Studies Suggest Veganism As The ‘Single Biggest Way’ To Reduce Impact

Researchers from the University of Oxford discovered that cutting meat and dairy products from your diet could reduce an individual’s carbon footprint from food by up to 73 percent! The debate of a vegan diet has been quite dramatic and opinionated over the years, yet studies reveal that meat and dairy production is responsible for 60 percent of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. The products themselves carry only 18 percent of calories and 37 percent of protein levels around the world! They also found that global farmland use could be reduced by 75 percent, an area equivalent to the size of the US, China, Australia, and the EU combined if everyone just stopped consuming such large amounts of meat.

 

This means not only there could be a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions, but it would also free up wild land once lost to farming, one of the primary causes of mass wildlife extinction. The journal Science, recently completed a study which is now one of the biggest analyses’ to date into the harsh and lasting effects farming can have on the environment and included data on over 40,000 farms in 119 countries. Their findings show that meat and dairy production is held responsible for 60 percent of agriculture’s greenhouse gas emissions. How are we just hearing of this? Why isn’t this breaking the news? Because it doesn’t make money, rather it saves money.

 

 

Overall, even though the entire ‘pledge’ to be vegan may seem like a big step, it has proven to be extremely beneficial. If only there were warning labels on our food so we could be informed of what we’re eating beforehand! Don’t forget all the happy, healthy animals and crops. A vegan diet reaps numerous benefits in exchange for only a little self-adjustment! Explore a vegan diet today!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Petter, O. (2018, August 29). Going vegan is ‘single biggest way’ to reduce our impact on the planet, study finds. Retrieved from https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html