According to a new report from the National
Surveys on Energy and Environment, a record 60 percent of Americans now believe climate change
is happening and that humans are at least partially responsible. But
recognizing the problem is only half the battle. You see, acknowledging our
role in climate change while supporting animal agriculture, one of the leading
contributors, is just as bad as denying it altogether.
If we don’t take action 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 a fancy electric car or pricey solar panels, there is
something we can all do: go vegan.
Raising animals
for food produces more greenhouse gas 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.
What’s more, a recent study from researchers
at the University of Oxford found that ditching animal products could reduce your carbon footprint by up to 73 percent.
They also found that if everyone went vegan, global land use could be reduced
by 75 percent. This would be comparable to the size of the United States,
China, Australia, and the whole European Union combined. Let that sink in.
Similarly, a recent report from Farm Animal
Investment Risk and Return found that the meat industry was jeopardizing the Paris climate
agreement by failing to properly report its emissions, despite being
the single largest contributor to climate change.
Since the majority of us are now on the same
page when it comes to climate change, it’s time to recognize that there is no
such thing as “sustainable meat. All the facts prove that 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 raising animals for food is terrible for the planet.
Join the millions of people helping protect farmed animals and the planet by
switching to a vegan diet.
Click here to get started, and click here
for our Pinterest page with hundreds of vegan recipes!