases greatly. Too, when soils are used for plant based agriculture rather than animal agriculture, they are enriched greatly with nutrients and soil erosion is less likely to happen. Diversifying plant agriculture allows for long time resilience of soil as the land does not have to be entirely deforested to raise fruits and vegetables. As mentioned, the animal agriculture industry uses incredible amounts of water. The world is already in a great crisis for clean water, and adopting a vegan diet uses five times less water than that of meat eaters as noted by the European Commission Joint Research Centre (JRC).
Overall, vegan diets use much less energy and production than meat based diets. The way in which meat is brought to your plate increases all the statistics mentioned above. The raising of livestock requires incredible amounts of grain and feed, increases transportation emissions as meat products have to be shipped and requires mass amounts of electricity both to refrigerate and cook it. The refrigerated trucks used to ship them require both electricity and mass amounts of fuel. The amount in which this production process is implemented boils down to basic economics. If there is a higher demand for meat, the industries involved in bringing it to your local grocer must supply it. Instead, being vegan cuts your personal contribution to these demands thus the products supplied decrease.
Why it’s worth it to be vegan
By becoming vegan or reducing your consumption of meat products, you can become a healthy ethical consumer reducing your personal impact on the environment every single day. While common efforts like recycling and carpooling are beneficial, veganism is an incredibly impactful way to save the planet we call home because not only does it reduce your personal greenhouse gas contributions, it also decreases your contributions to mass use of water, deforestation and ecosystem disruption.
Renee Richardson
Renee is current a English student at The University of Georgia. I grew up in the suburbs of Atlanta but now live in Ellijay, Georgia, a small mountain town on the border of Tennessee. I am a passionate writer inspired often by my college campus, my hikes along the Appalachian trail, and my efforts to fight for equality across all spectrums. My hope, although cliché, is to inspire others to make a difference in whatever ways they can.