We know that eating a vegan diet is good for our health and spares the lives of innocent animals, but how many of us think about the ways our food impacts the planet? Here’s why our current food system will never be sustainable.
1. Factory farms contribute to climate change.
Care about climate change? The meat industry emits more greenhouse gases than all the transportation in the world combined. Switching to a vegan diet reduces your carbon emissions by 50 percent.
2. Producing meat uses up a lot of water.
Did you know that a pound of beef takes 15 times more water to produce than a pound of soy? Don’t just take shorter showers; ditch meat from your diet!
3. Raising animals uses up a lot of land.
A whopping 30 percent of the earth’s land is used for raising animals for food. This includes the land required to grow feed crops. Think about all of the fruits and veggies you could grow with that land!
4. Producing meat uses more fossil fuel.
A pound of beef requires 13 percent more fossil fuel to produce than a pound of soy. If you really want to save fossil fuel, don’t just drive a Prius; cut meat out of your diet.
5. Raising livestock is destroying the rainforest.
Can you believe that 80 percent of the Amazon’s deforested land is used as cattle pasture? Going meat-free literally saves the rainforest!
6. Factory farms pollute waterways.
Earlier this year, a report by Environment America revealed that Tyson, one of the largest meat producers in the world, is responsible for dumping more toxic pollution into our waterways than companies like ExxonMobil and Dow Chemical. Let that sink in for a minute.