According to NASA, at least 97 percent of publishing
climate scientists agree that climate change is real. The debate over whether
human activity is causing global temperatures to rise is finished. Quite
frankly, it has been for well over a decade. But recognizing climate change
while supporting animal agriculture, one of the leading contributors, is just
as bad as denying it altogether.
If we don’t do something now to curb climate change,
scientists warn the planet faces disastrous consequences—from intensified
storms and rising sea levels to the extinction
of millions of species. And while not everyone can afford an electric car
or solar panels, there is something we can all do: go vegan.
Raising animals for food produces more greenhouse gas emissions than
all the cars, planes, and other forms of transportation combined. According to
the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, carbon
dioxide emissions from raising farmed animals make
up about 15 percent of global human-induced emissions, with beef and milk
production as the leading culprits. In fact, even without fossil fuels, we will
exceed our 565-gigaton CO2e limit by 2030—all from raising animals for food.
Furthermore, simply by avoiding animal products, we can cut our carbon footprints in half. Keep in
mind that a pound of beef requires 13 percent more fossil fuel and
15 times more water to produce than a pound of soy.
In a recent article, the Alliance of World Scientists, a group of
15,000 scientists from 184 countries, concluded that humans must change their
behavior and switch to a plant-based diet to prevent environmental destruction.
It’s time for anyone who recognizes that human activity is a
real threat to our planet to take action. There is no such thing as
“sustainable” meat, and plant-based alternatives to meat, dairy, and
eggs take a mere fraction of the resources to produce as their animal-based
counterparts.
But a vegan diet isn’t just good for the planet—it also spares countless animals a lifetime of misery at factory farms. Pigs, cows,
chickens, and other farmed animals suffer horribly. From birth to death, these
innocent animals are caught in a nightmare: crated and caged, cut
and burned, and brutally killed.
Just as there is no question that climate change is real,
there is no question that animal agriculture is terrible for the
planet. Join the millions of people who are helping protect farmed animals
and the planet by switching to a vegan diet. Click here to get started!