Mind, Body, Planet: Environmental effects of plant-based eating

“Whatever we do to the earth, we do to ourselves.”-Chief Seattle

This quotes serves as a reminder that when we pollute & harm our planet, we’re also harming & polluting ourselves in the process. If we know that polluting our rivers & oceans is bad, why would we pollute our own bodies and think that what we eat has zero impact on the rest of our environment?

How conventional animal-based diet’s affect our planet:

1. Global warming: One of the most efficient ways to reverse global warming is switching from a meat-based diet to a plant-based diet. This is simply because raising livestock and producing animal protein requires far more fossil fuel than harvesting and processing plant-protein. The most common greenhouse gas is carbon dioxide, however methane gas is one of the largest contributors to greenhouse gas emissions. Methane is produced in large quantities by industrial livestock farms (mostly from cows), and is far more potent in trapping heat than carbon dioxide is.

2. Underground water: Much of our ground water is being polluted with chemicals used in growing feed for industrial livestock production. Nitrates are used in commercial fertilizers used to grow feed for animals which is quite toxic for humans. The chemicals used to grow feed for livestock end up soaking into our soils, and eventually contaminating our groundwater! Not to mention, it also pollutes our body after taking a bite out of a factory-farm meat product that was fed conventional grown corn & soy.

3. Animal cruelty: Factory farming is completely different than old-time farming where animals where able to freely graze grass and be outdoors. Factory farms practice a business model and are seen as lifeless units of production, similar to the raw materials of any typical factory. CAFO’s (confined animal feeding operations) have taken over most small family-farm business’s. This operation mass produces conventional raised animals, such as cows, chickens, and pigs. Cows raised in CAFO’s live much shorter lives than grass-fed or free-range cows do since they’re penned up in tight “living” quarters, never again to be let out on green grass after they begin producing milk. Not to mention most factory-farmed cows are injected with growth hormones to increase their milk production. Antibiotics are also often used to combat infections and end up in the milk we drink, yuck! It doesn’t stop at animal cruelty though, because many family farms are going out of business & the government ignores how unsustainable and unethical the CAFO’s are. Saying no to factory farmed meat can go a long way toward preserving the way of life for farmers who grow plant-based food for so many people, and improve the health of our own bodies by consuming healthful alternatives to meat.

4. World hunger: We live in a world where millions of people die of starvation and disease each year, yet we still decide to cycle our plant-based foods into animals bodies before eating it. We feed livestock rather than feeding humans directly. Factory-farmed animals consume far more calories than humans do, which wastes more food than what we think we’re getting out of animal products. If you truly wish to help eliminate world hunger, then one of the first steps in doing so is saying “No” to factory-farming and reducing conventional meat & dairy consumption. Not only is consuming conventional meat & dairy products harmful to our own health, but also to the farmers who raise the livestock. The meat packing industry is considered to be one of the cruelest and most dangerous for workers in the U.S. Saying no to factory farmed meat can go a long way toward preserving the way of life for farmers who grow plant-based food for so many people, and improve the health of our own bodies by consuming healthful alternatives to meat.

5. Conventional produce: Conventional agriculture companies grow their fruits and veggies with tough skins and pick them unripe so they can be shipped long distances. Local farmers don’t ship their produce long distances which is better for the planet, and their able to grow the produce much longer until it’s bursting with flavor & nutrients. Conventional farmers also tend to cover their produce in chemical herbicides which is harmful for the groundwater, air, and the health of our farmers & ourselves. Choose locally grown organic produce whenever possible, so you can help out not only your own health but the health of the community & planet too!

your diet could change the world

Less meat, less grief:

Since livestock production has increased significantly as the western taste for meat, eggs, and dairy continues to rise, will further contribute to global warming, pollution, deforestation, land degradation, water scarcity, and species extinction. More animals equals more crops to feed them and the planet can’t feed both increasing human and farmed animal populations. The most important factor of our personal ecological footprint is what we eat.

