I wouldn’t particularly call myself an environmentalist, but just because that is something that I don’t identify with, it does not mean that I don’t care about the environment. I would consider myself an incredibly empathetic person, so when I discovered the ethical injustices that occur due to animal agriculture, I immediately had to switch to a vegetarian diet. From the ease of using the Google search engine, I learnt more about eating a fully plant based diet and it’s health benefits, eventually feeling like I knew enough enough to be different and call myself a vegan. Which, admittedly wasn’t easy at first because I had always felt like I never fit in. But my empathetic nature outweighed my need to be like the people around me.
However, I felt like I was still on the search for a more palatable reason to call myself a vegan. I felt like I needed a better reason than just, “I love animals” or “plants also have protein”. To my luck, a new documentary had just been released about the effects of animal agriculture, showing its correlation to the environment. Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret is an eye-opening documentary and played hugely on my empathetic tendencies towards my affiliation with nature and the environment.

So, I decide to continue to eat a fully plant-based diet in order to feel like I am contributing more to sustainable living practices. But with the world’s population growing each and every day, and our natural resources decreasing in order to cater to society’s demands, shouldn’t there be more information floating around about the benefits of a plant based diet on the environment? Many resources are skewed, but the facts stand for themselves.  

You’ll find that a healthy majority of people have their own way in order to feel like they are contributing. The environment-friendly are trying their best by being avid recyclers, water conservers, abstaining from the use of plastic and choosing to use clean energy, all while we wait for the likes of NASA to find other living situations up in space, just in case none of that works. But what if something as simple as changing your diet could put those green living practices to shame, people just haven’t discovered the significance of a diet change can be.

A fully plant-based diet is a diet where I will only consume foods derived from vegetables, whole grains, legumes and fruit. A diet that contains no animal products whatsoever, and a diet that – I was slowly learning - has the potential to change the world. As a plant-based eater, my carbon footprint is as minimal as it ever was. At first, I genuinely questioned how much of a change just altering my diet could be because I already had certain information and ideas and obviously was brought up with a different mindset. With so much information floating around, it’s hard to determine the information from misinformation. But things started to become clearer as more and more evidence surfaced pointing in the direction of a plant-based diet being in favor of the environment.

Eating a plant-based diet puts considerably less strain on the environment than that of a standard western diet filled with animal products. You might be confused by that notion, but have you ever considered exactly how much of our resources are used to raise 1 cow, let alone the thousands of cattle bred each year to feed populations? Without any statistics or information alone, you could just imagine how much effort it is to raise 1 cow. But for those eager for some evidence, every pound of beef produced, there’s an average 2500 gallons of water used, and according to M.J. Jacobson from The Center for Science in Washington D.C, approximately 50% of the USA water supply is used to grow crops to feed livestock.

To put that into perspective, the average person will use approximately 100 gallons of water each day in their household alone. Add in the pound of beef you’ve just consumed for dinner and your water usage just skyrocketed. Now, you might be thinking just how plants fair, and I’m somewhat happy to inform you that the rumors that plants take up more space, water is just that, a rumor.  Tofu, which is considered an alternative protein source to beef and other meats can only play in the little league as every pound of tofu produced uses 300 gallons of water – 8 times less than beef.

The statistics don’t stop there. Philip Thornton, a scientific researcher has concluded that 45% of the earth’s land is occupied with livestock, that number starts to make more sense when you think of all the cities that are so densely populated. The U.S Environmental protection agency discovered that a farm with 2,5000 dairy cows will produce the same amount of waste as a city of 411,000 people. 91% of Amazon destruction is a result of animal agriculture, according to information released by The World Bank. Trillions of animals are pulled from the ocean every year resulting in depleting sea life. 1.5 acres of land can produce 37,000 pounds of plant-based food and 1.5 acres of land can produce 375 pounds of meat.

Now, I’m not here to just shoot facts at you. There are so many facts supporting the notion that a plant-based diet is only doing good for the environment, from multiple reputable sources. Many resources are skewed, or hidden resulting in people not knowing the true impact. But looking further than the first Google search, is essential when it comes to our environment.

The one topic that many actually associate with the environment is global warming. And yes, I do say many as there still seems to be vast majorities of people, that simple don’t believe that it even exists. But it’s hard to deny the science out of anything but ignorance. Either way, with more evidence being shared amongst society that global warming is occurring – the demand for a solution to combat global warming is a serious one.

In Western culture, you can find a huge array of products at your local store. There are aisles and aisles of options and some may even be marked as being planet friendly or made from recycled materials. And you probably think that these are the best options. But maybe there’s an even better option. Opting for plant-based products, spending majority of your time in the produce section will make a change, however small it is.

Chances are you’re already an environmentally conscious person, looking for more ways to add to your recycling habits. You don’t have to eat a plant-based diet starting from your next meal. It’s hard to change habits overnight and that’s why making small changes has the power to accumulate into something so much bigger. Perhaps start with cutting out white meat, then red, then dairy, then eggs. There’s a plethora of impartial resources that are easily accessible, with recipes, guides and FAQs about eating a plant-based diet.

I came to a plant-based diet with an empathetic heart, was intrigued by the health benefits I found and stayed eating only plants because I felt proud to know my impact on the environment was a positive one. Every day, a person who eats a plant-based diet consumes 1,100 gallons less of water, 45 pounds less of grain and saves 30 sq ft of forested land, 20 lbs CO2 equivalent and one animal’s life. So, are you going to make a more positive contribution to the environment?