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| World Vegan Day |
Every year, World Vegan Day is celebrated as an annual event by vegans around the world on November 1. The benefits of veganism for humans and the natural environment are celebrated through miscellaneous activities such as setting up environment awareness stalls, hosting potlucks, and planting memorial trees.
In this research article, I’m going to discuss veganism from environmental and ecological stand points, and not touching the ethical side of it for the time being.
“Preserve and cherish the pale blue dot, the only home we've ever known.”
— Carl Sagan
VEGANISM — A STEP TOWARDS SUSTAINABILITY
Sustainability is the need of the hour. It is all about the everlasting preservation of energy and resources rather than consuming them incessantly for satisfying provisional needs.
Selfishly pursuing urbanization, humans have steadily compromised with the requirements of a more sustainable environment. As a result, the increasing environmental degradation is evident with the prevalence of deforestation, pollution, ozone layer depletion, greenhouse gases, climate change, etc.
Human encroachment is pushing the planet to its limits, and we’re already paying the price. If we don’t take action to slow the threat of irreversible climate change and environmental depletion, then, in the long run, we will lose the sublime water bodies, copious forests, profuse soils, and other bounties of nature that sustain our lives on Earth.
In such dire times, veganism is a key to having a more sustainable lifestyle that can be kinder to the planet. It is a diet that excludes meat, dairy, and other animal products in favor of plant-based foods, which in turn presents us with the individual opportunity to create a more sustainable environment.
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Reduction in Pollution |
1. Reduction in Pollution
Humans have to alter their food choices and eat consciously as every piece of food we take have its own impact on the environment. However, some foods and their production make much more of an impact than others, and such food is meat. Breeding, raising, and slaughtering thousands of millions of animals for food every year requires massive amounts of natural resources like fresh water and land, and generates massive amounts of waste and pollution. Hence, simply put, our appetite for meat and the farming system that feeds it makes the environment unsustainable.
This is exactly where veganism comes in. By eliminating our consumption of animal products and making the switch to plant-based eating, we can gradually reduce the degradation of Earth’s resources, prevent the rise of global warming, and make the environment sustainable for all species to live in.
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Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions |
2. Reduction in Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Veganism helps in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, especially carbon footprint, which refers to the total amount of greenhouse gases, including carbon dioxide and methane, that are generated by our actions. In fact, according to a study from Oxford University, it is identified that going vegan is the “single biggest way” we can reduce our carbon footprint, shrinking it up to 73%.
This drastic reduction is because, from the clearing of forests to making way for animal pasture, to the production of millions of tons of animal feed, to the immense waste generated by cows, pigs, chickens, and other farm animals — every step involved in the process of making of animal products like beef and dairy, generates greenhouse gases.
One of the major greenhouse gases that play a significant role in warming our atmosphere is methane. The majority of human-caused methane emissions generates from animal agriculture with 32% coming from livestock digestion and waste. This is because each year, a single cow belches 220 pounds of methane into the atmosphere while digesting its food. In a similar fashion, the 1.5 billion cows in our global food system belch out methane and it adds up to a dangerous amount of gas in our atmosphere.
To stop methane emissions, the UN recommends “shifting toward plant-based diets and embracing alternative sources of protein.” They estimate that this could cut methane emissions by 45%, which would in turn be instrumental in slowing global warming.
3. Reduction in Energy Consumption and Emission of Fossil Fuels
The burning of fossil fuels has a more profound toll than animal waste has on the environment. In fact, it is the largest single source of greenhouse gas emissions, and the processing of meat plays a vital role in burning of fossil fuels.
Meat requires a lot of processing before it is suitable for human consumption, and its processing requires a lot of energy. It takes about 31.5 kilowatt-hours of energy to produce one pound of beef, whereas plant-based sources of protein like beans and nuts require much less processing and are therefore much more energy-efficient than meat. Thus, veganism reduces energy consumption and fossil fuel emissions.
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Conservation of Global Freshwater Supply and Protection of Aquatic Life |
4. Conservation of Global Freshwater Supply and Protection of Aquatic Life
All species need water for their survival. According to a study published in Water Resources Research, it is estimated that 41% of the water used for agriculture goes toward growing livestock feed for the meat industry. It takes about 460 gallons of water to make one quarter-pound beef patty, which is the equivalent of the amount of water required in taking 23 showers.
We can save a significant amount of water by ditching meat products and choosing veganism. In fact, switching to a diet only involving plant products reduces our individual water footprint up to 55%, which could prove essential to conserving our global freshwater supply for generations to come, and this is how, veganism can help in conserving water.
The global meat industry, including the multi-billion dollar fishing industry, causes serious amounts of water pollution. When we choose veganism and leave land animals and fish off our plate, we take a stand against these industries’ destruction of our oceans, giving underwater ecosystems a chance to stabilize and recover. Thus, veganism helps in reducing water pollution and stabilizing aquatic life.
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Decrease in Global Warming |
5. Decrease in Global Warming
It takes so much land to meet the global demand for meat that about one-third of the Earth’s landmass is dedicated to raising animals for consumption. The meat industry clears tons of acres of forested land to make room to graze cattle and grow crops for animal feed, which causes mass deforestation, exacerbating our climate crisis even further.
On the other hand, it is estimated that if the whole world shifted toward plant-based diets, we could save up to 75% of global farmland, which, according to researchers at Oxford University, is an area “the size of the US, China, Australia and the EU combined”. One estimate shows that, if we got plant protein instead of animal protein, deforestation could decline up to 94%, thus, reducing the amount of carbon dioxide in the environment, which, in turn, would decrease global warming.
6. Saving Endangered Animals
When the meat industry clears forests for cattle and cropland, it does not only destroy the trees; it also takes away the habitat for thousands of species. Animal agriculture is the biggest reason for deforestation in the Amazon rainforest which houses over 10% of the Earth’s biodiversity. By switching to veganism and reducing demand for meat, we take away the meat industry’s incentive to destroy forests for their production, and in this way, we would not only be saving farm animals but would be protecting wild animals too, thus preventing the extinction of species and saving the endangered animals in the long run.
Conclusion
"United we stand, divided we fall.”
Our planet is paying the price due to greenhouse gas emissions, deforestation, and species extinction, land degradation, high water usage, biodiversity loss all of which are driven by animal agriculture and meat processing. However, we have the power to create a more sustainable food system for animals, for the planet, and for us all. Leaving animals off our plates is the single biggest move we can make to reduce our individual impact on harming the environment. So, we should all make veganism a solemn pledge and join hands to save our planet by making the switch to plant-based and putting our best foot forward in making a sustainable environment.
“We don't have a plan B because we also don't have a planet B. There are millions of stars, but so far, humans have not been able to discover another planet; this is the only one where we have oxygen, water, and technology. We must ensure that our Earth is kept sustainable and prosperous.”
— Ban Ki-moon
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