Resource conservation:

Vegan diets use less resources, simple as that. Land availability is one of the main concerns with mass food production, since our earth only has so much agricultural land, and how this land is used determines the ability of how well we can feed the world. The last I checked we weren’t doing the best job. This is because industrial livestock raising requires enormous amounts of land to grow the feed for the animals to consume. Farm animals consume much more food than they produce and quite frankly meat-heavy diets are a waste of resources we need to conserve. How can we solve world hunger when animals consume far more protein, water, and calories than they produce? Well by reducing or eliminating meat & animal-product consumption can be considered a form of food and resource conservation. The greater the reduction, the more resources we conserve and are able to feed the world with.

When we switch to plant-based diets we are automatically helping to preserve food we could use elsewhere. The amount of feed it takes to feed livestock could be used in other ways to feed hungry starving people around the world. Factory-farmed animals are fed genetically modified corn, soybeans, & other grains that are sprayed with large amounts of pesticides. These crops take up large amounts of our precious land and this process generates large amounts of Nitrious oxide. We need better policies and stronger regulations to reduce the environmental impacts of livestock production, animal welfare, and the reduction of harmful chemicals. Avoid eating factory-farm meat & animal products at all costs so you can eliminate consuming any antibiotics, growth hormones, pesticides, and pro-inflammatory omega-6’s from the GMO feed given to the animals.

Animal agriculture & it’s major impact

Animal agriculture:

Today’s version of animal agriculture is one of the leading causes of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction. I’m not saying this to promote eliminating meat consumption entirely, however I do believe we should reduce or eliminate as much industrial factory-farms as possible. This will not only benefit our own health, but also the health & happiness of our entire planet and population.

Breath of fresh air:

If you enjoy breathing clean air, drinking clean water, and keeping soils healthy, then it’s time to reduce your meat consumption. Eating animal-products, especially meat causes higher emissions of nitrogen pollutants than eating a diet rich in fruits & veggies. This is mostly because of the long production process that raising livestock entails. Between the grain used to feed the animals to the meat on your kitchen table, leaves a large ecological footprint. Nitrogen from fertilizers used on crops to grow food for livestock is released into the air as ammonia. Ammonia has a toxic effect on sensitive plant species and has quite the pungent odor. Ammonia contribute to the formation of Particulate matter, which can travel miles from the source and increase the risk of heart disease, lung problems, and cancer. The process of raising livestock also releases Nitrous Oxide into the air, which is a green house gas that contributes to the thinning of our ozone layer.

Endangered species:

One of the number one causes to habitat loss is agricultural expansion and sadly the least efficient use of our land is used by meat production. When we eat plants where does most of the energy end up? Our bodies. However, when people eat animals (which originally ate plants), only a small portion of that energy from the plants that the animals ate ends up in our bodies. That means we could feed more people with the same amount of land if we all ate less meat. All this land clearing contributes to climate change as forests are burned and livestock releases methane. If we ate the crops we grew (& made them organic) instead of feeding it to livestock, we would have a billion more tons of food each year. We could do far more than just expand our agriculture, and we could also give land back to the species that we share our beautiful planet with.

Focus on what you can do, not what you can’t:

We don’t all have to become vegans in order to make profound changes to our planet. Small incremental steps can be extremely beneficial, in fact just by reducing your meat consumption to one or two times per week will help reduce your personal ecological footprint greatly. Cutting back on meat could be a powerful way of enacting your own belief that our species have the right to continued existence on earth and that the planet is not ours to turn into a giant factory-farm. The simple act of reducing animal consumption from your diet can dramatically transform your health and the planet. By consuming less meat and more fruits, veggies, nuts & seeds, grains, and plant-based proteins, we can all live longer, healthier & happier lives.

Learn how to leave a smaller footprint here:

References:

• Campbell, T. Colin, and Howard Jacobson. Whole: Rethinking the science of nutrition. Dallas, Texas: BenBella Books, 2013. Print.