How Veganism Helps the Planet

Hey Guys! Hippie Gym Rat here, writing on Theresa’s blog to switch up the flow a little bit. Theresa and I connected over our interest and activity in vegan lifestyles. We got to talking a bit and the topic of our lovely planet Earth came up.

When I think of myself, I consider myself a total mother nature lover. I do everything in my power to leave the smallest possible footprint. I bring my reusable grocery bags when shopping, I drive a fuel efficient car, I don’t buy plastic water bottles, I say no to straws, and I unplug all of my electronics and appliances when they aren’t being used. But perhaps, my biggest commitment to leaving a tiny footprint is my choice of a vegan diet. Because animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire transportation industry combined, by abstaining from buying or consuming these products, I am helping to secure a vibrant future for Mother Earth. So, how else do my eating habits contribute to the success of our planet? Well…

Animal farming is inefficient, because animal feed production takes up a lot of land, fertilizer, water, and other resources – resources that could be used for feeding humans.
Livestock farms accelerate topsoil erosion.
Animal agriculture is responsible for 91% of amazon deforestation.
One third of the Earth’s land is used for animal agriculture.
Animal agriculture is the leading cause of water pollution.
More than 70 percent of the Earth’s fresh water is used in agriculture of plants and animals: it takes 100 to 200 times more water to produce a pound of beef than it does to grow a pound of plant foods.
Producing animal-based protein requires eight times more fossil-fuel energy than creating plant-based protein.

The greatest thing I have found through my vegan diet is that I never felt like I was “giving up” anything at all. I still get to eat all the foods I really enjoy (like buffalo mac and cheese or pizza) and feel 100% guilt free about doing it, all while helping to save the planet and reduce my carbon footprint.