10 Environmental Benefits of Going Vegan

“Nothing really compares to beef, lamb, pork, and dairy – these products are in a league of their own in the level of damage they typically do to the environment, on almost every environmental issue we track,”
Joseph Poore – Researcher at the University of Oxford who studies Environmental Impacts of Food products.

1. Save Animals

Choosing veganism is going to help save animals on our planet.

A single person going vegan can save up to 200 animals in a year. This is the simplest way of helping animals without having to carry out active animal right protests, not that you shouldn’t!

All you have to do is choose plant-based food over products such as meat, eggs, and dairy products. That’s a no-brainer.

Imagine the life they have. locked in cages since birth, waiting to be served on the plate.

To be honest with you, saving animals is the main reason I decided to go vegan!

Here’s what Ellen DeGeneres has to say about it; ‘‘I personally chose to go vegan because I educated myself on factory farming and cruelty to animals, and I suddenly realized that what was on my plate were living things, with feelings. And I just couldn’t disconnect myself from it any longer.’

2. Combating world hunger

Most of the food being grown across the planet is sadly not being consumed by humans. 70% of the grain produced and 83% of farmland in the United States is set aside to raise animals. It is stated that about 700 million tons of food that can be consumed by humans actually goes to livestock each year.

While we can all agree that meat is more energy-dense than plants, more diverse nutrients could be produced if the land used for factory farming is set aside for growing various plants.

Furthermore, deforestation, over-fishing and water pollution caused by fish and meat industries limit the capacity of the planet to produce more food.

There is simply not enough land on the planet to raise enough meat to feed all humans. The take home message from here is to avoid or at least minimize meat in your diet and start adopting veganism as much as you can to tackle the growing food crisis.

3. Water Conservation

780 Million People struggle with access to clean drinking water, widespread droughts occur for long periods due to mismanagement of water resources. Over a billion people don’t have access to ANY water sources!

Since livestock uses enormous amounts of clean water, we can say that it’s responsible for much of water scarcity and pollution worldwide. The more livestock is used to replace plants around the world, the more water shortages there will be across the globe.

By cutting down on 2 pounds of beef, you can save up to 4000 gallons of water.

It takes 100 to 200 times more water to raise livestock than it does to raise a plant, so wouldn’t it be better if people start consuming plants instead of meat? Adopting vegan diet will help to reduce water pollution and water shortages by a considerable amount.

4. Improves Soil Structure and Prevents Erosion

Livestock farming erodes and weakens the soil structure. This is because carrying out livestock requires clearing huge forests. Imagine the loss in biodiversity! If you’ve read other blogs of mine, you surely know the devastating effects of deforestation. In fact, I’ll just tell you a bit more about connection between deforestation and veganism below.

These forests are actually a source of tremendous amounts of forest products that provide nutrition and resilience to humans. Choosing to raise a diverse variety of plants provides nourishment to the soil and leads to long-term resilience within the soil as well.

5. Reduce Deforestation

Deforestation is one of the major environmental issues that we face today and a special cause is making space for livestock farms. These forests act as carbon sinks promoting carbon sequestration, as habitats for various birds and animals and stabilizers of weather patterns around the world.

6. Reduces energy consumption

The energy expenditure in raising livestock is immense. This is due to the long time to raise animals, enormous amount of food they consume, transportation and shipping of livestock products. Growing Plants requires 8 times lower energy than raising livestock animals.

Even with use of renewables, don’t you feel it would be better that the same amount of energy can be used to run agricultural process which produces almost 10 times more food.

7. Air Purification

Carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide, and methane gas are major greenhouse gases that cause global warming; all of these gases are released in different processes of factory farming.

Producing 2 pounds of beef releases greenhouse gas emissions close to a three-hour drive in a car!

The United Nations states that a global shift towards veganism is necessary to combat the effects of climate change. A vegan diet will also make the air cleaner for you to breathe and devoid of harmful greenhouse gases that exacerbate climate change.

8. Environment-friendly meat is a myth!

Contrary to popular belief, Meat is not environmentally friendly and consuming large amounts as people do can be very detrimental for our planet.

It takes tons of feed and gallons of water to raise farm animals. Moreover, slaughterhouses are quite wasteful and cause tremendous amounts of pollution.

