No Meat, No Problem

Here is my story

I have been eating meat since as long as I can remember. It’s a part of my childhood. I have a vivid memory of eating ropa vieja with Cuban bread at my grandmother’s house in Miami when I was five. It was like eating heaven with a slice of bread. As much as I love ropa vieja and many other meat-based meals, I have been thinking these past few weeks, “Is it bad that I’m eating this much meat?” And after doing some research, I have come to a conclusion that going vegetarian is a more sustainable option to save our planet.

Impacts of meat/animal agriculture

It takes 1,799 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. One pound! That means that if the average American consumes 222 pounds of beef per year, almost 400,000 gallons (399,378 to be exact) of water are being used a year by the average American. And that’s just with beef. So if you add up other factors such as bathing, drinking water etc., that’s a lot of water for only one person.

In addition to that, cows produce a gas called methane, which contributes to climate change along with other greenhouse gases. Now most people don’t even take a hot second to consider animal agriculture as one of the leading factors of climate change but here’s why they should. While carbon dioxide is typically thought of as the main greenhouse gas, methane is 30 times more effective as a heat-trapping gas. So while your neighbor is trying to bike everywhere and use public transportation — don’t get me wrong that’s great for them — you should really be trying to cut down on the amount of meat you are eating.

“We have a single mission: to protect and hand on the planet to the next generation.” — Francois Hollande, President of France

To conclude, although being vegetarian has many great impacts on our climate, and the overall general well being of our Earth, it also opens up new windows for us to discover. This includes connecting with other fellow vegetarians and discussing your opinions, and generally eating/learning about different foods that could also potentially help our environment. Finally, being vegetarian can open your mind up to trying out other things to help sustain our environment such as taking short showers, biking and composting.

Go, vegetables!