Environmental Impact of a Plant Based Diet

You have the power to change the world with your consumer choices. To have the greatest personal impact in helping our planet, start by avoiding meat and dairy products.

Scientific studies show that animal agriculture is one of the biggest causes of ocean dead zones, water pollution, and the greenhouse gasses that may cause climate change. That is why the environmental impact of a plant based diet is so important.

According to recent studies, animals raised for meat and dairy products account for at least 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. That’s more than all the cars and trucks in the world put together. Some studies put it even higher at 63%.

Even skipping meat for one day will prevent more greenhouse gasses than skipping the average commute to work for the whole week!

Check out Facts on Animal Farming and the Environment from OneGreenPlanet.org

An organic vegan diet alone can cut your personal carbon footprint by more than half!

According to Dr. Michael Greger’s research, the best way to help slow climate change is to adopt an organic, plant-based diet. Watch his video to find out more:

nutritionfacts.org/video/diet-and-climate-change-cooking-up-a-storm/

Here’s another excellent article on the environmental impacts of eating meat:

Beans vs. Meat: Should We Eat Less Meat?

Greenhouse Gas Chart for Emissions from Common Proteins and Vegetables

Environmental Working Group has created a great chart showing the impact of various meats and other foods on carbon emissions. Look at how much higher lamb and beef are compared to everything else: http://www.ewg.org/meateatersguide/a-meat-eaters-guide-to-climate-change-health-what-you-eat-matters/climate-and-environmental-impacts/

A Vegan Diet Can Help Save Endangered Species and Ecosystems

According to a recent Veganuary newsletter:

Animal agriculture is the major driver of global deforestation and land degradation – vast amounts of land is cleared every day to provide space to grow animal feed (mostly soy and corn), and for grazing.
30 percent of the land surface of the planet is used for animal agriculture.
Livestock farming is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than all the planes, trains, cars and buses in the world combined.
Animal agriculture-driven habitat loss is a contributing factor for most of the world’s threatened and endangered species.
Raising animals for food causes species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.

Can Avoiding Meat, Dairy, and Eggs Save the Planet?

The short answer is, “I don’t know.” A better question is: Will there will be enough people who adopt a plant-based diet soon enough to make a real difference? Will we be able to cut our industrial and personal carbon emissions enough to slow or stop climate change? There are so many questions we cannot answer yet, but at least we can make personal choices to lower our own footprints.

Response to Deniers

There are those, many in power right now, who claim that climate change is not affected by human activities. They want to pump even more greenhouse gasses into our atmosphere. To them I say, “pollution is toxic, whether it raises the temperature of Earth or not. Don’t pretend that industrial waste, concentrated animal waste, and higher carbon dioxide levels are not harmful to humans, animals, and our planet.” Fortunately, most people can see that their arguments only support their desire to make money at the expense of the rest of the world.

I do know that avoiding animal products will have a positive impact on the planet, while also improving your own health and sparing countless animals from lives of misery. Maybe your own personal diet seems like a drop in the bucket compared to 7 billion other people, but every little bit helps. The good news is that more and more people are cutting back on, or eliminating, animal products, for health, environmental, or compassionate reasons. Together, we are making a difference.

Science

Thanks to the Internet, we now have much better access to scientific studies, and a much easier way to share them through social media. Books like The China Study, by Dr. T. Colin Campbell, and How Not to Die, by Dr. Michael Greger have also had a huge impact.

Don’t be afraid to share scientific data about health, pollution, and animal consciousness, along with your photos of cute animals, and uplifting content on social media. Most people will not change overnight, but repeated exposure to information can eventually open their eyes. Facts can be very convincing!

Unfortunately, the “Paleo” and “Keto” fads are working against the plant-based trend by promoting heavy meat and fat consumption. This goes against all of the well-designed scientific health studies I’ve seen. I fear it will lead to an epidemic of diabetes, heart disease, cancer, kidney disease, gout, and general ill health.

In the short term keto or paleo diets can make people feel better, because they stop eating refined junk foods, and eat more vegetables. They can also help people lose weight (though not fat so much), but so does a whole plant foods diet – especially raw – and in a much healthier way.

The highest consumption of animal products occurs in “developed” nations, like the United States, Australia, New Zealand, and Europe. There are many heavily populated areas of Africa, India, and China where little or no meat is consumed. Those of us in industrialized nations have the means and the responsibility to share the science as widely as possible.

Since we are the biggest offenders, we can have the most influence on our own family, friends, and neighbors.

For more information read Comfortably Unaware – http://comfortablyunaware.com/

Let’s Look at What Vegans Eat to find out how to stay healthy on a whole foods plant based diet.