Each year, millions of animals are slaughtered on factory farms for human consumption. Factory farming is a leading cause of global warming because it increases the levels of gases such as carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Because meat is produced on factory farms, those that consume meat on a daily basis, or have a diet that depends heavily on meat and poultry contribute greatly to the amounts of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Adopting a vegetarian or vegan diet, or even just opting to go vegetarian once a week, which can be as easy as choosing a salad for lunch, can decrease the levels of greenhouse gases, in the atmosphere.
According to the Environmental Defense Fund, “If every American had one meat-free meal per week, it would be the same as taking more than 5 million cars off our roads. Having one meat-free day per week would be the same as taking 8 million cars off American roads.” Converting to a vegetarian or vegan diet can help reduce the levels of greenhouse gases in the air. Even if one chooses to go meat-free for one day a week, the levels of air pollutants can be greatly reduced. If a person were to continue to do that once a week for a month, or better yet, a year, then the levels of toxins will be greatly decreased, as will the demand for meat production.
For those that do not want to make the full transition into vegetarianism, going vegetarian once a week is a great tradeoff for trying to be environmentally friendly. Some people even eat a vegetarian meal at least once week without even realizing it or making the effort to do it.
Those days when you head to the food court and just order a salad or minestrone soup? That’s a veggie meal right there. Opting to eat one vegetarian meal a week isn’t something the necessarily needs to be planned a long time in advance or something that takes a lot of planning and thinking. It can be done at the last minute when you’re in line at a restaurant or when you’re sitting at home and are craving something to eat.
Breakfast is probably the easiest meal of the day to choose a vegetarian option. Just say no to the bacon or sausage with your pancakes and your meal has just turned vegetarian. If you’re craving an omelette at a restaurant, skip out on the meats and choose an omelette with cheese, broccoli and peppers.
Lunch and dinner become a little more difficult as a lot of meals have meat as a main entree. But keeping veggie burgers in the freezer or a keeping a variety of vegetables in the refrigerator makes it easier to try out different vegetarian dishes.
With vegetarianism on the rise, there are many websites out there that provide the public with easy recipes to try out and People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) provides free vegetarian starter kits for anyone who wants to try this new lifestyle.
So instead of choosing meat as an entree, pick out something healthier and more environmentally friendly.