Nathaniel Trias

How Veganism Effects the Environment 

what is veganism?

           

                  Vegan is known as a diet amongst most people, especially here in the states. But it is in fact more of a lifestyle rather than a diet. Veganism is no consumption of any animal or animal product. So, no meats, diaries, broths, etc. over time here Vegan options have been more available to those especially in largely populated areas like los Angeles.

 Research/stats

            Due to the large population across the world, we need resources to produce meats, dairies, vegetables, etc. and we would need machines and land to produce these things. Which means that we would be leaving a large carbon footprint. A carbon footprint is the total greenhouse gas that comes from a person, event, community, etc. so that means use of anything that produces a greenhouse gas. A greenhouse gas can come from anything, but it is a gas that absorbs radiant energy. And these gases can come from things like carbon dioxide, methane, nitrous oxide and water vapor. Agriculture production uses a lot of machines which produce a lot of those greenhouse gases. According to EPA.gov agriculture produces about 10% of greenhouse gases. And out of that meat and dairy production produces 60% percent out of the total agricultural carbon footprint. And according to independent.co.uk global farmland could be reduced by 75% which is the same size as the U.S, China and Australia combined. If we reduced this number, it would not only help the reduction of greenhouse gases but also free up land that agricultural uses. 

            Being on a vegan diet will help reduce your carbon footprint by a substantial amount. And the reason why most studies show that the vegan diet will help reduce your carbon footprint is because it doesn’t just reduce the greenhouse gases you produce. But also, land/water use, global acidification and eutrophication. 

In this figure, it shows the percentage of agricultural greenhouse gas produced and has broken it down to where its produced from. 

What happens if we don’t? 

            

            Well why do we care so much about me reducing my carbon footprint as much as possible? Well, if we don’t reduce our carbon footprint more carbon dioxide gets trapped and starts to form a thermal blanket around the earth trapping heat. Which leads to other issues like global warming and premature deaths. 

My opinion

              Overall, I haven’t been full vegan, but I have been pescatarian for 2 ½ years. I first started off vegetarian for 6 months then switched to pescatarian and have been that way for about 2 years. The reason I first did it was, in all honesty, to lose weight. But as I progressed further into this new lifestyle, I have learned more about how my life has changed and how I myself can help the community. My diet overall has just been healthier and easier to digest, I have reduced my carbon footprint by switching over, not completely, to a no meat and diary diet. And I have learned that it’s a slow process but with knowledge and determination we can all help prevent some of these issues. 

Resources:

https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html

https://timeforchange.org/what-is-a-carbon-footprint-definition/

https://www.livescience.com/37743-greenhouse-effect.html