Veganism and Environmentalism

Vegan issues are connected to environmental issues. Some even argue that becoming vegan is the single most effective action that a person can take to help the environment and reduce global warming!

Using animals as a source of food is terribly inefficient. The protein yielded from a cow, for example, is approximately 1/10 the amount of protein the cow itself consumes. If people got their protein directly from plant sources (e.g., soy products, nuts, beans), there would be far less energy wasted.

If land currently used to grow food for livestock were used to grow crops for human consumption, there would be plenty of food to feed everyone on the planet because the farm-to-food pipeline would be vastly more efficient. (Distributing the food to people around the world is another issue, however.)

Not only is energy wasted in the production of meat, a tremendous amount of water is used by farmed animals. According to the American Dietetic Association, meat-based protein production requires 26 times the amount of water as plant-based protein production. A United Nations report states that an average of 990 liters of water are used to produce just one liter or milk. That’s a lot of water!

Wasting water is a serious concern, but even more significant is the pollution animal farming causes to the water system. According to the Environmental Protection Agency (United States), an individual dairy cow emits 120 pounds of manure per day. It is mind-boggling to imagine how much fecal matter and urine from all farm animals winds up in the water system. This waste is not treated the way human waste is; instead, it is allowed to make its way as raw sewage into nearby waterways and into the groundwater. This water can be further contaminated by steroids, antibiotics, and other substances injected into or fed to the animals, as well as by pesticides used on the farms. (Pesticides are also an issue with farms that grow non-organic crops.) If too much contamination ends up in a body of water, the oxygen levels in the water become depleted and animals living in the water die, along with animals that rely on that water for drinking or food sources.

It has been well-documented that cows in particular produce an astonishing amount of methane, one of the greenhouse gases. Farming animals for food releases an astounding amount of greenhouse gases into the environment. In fact, a University of Chicago study found that, whereas driving the hybrid Toyota Prius reduces the amount of carbon dioxide released by one ton per year compared to a “typical” car, a vegan diet results in 1.5 fewer tons of carbon dioxide being released per year as compared to the typical American diet.

Also contributing to global warming is deforestation. Millions of acres of forests in the United States have been cleared for cattle grazing. Other nations have also seen tremendous deforestation in order to create grazing lands for farmed animals. This, of course, leads to an increase in greenhouse gases, a reduction in oxygenating trees and plants, soil erosion, and destruction of natural habitats for wildlife.

Overfishing has led to reduced biodiversity and the killing of non-targeted aquatic life, as well as water pollution, often in fragile ecosystems.

This has been a fairly quick overview to give you an idea of how powerful an impact going vegan can have on the environment.

"Dinnerplate politics" has powerful consequences on the environment as well as for our own physical health and the welfare of animals. Eating plant-based meals is environmental activism!