You’re on a quest…a quest to eco friendly living and be more green.  That pursuit has helped you adopt new practices into your life and now you are considering how and what you eat.  A good place to start is by examining why meat diets are not really a sustainable choice and why a plant-based diet option, such as vegetarianism and veganism, may be better choices. Let’s explore the benefits of vegetarian diet.

You may be thinking…’What on earth would I eat without meat?’  ‘How can I live without meat?’ or ‘Life is too short to not eat meat.’  Indeed, life may be too short if you do not pay attention to what you are feeding yourself; it could be taxing on your body and it could be taxing on the Earth.  We need to open our eyes (WIDE) and understand the consequences our massive food consumption and poor agricultural practices are putting on the Earth.

BUT…it can change!  You can change and when you change you can enlighten others to a better choice.  And do you know what?  It is not nearly as scary as it sounds, I promise!  Read on…

Difference Between A Vegan And Vegetarian

A vegetarian is someone who does not consume meat, fish, seafood or poultry.

A vegan does not eat or use any animal products. So in addition to not eating meat, fish, seafood or poultry they also do eat or use: eggs, milk, cheese, wool, leather, fur etc.

Benefits of Vegetarian Diet

Now why would you want to make the leap to a plant-based diet and what makes it a more sustainable choice?

• Only 25 gallons of water are needed to produce one pound of wheat vs. approx. 2500 gallons of water for one pound of beef.

• It takes much less energy to produce a plant crop than to produce meat.

• Plants do not need to be grown at the expense of depleting the rainforests.  You can grow them anywhere (literally)!

• Studies show that a balanced vegetarian diet is healthier than an animal-based diet.

• It will cost you less; in terms of money and health.  Take heart, it will cost the Earth and future generations less, too!  Just with our food choices alone, we can  help the environment in more ways than one.

• It’s tasty and colorful!  There are so many foods and flavors out there that you can discover.  Your taste buds may have been deprived if you are eating a bunch of processed, take-out food. The colors of fresh produce are simply glorious and it is a good way to teach kids that the more color they have in their diet, the better!

• It may help you lose weight.

• It is also a compassionate choice.  No animals have to live in the deplorable, inhumane conditions, which is fairly common in most factory farms.  This is one way you can help the animals.

Where Do I Get My Protein?

Just because you do not have a meat protein source does not mean you cannot eat a balanced meal. There is an abundance of vegetarian and vegan protein sources!  Nuts, seeds, beans, legumes, grains, seitan, vegetables, fruits, eggs and dairy products contain significant amounts of protein.  Also, there numerous soy alternatives available in the current grocery market today.  There is everything from soy bacon to soy burgers, etc. and it tastes great!  Just because you don’t have a meat protein source does not mean you cannot eat a balanced meal.

How Do I Start?

You know yourself best and you know if you can jump in with both feet or if you need to start extending a toe at a time.  Locate a good vegetarian/vegan cookbook in your local library or bookstore and of course, you can find endless recipes online.

You can make the change and you can educate others!  Talk to people.  Most people are unaware that a plant based diet can make a positive impact on global warming.

It makes sense for a sustainable life and I believe that if you follow the path to a plant based diet you will find that it is delicious and rewarding.

Eating a plant-based diet may be the single most important choice you can make to reduce your carbon footprint and help sustain Mother Earth’s resources.  Eat up and enjoy!

Marisa

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Farm animals outnumber the human population approximately three and a half to one, and meat consumption is predicted to double by the middle of the century.  The large amount of gases (methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide) and bodily waste from industrial animal production facilities, or factory farms, not only contaminate drinking and ground water, but also accelerate global warming.

Carnivore (Meat Eater)

Being the T-Rex of the food chain may make you feel strong and powerful, but you may want to take a second look at your need for meat.  Factory farms are the #1 source of global warming! Production of meat AB-uses many natural resources and can cause environmental pollution, not to mention the treatment and quality of life the animals have on these farms.

Consumption of Meat – Impacts

Global Warming Awareness – The ever growing worldwide number of livestock account for 18% of carbon dioxide emissions, 37% methane emissions, (20 times more powerful than carbon dioxide) and 65% nitrous oxide (manure) emissions, which is another powerful greenhouse gas.

Habitat Destruction – animal husbandry destroys habitat and land.  The biggest factor to tropical rainforest destruction is raising farm animals and the soy to feed them.  This translates to clearing more than two acres of rainforests per second to graze or feed livestock.

Why is this bad? Because rainforests help stabilize the world’s climate by absorbing carbon dioxide from the atmosphere.  We need them to fight global warming!  So, not only are we adding more greenhouse gases into the air and the over creation of factory farms, but we are doing it and many times destroying a beneficial resource that can curb global warming.

Water Use – All living things need water.  The production of animal foods consumes far more water, land and energy than the growing of crops.  It takes eight to ten pounds of grain and soy to produce a pound of beef; 2.4 pounds of the crops to produce a pound of chicken.  Similarly, 5,214 gallons of water are required to produce one pound of beef.  In contrast, 25 gallons of water are required to produce one pound of wheat.

Factory farms are known sources of ground water contamination.  This is quite alarming considering the number of factory farms is increasing worldwide as meat demand increases globally.

Water is already a scarce resource in many parts of the world.  If global warming continues on its current path, water will become more valuable than oil (and wars have been fought over oil!).  Of course we know water is priceless, without water, there’s no life!

