It’s easy to blame all of our climate problems on previous generations. And yeah, global warming is kind of their fault. We’re living in critical times for many different reasons; therefore, we get to carry the “generation of change” burden on our backs. And don’t get me wrong, it’s a lot of pressure!
Ironically, the environmentally friendly lifestyles promoted to us are daunting, expensive, and unrealistic. Through large-scale education and innovation, we can create climate solutions for the future. But that’s a lot of work. As for now, the only feasible way to reduce our carbon footprint individually is to take small steps that will eventually morph into lasting change.
By building habits that we can sustain long-term, environmental preservation is so much easier than you’d think. Especially now, we don’t have the same “wiggle room” as our parents and grandparents. And yes, it’s frustrating, but shifting our approach is the most important step! So what can we do now?
One of the easiest ways to reduce our carbon footprint is to reduce our consumption of animal products. And before you click off this article‒hear me out. If you’re only going to read one part of this article, let it be this paragraph. I am not here to scrutinize you for loving Chick-fil-A or label you a murderer for eating meat and dairy. That kind of aggressiveness promotes black-and-white thinking and gets us nowhere. Simply put, incorporating more plants into your diet, not eliminating animal products altogether, is one of the best ways to protect our environment.
Now for the dreaded word: vegan. Uninformed vegan “activists” completely skew the public’s perception of veganism. They claim that you are either a) a satanic meat-eating savage or b) a tree-hugging vegan with a backyard vegetable garden and “moral superiority.” Such extremes are not only untrue but problematic.
Now that that is out of the way‒what is the actual plant-focused movement and why is it so important for our planet?
What is the movement?
Plant-focused eating is nothing new. Suppose we go back in time to 7th-grade history class. You may remember that the earliest human ancestors were hunter-gatherers, which implies that they ate 50% plants and 50% animals. In actuality, these early ancestors relied much more upon the land than the wildlife for energy. Archeology and modern-day hunter-gatherer tribes are proof of this.
Cooking, domestication, and eventually mass industrialization changed the way humans eat forever. To put it into perspective, Cowspiracy researchers concluded that 99% of the world’s biomass consisted of wild animals ten thousand years ago. Today, 98% of the world’s biomass consists of humans and the animals we raise as food.
It’s common for companies to cut production costs to increase profits. A problem arises when industrial practices designed for inanimate objects (think: Ford’s assembly line) are applied to sentient animals. It is then that the environmental and ethical consequences of the animal agriculture industry become serious issues. Honestly, the meat, dairy, and egg industries rely heavily on the ignorance and apathy of the consumer.
The main point? Diets rich with animal products were once perfectly sustainable, but times have changed. Now that the most widespread way to obtain meat and dairy is through commercial industries, plant-focused eating is more beneficial for the environment than ever.
Environmental impacts
Say we disregard ethical, nutritional, and cultural reasons for incorporating more plants into our diets. The environmental impacts of the animal agriculture industry alone are enough to warrant change. (Still, you don’t have to fully transition to veganism to have an impact!) To keep it digestible, let’s discuss a few key consequences of animal agriculture.
Greenhouse Gas Emissions
We all know that greenhouse gasses are bad, right? But very few actually know what they are. Simply put, they trap heat in the atmosphere (hence global warming). In smaller quantities, these gasses are necessary for our planet. But when did they become a problem? Industrialization (shocker). And the industrialization of animal agriculture is no different, yet it is too often overlooked.
It’s one thing to produce more steel for buildings, more fabric for clothes, etc. These industries have detrimental environmental effects of their own but usually stay within their industry sector. In factory farming, each animal needs resources to simply survive, most coming from outside industries. This only increases the net percentage of gasses emitted directly or indirectly from factory farming.
Some emissions don’t even result directly from the industrialized parts of the process at all. Take methane, which is released from the digestive processes of livestock. These animals poop A LOT, nearly 7 million pounds a minute in the US. That’s a lot of methane!
Land Usage
The law of supply and demand perfectly explains why the number of animals in animal agriculture has soared over the past few decades. These animals need huge quantities of resources to grow, especially to the unnatural industry standards.
Although statistics vary from source to source, roughly 70-80% of the world’s agricultural land is grown for meat and dairy-producing livestock. Worldwide, cows eat 135 billion pounds of food each day. For reference, humans eat ~20 billion pounds. Some estimate that livestock and livestock feed covers a third of the Earth’s ice-free land.
Water Usage
Humans drink over 5 billion gallons of water each day, while cows drink over 40 billion. Livestock and livestock crops also consume anywhere from 45-60% of all water in the US. For example:
- One pound of beef: ~2,500 gallons of water
- One pound of eggs: ~470-480 gallons of water
- One gallon of milk: ~1,000 gallons of water
- One pound of soybeans: ~200 gallons of water
Environmental Destruction
Sadly, animal agriculture is also the leading cause of species extinction, water pollution, habitat destruction, and ocean dead zones. To meet demand, hundreds of millions of acres of forests are cleared and native predator populations are killed. Global resources are also being depleted due to the overexploitation of wild species (think: “wild-caught salmon”). Over half of the plastic in the ocean today is actually from commercial fishing nets.
Pesticides and fertilizers used on livestock crops contaminate waterways and interfere with the biological systems of other animals.
“Non-GMO,” “humane,” “free-range,” and other feel-good labels aren’t the solution either. The practice of “humane-washing” is extremely unregulated and often acts as a shield to hide inhumane and illegal practices. In fact, label standards aren’t even legally defined by the FDA and USDA, making them impossible to oversee.
Actionable Steps
Information about factory farming is overwhelming and hard to read, and sadly, we’ve barely scratched the surface. We also haven’t even addressed the ethical concerns. But if you’ve made it this far, thank you! If you want to start implementing changes, here are some suggestions:
- Experiment with plant-based flavors, textures, and meat/dairy substitutes
- You’d be surprised at just how many unique and delicious foods are pushed aside because they are labeled “vegan.” Who knows, you may find something you like!
- Go to a restaurant with plant-based options
- If you don’t know how to cook with plants, have someone else do it for you! Maybe it’ll give you some inspo! (I LOVE Le Salbuen in Montclair, it has both meat and vegan options and everything is delicious!)
- Replace some pantry staples with their plant-based counterparts
- Find an item that you enjoy equally as much when it is plant-based vs animal-based and choose it when it is most feasible.
- Make plants the focus of your meal
- Eliminate the notion that every meal must center around a cut of meat. Try lessening the portion and making plant foods the star of the show. (It’s a lot cheaper too!)
- Reduce animal product consumption one item at a time
- If you’re serious about lessening animal product consumption, don’t emit them all at once. It’ll backfire long-term. Maybe start with beef, then pork, then chicken, etc.
- Meatless Monday
- Even for just one meal, it’ll make a difference!
If you’ve taken anything away from this article, I hope it’s that change should be viewed as an opportunity for growth‒not sacrifice‒and that a gentle approach to change is the most realistic and effective way to go. Most importantly, remember that small steps are better than nothing at all!
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