Vegetarian or Vegan...but Why?
Every wonder why people “go to the extreme”¯ of being vegetarian or vegan?
The philosophy behind veganism stands on the precept that we, as humans, do not have any right to “use”¯ animals for anything. Furthermore, our use of animals, which have no choice in the matter, is a form of exploitation. A vegan lifestyle avoids, to the extent that is possible, all forms of that exploitation. A vegan chooses to avoid using or consuming animal products including dairy and eggs, as well as fur, leather, wool, down and cosmetics or chemical products tested on animals.
So why would someone concerned about the earth be concerned about what they eat? Let’s take a look at some of the facts:
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Raising animals for meat has its consequences. It leads to rain forest destruction, global heat rising, water pollution, water scarcity, desertification, misuse of energy resources and world hunger. The use of land, water, energy and human effort to produce meat is not an efficient way to use the earth’s resources.
Since 1960, some 25% of Central America’s rain forests have been burned and cleared to create pasture for beef cattle. It has been estimated that every four-ounce hamburger made from rain forest beef destroys 55 square feet of tropical rain forest. In addition, raising cattle contributes significantly to the production of three gases which cause global warming, is a leading cause of water pollution and requires a staggering 2464 gallons of water for the production of each pound of beef. It only takes 29 gallons of water to produce a pound of tomatoes, and 139 gallons to produce a one pound loaf of whole wheat bread. Nearly half of the water consumed in the United States goes to the growing of feed for cattle and other livestock.
Many more people could be fed if the resources used to raise cattle were used to produce grain to feed the world’s population. An acre of land growing oats produces 8 times the protein and 25 times the calories, if the oats are fed to humans rather than to cattle. An acre of land used for broccoli produces 10 times the protein, calories and niacin as an acre of land producing beef.
30 Million tons of methane, a gas that contributes to global warming, comes from manure in sewage ponds.
More than 70% of US grain production is fed to livestock. For each pound of meat, poultry, eggs and milk we produce, farm fields lose about 5 pounds of topsoil.
It takes almost 10 times more energy to produce and transport livestock than vegetables.
As we always say at KeepGreenGoing, the goal is to be conscious and informed. If you’ve never thought about your eating habits and what it means for the earth, maybe now you can. If you think switching to a vegetarian/vegan lifestyle is just too hard”¦Stay tuned”¦we’ll hear from Alex Dow, weekly green columnist, who recently made the switch.