Vegetarianism, Veganism, and Real Impacts

Welcome to Spring quarter, friends and environmental fanatics! I hope you all had a restful break and are enjoying this lovely weather while eating environmentally consciously! Real Food, Real Talk is back, and today we’re going to dive into a real question that’s been on my mind:

Delectable vegetarian ingredients, healthy for you and the planet. Image from Flickr

How impactful is plant-based eating, actually? 

I’ve discussed the overarching benefits with you all before, but today I wanted to get into the nitty gritty details. How much of an impact could I have by eating vegetarian or vegan for just 1 day’s worth of meals, as opposed to eating meat three meals a day? Would I save water, reduce carbon emissions, stave off deforestation, or all of the above? And how much of a difference would it make? Is it really worth it for one person to eat clean?

The average annual carbon footprint of someone living in the United States is 16 tons, which equates to 39 kg daily. This is an average value coming from a combination of factors, but the biggest two would be diet and transportation. According to the United Nations Environmental program, ⅓ of the average person’s carbon footprint comes from the sources of their food: the associated carbon impact of the livestock and agriculture industries. 

The livestock industry is by far the greatest carbon contributor in the production of our food.  Twenty-six percent of the Earth’s land is used for livestock grazing, and 33% of croplands are used for livestock food production. Consequently, the livestock industry is the biggest contributor to deforestation, and to increasing carbon emissions. Cows in particular are also huge emitters of methane, from their farts. By choosing not to support this industry, we can lessen its impact, and hopefully reduce future deforestation and emissions into the atmosphere. 

A single person eating vegetarian meals every day and not supporting the meat sector of the livestock industry would reduce emissions by 700 kilograms of carbon dioxide every year. Eating vegan and not supporting any part of the industry would save 1000 kilograms every year. These numbers can seem daunting for someone that is used to eating meat on a daily basis. 

Here are the important facts I wanted to get to: Eating vegetarian for just 1 day saves 1.9 kilograms of carbon emissions. Eating vegan for 1 day saves 2.7 kilograms. Every day that I eat vegetarian, I can feel empowered by knowing I am making the air that much cleaner; I am limiting global warming that much more. I imagine a small cloud of dark, dirty methane, and tell myself I can keep that much pollution from spreading, and that’s what’s worth it to me. 

I encourage you to try eating plant-based, even one day or one meal is a step towards cleaner air and a better environment for all of us. I hope I've Inspired you just a little, or at least shared some interesting facts.