How Veganism Helps The Environment | Happy Earth Day!

What is Earth Day?

Today, 22nd April 2017, is Earth Day and I would like to say a very happy Earth Day to you! Earth Day is one of the biggest environmental movements in the world, taking place in 192 countries. The organisation has helped pass acts such as the Clean Air Act, the Clean Water Act and the Endangered Species Act. For one day a year, the movement means that everybody can focus on our home, Earth.

It is not only the environment that Earth Day is concerned with, as they also work with partner organisations to create opportunities for civic engagement. Earth Day also believes that climate change affects vulnerable citizens first and therefore we all have a responsibility to help look after our planet.

How does going vegan help the environment?

Vegetarianism and veganism help the environment in a number of different ways, from climate change to land degradation. Please note that this post is dealing with environmental statistics rather than the welfare of the animals. Posts on animal welfare can be found under our Animal Rights category.

Climate change

• Feeding massive amounts of grain and water to farmed animals and then killing them and processing, transporting, and storing their flesh is extremely energy-intensive.
• Burning fossil fuels releases CO2, it takes 11 times as much fuel to produce a calorie of animal protein as it does grain protein.
• Carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide are greenhouse gases and cause the majority of climate change.
• Billions of chickens, turkeys, pigs and cows crammed into factory farms produce methane via digestion and faeces. Animal agriculture is the largest source of methane emission in the US.
• The meat, egg, and dairy industry account for 65% of nitrous oxide output which is 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide.

With rising temperatures, rising sea levels, melting icecaps and glaciers, shifting ocean currents and weather patterns, climate change is the most serious challenge facing the human race. The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18 percent of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO₂ equivalent.… Livestock are also responsible for almost two-thirds (64 percent) of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which contribute significantly to acid rain and acidification of ecosystems. – Vegan Outreach

Water

• The livestock industry is a key part of the increase in water usage. The irrigation of feed crops for farmed animals uses massive amounts.
• The livestock sector is also likely to be the largest source of water pollution, contributing to eutrophication, dead zones, degradation of coral reefs, human health problems (such as listeriosis and cholera), antibiotic resistance and more.
• The major pollution sources are from animal waste, antibiotics, hormones, chemicals, fertilisers, pesticides and eroded sediments.
• The trend of increasing the amount of animals produced for the livestock industry will continue to contribute to global warming, widespread pollution, deforestation, land degradation, water scarcity and species extinction.

Land degradation

• Livestock production is a key factor in deforestation.
• In Latin America 70% of previous forest land in the Amazon is now occupied by pastures and feed crops.

Biodiversity:

• The livestock industry is a driver of land degradation, pollution, climate change, over fishing, and more, meaning it plays a lead role in biodiversity reduction.

Statistics

• There were 4.5 times as many tonnes of pigs produced in 2013 than 1961.
• The chicken population has increased by 13 times.
• The Food and Agriculture Organisation of the United Nations have predicted that by 2050 the world meat production will have doubled.
• Whilst 800 million people do not have enough food, we continue to waste agricultural land by obtaining a small fraction of its potential value.

How does veganism help?

• Studies have shown that a varied vegan diet requires one third of the land needed for meat and dairy eating diets.
• Farmed animals are a drain resources because livestock consume more protein, water, and calories than what they produce.
• 3.5 billion humans could live off the food currently fed to livestock.

The world’s population is increasing and viable agricultural lands are diminishing. If we are to avoid future global food scarcity we must find sustainable ways of utilising our natural resource base. Industrial livestock production is not just unsustainable; it’s unjustifiable. – The Vegan Society

Sources:

• Fight Climate Change by Going Vegan | PETA
• Environmental Destruction | Why Vegan? | Vegan Outreach 
• Environment | The Vegan Society