Intro
Our food choices have dramatic consequences for the environment in which we live. Reducing or eliminating the consumption of animal products is one of the most powerful ways an individual can reduce his or her carbon footprint, reversing the harmful effects current human lifestyles have on the planet. What we put into our shopping bags at the grocery store actually has more environmental impact than whether we bring reusable shopping bags or drive a hybrid to the store. Animal agriculture is responsible for many of the world’s most serious environmental problems including global warming, water use and pollution, energy consumption, deforestation, loss of biodiversity and species, as well as the detrimental impact fishing has on our oceans.
When it comes to global warming, farmed animals and their byproducts are responsible for 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, or 51 percent of annual worldwide human-caused greenhouse gas emissions, according to a new report from World Watch.
A 2006 study by the United Nations Food and Agriculture called for urgent action regarding the impact of animal agriculture. The senior author of the report, Dr. Henning Steinfeld, said, “The livestock sector emerges as one of the top two or three most significant contributors to the most serious environmental problems, at every scale from local to global. Livestock's contribution to environmental problems is on a massive scale, and its potential contribution to their solution is equally large. The impact is so significant that it needs to be addressed with urgency.”
This translates to great news for the planet. The food and drink an average person consumes are the single largest determining factor of one’s overall ecological footprint. Why is this good news? Because knowing this, it’s easy and affordable to make important improvements in your own global impact. You don’t need to buy a hybrid or get solar panels to make the biggest impact. But what are the most ecological dietary choices?
Reducing or eliminating the consumption of animal products is one of the most powerful ways an individual can stop harming the environment. The next time you’re assessing a food’s ecological footprint, be sure to remember: organic is important, local is good, but vegan is best.
A plant-based diet is by far the most ecological dietary choice we can make. |