Hence, choosing a vegan diet could help us create a more “green” planet to fight against climate change and global warming.

9. Ethical

Ethical practices are why environmentalism exists!

Animals just like humans, deserve to live with dignity and have a life just like us. They are beautiful, intelligent and gentle creatures living on this planet the same way we do.

Making them suffer from the moment they are born and until the last drop of blood drains away, operating slaughterhouses should be a crime.

Fortunately, Massive public outrage and embracing veganism has either closed down slaughterhouses or made abattoir workers change their practices when it comes to factory farming. This was quite an impact at the time!

Sadly, the vast majority of the meat we consume today is still produced in grim conditions and it seems the only way we’ll be able to cut down on these unethical practices would be not to eat meat.

10. Much Healthier

Obtaining all nutrients in the form of a balanced diet is integral to stay healthy. A vegan diet can help you get every nutrient you need to stay healthy.

A lot of people have a diet consisting of processed food with various additives that can cause serious health concerns and impede normal life functions. Sadly, meat is mostly at the center of this concern. Meat consumption comes with high risk of developing conditions such as heart disease, stroke, hyperlipidemia and diabetes.

World Health Organization (WHO) just released a report showing increased risk of colorectal cancer associated with consumption of red or processed meat.

Going vegan makes you reconsider ingredients you consume every day. This consideration will eventually lead to fresher and a more nutrient-rich diet.

You may be wondering why we’ve included vegan food being healthy as environmental benefit. Where would we be if our environmentalists aren’t healthy and here to support us?

Why should you choose to go Vegan? Health Benefits of Going Vegan

Lose Weight and Unhealthy Fats

Veganism allows you to loosen all the unwanted fat on your body. On average, vegans are 20 pounds lighter than people who consume meat. Vegan diet allows you to keep that extra fat off your bellies and keep you energized.

Vegans also tend to have a better physique, as opposed to those who consume meat. In fact, many bodybuilders now endorse veganism as they realize its health benefits and how it improves your physique.

You can still have your favorite foods – just cruelty-free.

You can still eat your favorite foods such as sandwiches, burgers, and ice cream even after going vegan. Since veganism is on the rise, more and more companies are coming out with different dairy and meat-free options that offer great taste and are much healthier.

Imagine you’re having your favorite food, without being cruel to animals or your body.

You can even have food stuff derived from microorganisms like yeast. The reasoning behind that is that microbes do not have a nervous system which means they don’t have the ability to feel pain. Hence, we have vegan cakes!

Reduced Risk of Food Poisoning

Animal meat is often contaminated with blood, urine, faces, and other bodily fluids due to poor conditions in slaughterhouses. This makes animal-derived food one of the top sources of food-poisoning in the United States. Vegan diet is completely devoid of any ill-fated fluids or waste products from animals.

Vegan food is delicious

Vegetables are delicious and filled with flavor if cooked properly, just as fruits, almonds, cashews, quinoa, and peanuts are. Nearly all food in vegan diet is flavorful.

This is especially true because of the great variety of food you get to choose from when you choose to buy vegan.

Become an excellent cook

There are numerous vegan recipes which are very easy to learn and fortunately there are vegan chefs like Jackie Sobon who make it easier for us. All you need to do is scroll through her blog and you will be surprised to see the vast array of recipes at your disposal.

Cooking can be a great deal at elevating your mental health!

Vegetables can be intimidating to eat at first, but I can assure you; once you go vegan you never go back. If cooked properly you may end up enjoying your success. You will basically become a culinary expert once you adapt the vegan trend.

Good for Health

Choosing a vegan diet is great for your health. Vegans are less likely to suffer from morbidities such as heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure and cancer.

A vegan diet can provide all nutrients required to have a balanced diet; such as proteins, fiber, and minerals without the nasty stuff like cholesterol or saturated fats.

All about Going Green

Understanding Veganism and it’s associated health and environmental benefits makes the right choice quite clear. Go vegan or Go home!

What was your experience going vegan? Can’t wait to here from you.

10 Environmental Benefits of Going Vegan

Table of Contents Show

What is Veganism?

Types of Vegans out there