Collectively, the actions we are taking to address climate change are not enough to combat the irreversible devastation we are causing our planet. Greta Thunberg was right when she said, “I want you to act as if your house is on fire. Because it is.”1 Biking to work, cutting out meat once a week and giving up straws rather than fish – to save fish – are nice, but woefully insufficient. The elephant in the room (who is plant-based, by the way) knows we must cut animals and their bodily fluids from our diets to effectively address climate change. 

In the largest meta-analysis of global systems to date, “researchers at the University of Oxford found that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73 per cent.”2 Their data derived from examination of 570 studies, 139 authors and covered 38,700 farms from 119 different countries.3

In addition to ethical and health benefits, there are numerous compelling enviromental reasons to go plant-based. Consider the following: 

• “Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.”4

• “Even by the most conservative estimates, animal agriculture is responsible for more greenhouse gas pollution than every mode of transportation on Earth combined.”5

• Animal agriculture accounts for up to 18% of global emissions. In comparison, aviation accounts for only around 2%.6

• “70 billion farmed animals are reared annually worldwide.”4 

• “More than 6 million animals are killed for food every hour.”4

• “Livestock covers 45% of the earth’s total land.”4

• “Worldwide, at least 50% of grain is fed to livestock.”4

• 56% of water in the U.S. is used to grow feed crops for livestock.4 

• The 9 million+ dairy cows in the U.S. each consumes 30-50 gallons of water a day.7

• “You save more water by not eating 450 grams of hamburger meat than you would by not showering for two months.”7 

• “A farm with 2,500 dairy cows produces the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people.”4

• “Every minute, 7 million pounds of excrement are produced by animals raised for food in the US.”4

• 1.5 acres of land can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food or 375 pounds of beef.4

• Due to fertilizer run off from industrial agriculture, we annually create an ocean dead zone area the size of the European Union.8

• “For every 1 pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of unintended marine species are caught and discarded as by-kill.”4

• “It takes 72% more water to produce a litre of cows’ milk than it does to produce the same amount of soya milk.”9 

•“Any plant-based milk — whether it’s made from beans, nuts or seeds — has a smaller impact than dairy milk when it comes to water and land use, as well as carbon emissions.”7

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For more on this topic, head to the Environment section of my Links page. 

Sources:

¹ https://indigenouspeoples-sdg.org/index.php/english/all-global-news/950-our-house-is-on-fire-greta-thunberg-16-urges-leaders-to-act-on-climate

² https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html

³ https://www.peta.org.uk/blog/is-greta-thunberg-vegan/

⁴ https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts

⁵ https://www.instagram.com/p/Ca-c8FfugJJ/

⁶ https://www.instagram.com/p/CLC8O_8hn0D/

⁷ https://www.instagram.com/p/CT2hbOvpugo/

⁸ https://climatehealers.org/the-science/the-facts/ 

⁹ https://ideas.ted.com/which-plant-based-milk-is-best-for-the-planet/