There is no doubt the world is going through a global warming crisis. It’s been happening for quite some time now, and it’s picking up speed as we breathe. As good citizens of the world it’s hard to know what the right steps are to take care of our planet. It’s easy to assume recycling and taking shorter showers are simple yet significant ways to contribute to a greener world but have you ever considered going green with what you eat? Literally?
Vegans across the world have picked up new members everyday and have spread curiosity amidst the rest. Some call it a trend, some think it’s a hoax. But negative comments aside, vegans are onto something. Something bigger than “glowing skin”. Eating vegan consists of eliminating animal products from your diet including eat, meat, fish and poultry. Any byproducts are also excluded like eggs, milk and honey.
Eating vegan is not a diet in the losing weight or cleansing your body sense of the word (although those are some of the perks). It is centered around making mindful decisions about how and what you are consuming and the positive effects it is having on the environment. The documentary Cowspiracy directed and produced by Kip Andersen and Keegan Kuhn sheds light on the controversial yet extremely under-emphasized, disastrous effects of agriculture and raising livestock on the planet. To put the meat and dairy industry into perspective, it is said that the entire industry takes up one third of the worlds fresh water source. Considering the human to livestock ratio we have today, one third seems absurd especially when many people do not have access to fresh water daily. Also, according to Andersen and Kuhn’s research, in order to produce one pound of beef the whole process requires 2,500 gallons of water. That’s a lot of showers.
It’s been said the general public is “comfortably unaware” of the impacts raising livestock and producing the byproducts is doing to the environment. It’s also been said over and over that all forms of transportation are essentially the biggest source of greenhouse gas emissions. Cowspiracy, however, opens the curtain uncovering the truth. WorldWatch (an institution that analyzes global environmental data) calculated that sources of transportation emit 13% of greenhouse gas emissions compared to 51% from livestock and byproducts. Eating vegan is a way to be sustainable by reducing your carbon footprint on our Earth. But being sustainable isn’t easy either. Organic and grass-fed cows and dairy farms take up more time, land and money to manufacture the products. The daily demand and consumption of meat and dairy products that the world has accumulated today is far too large to be produced by sustainable and organic farms. Though eating vegan is a direct solution to these massive problems, it also poses a big dilemma in itself. Asking people who have consumed dairy and meet products their entire lives to behave differently is a sensitive subject.
Whether you are an omnivore to the core, vegetarian or try to be a bit of everything, it’s important to keep our planet and its health in mind when we prepare our plates and feed our bodies. For the full experience, be sure to watch the documentary Cowspiracy on Netflix and check out its website for more facts, news and information on how you can help. Also, check out this New York Times article that brings together the idea that yes, vegan can be glam all while maintaining a sustainable footprint.