Go Vegan

Go Vegan and Reduce Animal Agriculture’s Toll on Our Environment

Animalagricultureis harmfultoourenvironment.Aworldwideshifttoaplant-based orvegandietwouldhavea hugelypositiveimpactonthe healthoftheplanetandon thecreatureswholivehere. Accordingtoastudy citedinGreenAndGrowing. org,ameat-eater’sdietcauses morethanseventimesas muchgreenhousegasemissions(thepollutantslinkedtoclimatechange)asavegan’s diet.Thatmeansthat,comparedtoameat eater,apersonwhoenjoysavegandietwill keep1.5tonsofcarbondioxideoutofthe atmosphereeveryyear. Anothermajorproblemcausedbyanimalagricultureisdeforestationandtheloss ofhabitatfornativeanimals.Forexample,the by Bill Simpson

AmazonRainForestishardly whatitusedtobe.AccordingtotheWorldAnimal Foundation,70percentofthe Amazonforesthasbecome pasturesandfieldswhereanimalsgrazeandcropsgrow, andwhilesomeofthose cropsgotofeedpeople,most ofthembecomeanimalfeed. Thepracticeofturning forestsintopasturesforanimals andtheresultingenvironmentaldamageare hardlyexclusivetoSouthAmerica.Acrossthe UnitedStatesandallaroundtheworld,forests havefallentocreatefieldswhereanimalscan grazeandwherecropstofeedthemcangrow. Thisenvironmentaldamagehappens largelybecauseanimalagricultureisavery inefficientpractice.Producingonecalorie ofanimalproteinconsumesabout10times asmuchfossilfuelenergyasproducingone calorieofplantproteindoes,andgrowing feedforanimalsuseslargequantitiesof chemicalfertilizer,whichcomesfromoil,as statedonOneGreenPlanet.org. Ourwatersuppliesalsosufferfromthe practiceofanimalagriculture.Farmanimals producemillionsoftonsofmanureevery year.Muchofthatwastefindsitswayinto waterways,andtheconsequencescanbe veryharmful.Thephosphorusandnitrates inmanurecancausethespreadofalgaeand waterbornepathogens,whichcanbeharmful towildlifeandpeople. Aconversiontoavegandietissomethingforenvironmentallyconsciouspeople toconsiderseriously,andit’sachangethat comeswiththebonusofapotentiallylonger andhealthierlife,asanewstudyfromHarvard MedicalSchoolrecentlyindicated.Thevast worldofplantsprovidesmanybenefitsnot onlyforpeoplewhochoosetoaddthemto theirdietaryregimen,butfortheplanetaswell. Bill Simpson is a local writer who made the switch to a plant-based diet in 1974. Today, he enjoys an active lifestyle that includes running, biking, gardening and delivering NaturalAwakenings.