“Everyone is talking about fuel efficient vehicles, but they would actually do more for the earth by becoming vegan.”-Emily Deschanel
I am vegan for ethical reasons, but veganism is also one of the best ways to be environmentally conscious. Global warming is happening. We try to combat it with recycling, carpooling, and reusing simple things. However, the best thing you can do for the environment is to become vegan. Animal agriculture accounts for 51 percent or greater of greenhouse gases. If you really want to fight climate change, become vegan.
The United Nations recently said that a shift toward a vegan diet is necessary to help reduce climate change. They also said that raising animals for food is “one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global.” A study found that vegans have a 41.7 percent smaller greenhouse-gas footprint than meat eaters. Plus, a 13.9 percent reduced greenhouse-gas footprint than vegetarians.
Carbon dioxide is one of the top gases causing global warming. In comparison to producing one calorie from grain, 8.5 times of carbon dioxide is released from producing one calorie from meat. Clearing the rain forest of its trees, that take in carbon dioxide, for pastureland to grow crops for farmed animals releases an enormous amount of carbon dioxide. Manure from farmed animals also releases large quantities of carbon dioxide. Typical meat eaters reduce their carbon footprint associated with food by 60 percent by becoming vegan, and vegetarians who become vegan reduce their food related carbon footprint by 25 percent.
The billions of animals that are stuffed into factory farms help feed global warming. They produce outrageous amounts of methane through waste. If methane and carbon dioxide were compared pound to pound, methane has a 25 greater chance of contributing to climate change over 100 years. Nitrous oxide is absorbed into the atmosphere when farmed animals urine and manure break down. Nitrous oxide, as a greenhouse gas, is approximately 300 more times harmful than carbon dioxide.
If you want to be able to call yourself an environmentalist you need to become vegan. It is one of the most effective ways to fight global warming. It does so much more than recycling. This does not mean you should stop helpful tasks like not using plastic water bottles and throwing them away. However, along with these steps; being vegan will help the environment even more. For more information click here http://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-food/global-warming/.