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Ask a vegan why they chose this lifestyle and you will get a plethora of different responses ranging from animal welfare, health issues, ethical choice, religious reasons and so on.
Once in every while though, you may come across someone who has chosen veganism so that they may exclude themselves from the impact that meat production is having on the environment.
To put it simply, the environment is unable to sustain the amount of meat being eaten with today’s omnivore diet.
Pollution, overuse of fossil fuels, water and land resources and environmental degradation are just a few of the byproducts associated with meat pollution.
It is important to consider the damage our diets are having on the environment, as this is the only home we have and we have a resposnibilty to protect Her.
A recent study conducted by the United Nations has found that the livestock industry is one of the largest leading sources of environmental degradation. This takes into account that huge amounts of crops, such as corn and soy, are fed to cattle to fatten them up quickly and at low cost for slaughter.
Furthermore, intensive agriculture, otherwise known as “factory farming” contributes to mass scale deforestation, loss of topsoil and decreasing biodiversity.
In America, this environmental degradation is immediately apparent where fifty-five square feet of tropical rainforest are consumed along with every quarter pound of rainforest beef, and 85% of lost topsoil is directly related to livestock grazing.
There is also a heavy dependency of fossil fuels with the livestock industry, not to mention the enormous amount of water needed throughout all stages of feed growth, animal growth, slaughter and production. It is estimated that for everyone one pound of beef, 2400 gallons of water is needed. To add to this disturbing number is the fact that the average American will consume a staggering 260 pounds of meat in a single year.
That’s 624, 000 gallons of water per person per year just in order to consume flesh. Considering only 1% of the world’s water is drinkable, it’s no wonder that we have to consider desalination plants for the very near future. To add to these statistics, seven pounds of grain is needed to produce one pound of beef. This is enough grain to feed 800 million people, yet is going to feed livestock whose flesh isn’t necessary for a human’s diet.
It would be naïve to believe that not consuming meat will solve world hunger, save the world or bring peace and happiness to everyone, but changing our diet to a more sustainable lifestyle will leave a positive impact on this earth. Veganism might not be the complete answer to making agriculture completely sustainable, but it is certainly a huge step in the direction of a greener future. In the end, every little bit helps.
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