Written by lushisayshi and edited by diamiriamm
What is a vegetarian?
There have been many new diets out there, but vegetarianism is one of the oldest, most persistent, and most popular. It consists mainly of abstinence from eating meat and all of its byproducts. Some people adopt vegetarianism for religious reasons, others to mitigate pollution from meat production, among countless reasons for 22% of the world to embrace vegetarianism.
How does being a vegetarian reduce our impact on nature and wildlife?
Being a vegetarian can help reduce the amount of greenhouse gases emitted into the atmosphere from meat production. In 2006, the United Nations calculated that 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions come from breeding animals for meat. Before livestock is killed, extensive cropland is needed for feeding, providing crop irrigation and drinking water leads to surface water and groundwater depletion, improperly stored manure can be a toxicant to soil, surface water and ground water, transportation to the slaughterhouse, and slaughter emit greenhouse gases. Cleaning the meat requires machinery powered by fossil fuel combustion, as does transportation and shipping. Additionally, refrigerating fresh meat and cooking it requires energy likely from nonrenewable sources. The next time you see a steak on your plate, know that it has been through more than just the circle of life, and that it has impacted other circles of life.
Livestock farming is ranked among the three major contributors to climate change. Its emissions destroy countless ecosystems, which, in turn, endangers many species. Current meat production practices—especially concentrated animal feeding operations (CAFOs) are unsustainable and degrade usable land. Increased demands for meat in developing countries leads to deforestation for land. Much of the Amazon Rainforest, for example, has been cut down to provide land for farming and raising of cattle. Arguably the world’s richest ecosystem, that organisms we have yet to discover call home, has been destroyed to bring beef to our plates.
In 1997, Cornell University conducted a study that determined that the United States alone used 13 million hectares of land to grow vegetables, fruits, beans, and rice but a whopping 302 million hectares of land were needed for livestock. The increasing population of the only leads to a higher demand for meat. Land overuse is leading to soil erosion and desertification, flooding and animal waste.
Vegetarianism -a meatless diet- is an effective way of reducing the negative environmental effects of meat production. However, for those who wonder if there is anything that can be done to reduce the effects of meat production on the environment, all without abandoning meat? In one word, yes: Meatless Mondays! Meatless Mondays are just what they sound like: refraining from consuming meat every Monday. Skipping one serving of beef every Monday for a year saves the equivalent emissions to driving 348 miles in a car. If we choose to adopt similar practices in our everyday life, we will be able to mitigate our impact on the environment. If we become catalysts for change by example, the market and large scale industries will as well. A simple Meatless Monday -a small, seemingly insignificant action- can go a long way!
Sources:
“Becoming a Vegetarian.” Harvard Health, © 2022 By The President and Fellows of Harvard College, 15 Apr. 2020, https://www.health.harvard.edu/staying-healthy/becoming-a-vegetarian.
Meredith, Sam. “Goldman Sachs Says the Only Other Commodity 'Looking as Precarious as Oil' Is Livestock.” CNBC, © 2022 CNBC LLC. All Rights Reserved. A Division of NBCUniversal, 13 May 2020, https://www.cnbc.com/amp/2020/05/13/coronavirus-goldman-sachs-says-livestock-looking-as-precarious-as-oil.html.
Vidal, John. 10 Ways Vegetarianism Can Help Save the Planet, The Guardian , https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.theguardian.com/lifeandstyle/2010/jul/18/vegetarianism-save-planet-environment.
“5 Ways to Help the Amazon Rainforest.” WWF, https://www.wwf.org.uk/updates/ways-help-amazon-rainforest.