The world population is nearing 8 million and is going to continue to rise exponentially. But how on Earth are we going to feed that many people with a finite number of resources? Are we doomed to reach carrying capacity and starve? Not if we change our habits.
Our actions have a huge impact on the environment, but one way you can effectively lessen your impact is by changing your diet. Our food industry consumes resources at an alarming rate, so the diet you follow can have far-reaching impacts. Turns out, research shows the most planet-friendly diet is veganism.
What is veganism?
Veganism, simply put, is the practice of doing as little harm as possible and practical. It’s a way of living that doesn’t view animals as a commodity. Therefore, following this philosophy means abstaining from the use of animal products. Choosing to follow this lifestyle can stem from a multitude of potential reasons but, in general, vegans hope that their avoidance of animal products contributes to social, economic, and environmental well-being.
These philosophies ultimately lead to a sense of social justice. Ethics are typically the main driving force behind going vegan, but the positive health and environmental effects further support this lifestyle. Ultimately, veganism is a broad belief system that connects ethics, wellness, and environmental and sustainability issues.
Can veganism solve climate issues?
The impact something as seemingly trivial as diet can have on our environment is truly shocking. The typical omnivorous diet is far more consequential than that of a vegan diet. The consensus, therefore, is that food and dietary choices impact the environment in many ways and the best solution is eating more plant food.
We need to rethink agriculture! Animal agriculture is responsible for local and global issues so avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact. Studies have shown that diets rich in plant foods have a more positive impact on the environment than those rich in meat. This means a vegan diet is the most sustainable diet in terms of environmental footprint.
Veganism can reduce emissions.
Global agriculture and food production are responsible for over 30% of total greenhouse gas emissions. The main culprit of this abnormally large footprint is due to the unsustainability of the animal agriculture industry. The animal agriculture industry is responsible for 80% of the food industry’s total emissions. On average, the emissions that come from eating meat is between 19 and 48 times higher than that of high-protein plant foods. For example, beef and lamb is responsible for 250 times more emissions per gram of protein than legumes. If the population were to eat a vegan diet, land emissions could be reduced by 67%.
Plant foods use less land.
Livestock production is currently using 70% of total agricultural land, furthermore, 33% of total arable land is dedicated just to animal feed! Only 62% of crop production is allocated to human food, and 35% is allocated to animal feed. Food availability would effectively increase if we shifted production away from livestock feed. It’s morally questionable to use that much cropland to feed and rear animals when there are so many chronically hungry people in the world. If you replace all meat and dairy products with plant-based food, land use would be reduced by 50%.
Veganism can increase food availability.
To increase food production to feed the exponentially increasing population while decreasing our environmental impact, we must utilize and improve the space and resources we already have. To ensure food security for the future we must increase food production without further land expansion or increasing emissions. The problem then becomes determining how we can increase these crop yields without increasing agricultural land while still maintaining healthy diets. Yet, food production would need to roughly double to keep up with the projected demands of our growing population and our increasing demand for animal products. That is unsustainable. By replacing all animal-based items in the US with plant-based ones, we could feed 350 million more people with the same amount of cropland currently used.
Choosing less resource-intensive foods would have large-scale positive effects.
Is it possible for the average person to eat vegan?
A sustainable diet is a diet that contributes to food and nutrition security with low environmental impacts while still being accessible and affordable. This makes veganism the best contender as far as sustainable diets go. Although vegans can avoid all the negative environmental effects that come from animal products, the thought of going vegan tends to garner heavy reactions. Reducing animal products is an amazingly effective way to substantially lower negative impacts on the environment, but may be unfathomable for many people.
Personal preferences, lack of understanding or lack of knowledge of vegan products, and social barriers can all affect a person’s ability to go vegan. But veganism is an achievable action that most of us can do and it does a lot of good for the planet. So, eating more vegan food is something tangible we as individuals can do to minimize the degree of animal and environmental harm.
A well-planned vegan diet can be both nutritionally sufficient and environmentally sustainable. Plus, reducing meat and dairy is shown to be positive for health too. Plant foods are also some of the cheapest foods available! If you’re not ready to fully commit then start by reaching for more plant-based meals than you did before. After all, you don’t have to go vegan to enjoy vegan meals. Supplementing your diet with more vegan meals is still very impactful.
Veganism is an achievable action most of us can do that does a lot of good for the planet.
Veganism is the most impactful way you can help the environment. Without large-scale changes to diet, we won’t be able to avoid dangerous levels of climate change. Going vegan can help us transition to a more sustainable and healthy food system. With the proper planning, anyone can go vegan, or at the very least eat more vegan meals.
Veganism is the way of the future, it’s the best diet in terms of the environmental and health effects. Eating more plant foods is the only short-term and long-term strategy to address climate issues. To me, it seems difficult to get the widespread shift in culture needed to end the issues caused by animal products. But small changes can add up to larger changes. I encourage you to focus on reducing food waste and eating a more healthy and balanced diet.