Going Vegetarian Is Brilliant For The Earth. Here’s Why
This is a Guest Post by Emily Folk
It wasn’t until the 1980s that people began to understand the global climate crisis we continue to live in today. Industries and many of mankind’s technological advancements have pumped pollution into the atmosphere for years and, although we have begun to stabilize our emissions over time, the amount of carbon in the air continues to rise.
There are plenty of obvious ways to help the planet — taking public transport or driving hybrid vehicles, recycling, composting….
But going vegetarian is also a great way to improve our Earth, and it can do so in more ways than one. Here are seven examples of the incredible power of a plant-based diet.
1. Going Vegetarian Reduces Air Pollution
It turns out going vegetarian is a great way to fight back against atmospheric pollution. Emissions from farms have been found to be one of the greatest sources of air pollution. Nitrogen-enhanced fertilizers combine with animal waste to produce solid particles, which are the most damaging to the earth and even to human health, according to the American Geophysical Union.
A study in California also noted that a single dairy cow’s waste creates 19.3 pounds (9 litres) of volatile organic compounds (VOCs) each year. These compounds go right into the air and contribute to the state’s widely known smog problem — in fact, cows are a greater contributor than trucks and cars. Cutting down on meat consumption reduces the number of farm animals able to produce such gases.
2. Going Vegetarian Safeguards Our Land
Farming requires lots of land in general, which means some farmers cut down trees in order to expand their agricultural properties. This is a shame no matter what, but it happens much more often when it comes to livestock farming.
Animals require space and farmers need to grow the crops necessary to feed them, too. In fact, one-third of the entire world’s arable land is used to grow livestock feed. This could greatly reduce if more of us switched to a plant-based diet.
3. Going Vegetarian Fights Sickness
A vegetarian diet typically incorporates more fruits, vegetables, legumes, etc., than a traditional omnivorous one. For that reason, vegetarians typically consume less fat and more vitamins, fiber, potassium, magnesium, folic acid and phytochemicals, according to Harvard Health Publications.
In other words, meat-free eaters typically have lower cholesterol, lower blood pressure and a lower body mass index than their meat-eating counterparts. These three health conditions often lead to heart disease, diabetes and cancer, which means vegetarians are less susceptible. Having a healthier world population is clearly a great way to make Earth a better place to live.
4. Going Vegetarian Improves Our Treatment of Animals
It’s no surprise that factory farming isn’t kind to animals — there are plenty of Netflix documentaries on the subject. Some people justify it by saying these creatures are here for the sole purpose of providing food, but many of the methods used to cultivate and slaughter livestock are simply cruel. By eating a meat-free diet, we help to reduce the massive cruelty to animals, which is a benefit to the planet at-large.
5. Going Vegetarian Reduces Our Water Usage
Farming requires a lot of water, no matter what’s growing in the fields. But the amount of water it takes to grow a pound of beef as opposed to a pound of potatoes, for example, is astonishing. The former requires more than 20,000 pounds (9,000 litres) of water, while the latter needs only 60 (27 litres). Some extra-large pig farms need as much fresh water as entire cities because of the many mouths they have to fill. Switching back to a plant-based diet will take the strain off of our water supply, especially in places where it’s already low.
6.Going Vegetarian Protects the Water Supply, Too
Remember how particles of animal waste end up floating around in the air, causing smog and other health issues? Well, the solid stuff often ends up washing into the water supply, causing damage to ecosystems unused to so much waste, sewage, fertilizer and other nitrogen-rich compounds.
This can lead to mass algae blooms at the mouth of the Mississippi, for example, which draws all the oxygen from the water. This, in turn, destroys all the other living things that typically live within the thousands of square miles of the river’s mouth. With less meat in production, less animal waste would run off and fewer underwater ecosystems would be in danger.
7. Going Vegetarian Reduces Our Use of Fuel
Finally, unless you have a farm within a reasonable distance of your home — and know all of the meat you eat is coming directly from there — you are likely buying products that have been shipped across the country to your local grocer. This requires resources, namely fuel, to drive refrigerated trucks from point A to point B. We already know the damage that fossil fuels have had and will continue to have on the environment.
But the entire process of meat production requires energy — producing fertilizer, shipping that, pumping water to irrigate livestock crop, transporting meat across the country and the world. Saying “no” to meat means you will cut down on companies’ use of fuel to get their product to your local supermarket.
Choose Your Diet Wisely
With these seven facts in mind, it may be a bit easier to switch from a meat-heavy to a plant-based diet.
Whether you go totally vegetarian, or just reduce the amount of meat you eat — meatless Monday, anyone? — it will be a huge benefit to the earth. And of course, it’s a very green and ecofriendly thing to do!
And, those steps might be enough to help safeguard our planet for generations of vegetarians to come.
Author Bio: Emily Folk is a freelance conservation and sustainability writer and blogger. To see her latest posts, check out her blog Conservation Folks, or follow her on Twitter!
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Warm regards,
P.S. Don’t forget to download your free green living handbook “Live Well, Live Green” here.
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