Doctors often praise vegetarian and vegan diets thanks to their high fibre content. These lifestyles are also incredibly beneficial to the environment and yet another way to go green, even if you don’t do it everyday.
Cutting down on greenhouse gas emissions is necessary if we want to save the planet from global warming, and a huge contributor to those emissions are livestock.
It’s so important, in fact, that some scientists are even saying that it will soon become necessary.
Raising livestock creates a significant amount of oxide, thanks to fertilizers and animal waste. All of that travels up into the atmosphere and actually warms up our planet.
It’s something to keep in mind the next time you go to turn on your air conditioning.
Every year, livestock byproducts also release 32 million tons of carbon dioxide.
If you consume around four ounces of meat per day, you will produce 15.8 pounds of carbon dioxide. Vegetarians produce 8.4 pounds per day, and vegans only produce 6.4 pounds.
Veganism is definitely the best choice when it comes to going green via your diet. Not only because of their lower carbon footprint, but also because of how they preserve water.
Livestock need tremendous amounts of water and they pollute it, too. The less water that’s needed to feed farm animals to raise meat, the more water there is for humans who need it.
To raise a pound of meat, it takes 100 to 200 times more water than it does to raise the same amount of food via plants. To save 4,325 litres of water the next time you make chilli, use vegetables instead of a roast chicken.
The carbon footprint of vegetarians is 50% smaller than meat eaters. By becoming a vegetarian, you won’t be contributing to groundwater pollution and animal waste runoff.
There’s also the benefit of saving land resources, because areas that would normally be used to raise meat can now be used for more eco-friendly services.
Giving up meat certainly is a lot to ask, which is why there’s yet another option to help you go green without having to go to that extreme.
Flexitarian’s are people who consume both vegetarian food and meat. With so many options for vegetarian food now, you can’t always taste the difference!
Consider going meat free even just one day a week to decrease your carbon footprint. Even fast food restaurants are now offering veggie burgers, so it’s easier than ever to do!