Illness – Having factory farms near densely populated areas can increase the spread of disease.  (i.e.: swine flu, bird flu, etc.)  Airborne pollution is another environmental pollution problem of factory farms.

Soil – The cultivation of animal feed crops is responsible for the loss of billions of tons of topsoil around the world.  It would take 500 yards of “good soil” to replace 1 inch of eroded soil.  Because we don’t take the time to care for the land and practice sustainable agriculture, factory farms turn to synthetic fertilizers made from fossil fuels to “replenish” the soil, so they can continue to use an already depleted & contaminated land.

Animals – Happy and free range animals in green pastures is an idyllic image, but not reality.  Cows rarely get to come out to graze and chickens get about 1 square foot of space to live in crammed wire cages with at least three other mutilated chickens.  Most factory farm animals live an unnatural life, which is far from humane.

When we discovered we could add Vitamins A & D to an animal’s diet; animals on factory farms no longer needed sunlight or exercise.  Also, hormones and antibiotics are regularly fed to these animals to “control’ diseases rampant in such unnatural conditions and to make the animals bigger (so there’s more ‘return on investment’).  Eating meat means you are ingesting those as well.

Animals are affected in other ways, too.  We destroy the land many of them call home to build factory farms.  Take, for example, orangutans.  Much of their land has been destroyed by factory farms and when they try to adapt and eat plants or set foot on the land where they once lived and thrived…they are killed.

Awareness Gives Us Choices

I’m not sure why this still has not sunk in to much of the world’s population, but exploiting and polluting the land, abusing and killing animals and ourselves in the process is not healthy or sustainable.  We need vibrant, diverse and healthy ecosystems for our survival, not factory farms or the propagation of meat diets or animal-based diets.

Factory farms create immense environmental degradation, cruelty and exploitation to non-human animals and risks to human health.  One way to fight global warming is by eliminating consumption of meat or at least decrease it.  Going meat-free is good for the Earth’s health and it is good for your body and soul!

Marisa

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BUY LOCAL

Food transportation miles are a big consideration.  The fewer miles it takes for the food to reach your table, the better it is.  Consider this…if food has to be flown to get to you, think of all the pollution that was created by that flight.  Most communities have Community Supported Agriculture (CSA) programs.   Eating local foods supports your local farmers by purchasing directly from them or at a local farmers’ market.

BUY IN BULK

First off, don’t buy what you don’t need.  Buying in bulk allows you to get the quantity you need. Why should you buy in bulk?  Well, it can mean savings all around.  It saves packaging, travel time, and money!  Oftentimes, you find foods in bulk that are not available in conventional packaging, such as quinoa, amarath, etc. Buy bulk organic food if you can.

BUY ORGANIC

It’s good for you, it’s good for your kitchen.  If you don’t buy organic, your food may be have preservatives, biocides, pesticides and who knows what else in it.  You don’t really want to ingest those toxins, do you?  You also don’t want to leave traces of those toxins in your kitchen.

To reduce your exposure to pesticides, buy organic varieties of the top 12 most contaminated produce:  apples, bell peppers, Mexican cantaloupe, celery, cherries, (imported) grapes, nectarines, peaches, pears, potatoes, spinach and strawberries.

BUY SUSTAINABLE

Isn’t organic, local and sustainable all the same?  No.  While organic will have no or limited pesticides, hormones, chemical fertilizers, or antibiotics, it might not be locally grown.  Conversely, something locally grown does not automatically mean it’s grown organically, although for the most part they are.  Sustainable agriculture or sustainble food systems are organic and local.  It respects and does NO harm to the environment, the animals or people.  It means helping farms and farming communities maintain profit and treating workers justly and humanely.  If you are unsure if what your buying was sustainably produced, ask your grocer or ask the producer.  Don’t stop there…when you know which products were grown sustainably tell people you know and tell them why sustainable agriculture is vital.

green living = GREEN THUMB

You can’t get more local than your home!  Many people don’t think they have the space or the time to grow a garden, but if you have a patio, a balcony or a deck you have the space.  Growing your own food is a fun way to connect to the land and eat the “fruits” of your labour! You can grow many things in smaller containers. You’ll feel very accomplished when you see that first red tomatoes

TIP:  Set out an empty container and collect the rain to water your plants and if you live in an apartment, suggest roof top gardening to your landlord.

MAKE THE MOST…COMPOST

Do not throw away your food scraps, instead reap the benefits from them by composting.  Your compost will enrich your soil and you can use it in your garden, for your houseplants, and around flowers and trees.  There are many ways to compost.   You can use a pile, use worms or buy a container of your choosing.  If you live in an apartment, consider an worm composter or vermicomposter.

WHAT ABOUT MEAT?

Eating meat and animal-derived products is a choice as is living green.  An animal-based diet has multiple environmenal and ecological impacts:  deforestation, scarcity of fresh water, desertification, global warming, air and water pollution, etc., in addition of the inhumane treatment of animals.  A plant-based diet is the greenest and healthiest choice.

BYOB (BRING YOUR OWN BAGS)

If you have canvas bags bring them with you and use them when you are grocery shopping.  If not, recycle the paper or plastic ones you have, but consider purchasing canvas bags (they can be quite inexpensive) to eliminate the need for paper or plastic.

TIP:  Keep your bags by the front door so you see them when you leave and remember to take them with you.

Marisa

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