Veganism 2019: A Solution for Global Warming
When thinking about the entire population of mankind switching to a diet that involves only consuming plant-based food, it is hard to imagine how one would go about implementing such a drastic change. There are multiple reasons why people originally go vegan that either pertain to their ethical beliefs about killing other beings, health related issues, and, the major factor, its relation to global warming.
Global warming is a topic that seems to have been dominating news headlines for years. There are many debates on what will solve the issue of rising temperatures and what we, as humans, need to alter in our daily routine to make an overall impact. Even though renewable energy and reducing plastic waste can play a major role in cleaning up the planet, changing our diet could be the main factor that helps significantly reduce our carbon footprint.
In the article published on CNN titled, “Change your diet to combat climate change in 2019” written by Lisa Drayer, the context explains how the animal agriculture business is one of the leading benefactors to greenhouse gas emissions. Drayer states, “It might come as a surprise, but Springmann’s study found that the production of animal products generates the majority of food-related greenhouse-gas emissions — specifically, up to 78% of total agricultural emissions” (2019). Animals each require a different amount of emissions in order to be processed for consumption, but cows in particular use up the most energy and give off the highest amount of greenhouse gas emissions (Drayer, 2019). Agricultural farming is an industry that is flourishing due to a regular humans diet, but when looking at its underlying environmental impacts, it is hard to back up why it is absolutely necessary to promote an organization that causes this much destruction.
Drayer also inserts a statement from a licensed nutritionists named Sharon Palmer that tells, “‘In today’s agricultural system, we grow plants to feed animals, which require all of those resources and inputs: land, water, fossil fuels, pesticides, herbicides and fertilizer to grow. And then we feed plants to animals and care for them over their lifetime, while they produce methane and manure,’”. When putting animal farming into context with plant based farming, there is more sustainability and future with plant food production than meat.
Given that meat is thought to be the fundamental part of the everyday man’s diet, getting the population to see that a animal based diet is destroying the planet can be hard to prove. Articles like Drayers that use reliable studies and many others touch on the well known fact that greenhouse gases from agricultural farming have been increasing every year and will continue to wreak havoc on this Earth until a dramatic change is made. Vegan diets can be seen as a solution, but may be something that can be looked at as restrictive and difficult. This issue can be compromised when going to the grocery store or researching recipes that highlight the variety of plant based meals that exist.
Even though climate change is something that is regularly focused on with vegan dieting, it is important to look at the destruction of human health that is occurring due to the consumption of animal products. When taking a look at Orly Stein’s research blog A Look into the Future: The Importance of a Health and Eco-Friendly Mindset, she goes in depth in the article titled “Steering Clear of Meat” dicussing the research found with vegan dieting.
“According to The Vegan Society, The British Dietetic Association and The American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics recognizes a vegan diet as suitable for all individuals at any age. In addition, they claim that research has associated low blood pressure, and lower rates of type two diabetes and heart disease, with a vegan based diet…”
One thing that I like to keep in mind when thinking about my eating habits and maintaining my diet is realizing that the food you are eating really only provides you with a moment of satisfaction. This leads me to question if that moment of satisfaction is more important than this planets futures. For now, implementing vegan habits like limiting meat and dairy can be something that may be seen as less scary to someone who is hesitant to making the switch. Having this knowledge now and knowing the meat and dairy industries effects on the planet I hope can help provide you with an incentive to make a change. With mankind making an effort to help its planet through their dieting, the Earth may be able to see a brighter, prosperous future.
Source Used:
Drayer. L (2019, January 2). Change your diet to combat climate change in 2019. Retrieved from https://www.cnn.com/2018/10/18/health/plant-based-diet-climate-change-food-drayer/index.html
Stein. O (2019, Febuary 27). Steering Clear of Meat. Retrieved from https://medium.com/a-look-into-the-future/steering-clear-of-meat-929111c1bbc
