Veganism positively impacts environment

Kayla Bailey, Opinion Editor

A vegan diet entails that you practice abstaining from any animal products. The reason people may do this is to help preserve wildlife, for a healthier diet and/or to aid the environment.

 

A negative connotation against veganism has grown especially with those who don’t practice it. However, it may impact you and the world more than you think. Becoming vegan may require a lot of discipline which may dissuade others from doing so. But if you put on a big picture lens this could probably make you reconsider what you decide to consume.

 

With climate change and the limited resources we have left on this Earth, people can contribute to making a positive environmental impact by becoming vegan.

 

Everyone has a carbon footprint which is defined as the total amount of pollution and emissions an individual, event or object causes. Your carbon footprint may increase with how much you drive,  your electricity usageand what you consume on a daily basis.

 

Mercy For Animals, an animal protections non-profit organization, found a study that explains how abstaining from animal products can reduce your carbon footprint by 73 percent. That is a dramatic decrease due to just removing animal products from your diet.

 

Some of these farms produce gas emissions through raising livestock and maintaining the farm. Raising livestock requires the utilization of resources, such as, clean water, necessary food, shipment to different areas of the world and large amounts of land. These farms can carry thousands of animals and all together produce gasses which pollute the air. These farms are only producing this many animals to meet the demand of consumers.

 

The less consumers they have, the less production needed. With less production, this means that there will be less resources utilized, less waste produced, and a decrease in gas emissions.

 

If more people start consuming less animal products and having a plant based diet, there would be a surplus need for plant based foods. Plants are able to aid in reducing carbon emissions through photosynthesis. Photosynthesis is the process of a plant consuming carbon and other nutrients like the sunlight and releasing oxygen as a response.

 

You may think that being only one individual doesn’t make a huge difference but it’s still one less person consuming meats and one less person who doesn’t use animal products.

 

If you’re someone who can’t just quit consuming animal products, you must realize that becoming vegan is a process and a journey. Even if you decide to consume animal products,consider  trying vegan and vegetarian options. By doing so, you’re still taking part in consuming something that is more environmentally friendly for our planet.

 

Think about this in a bigger perspective: we have millions of people living on our planet. Each person consumes animal products, which causes a demand to feed all these people. If one less person doesn’t eat animal products, that contributes to that decrease in demand.

 

The next time you go out to eat, check if there are any vegetarian or vegan options. You may be surprised at how tasty the food that is offered in other alternatives. Your favorite burger joint may offer a vegan alternative and taste the exact same. You’ll find that not only you’re eating healthy but that you’re also impacting the environment in a positive way.