Whenever someone tries to persuade you or justify why they switched to a vegan diet, the typical argument is to stop or protest the mistreatment of animals. These are valid reasons truth be told, and the reality is a lot of people who aren’t vegans would be outraged if dogs and cats were treated the same way as cattle. However, there are more powerful arguments for adopting veganism. The truth is people have been eating meat for millennia and killing animals for food was never a global issue.
The things are vastly different now, fast food joints, restaurants, pubs and bars and lots of other places serve meat or food that contains meat. In other words, the demand for meat is significantly higher today, and so is its production. This expanse of the meat industry is really harmful to both animals and the environment. Furthermore, there is a popular misconception that if you don’t eat meat you will not be healthy or that you cannot get strong, and that is one of the reasons why the industry is able to thrive. Let’s not get sidetracked too much and just focus on the topic at hand.
Pollution reduction
There is an interesting detail or information that the US Environmental Defense Fund shared. If every US citizen would only swap one chicken meal a week for a vegan meal, the reduction of carbon dioxide emission would be equivalent to removing half a million cars off the road.
Higher air pollution leads to acid rains, wildlife disease, depletion of the ozone layer and damaging plants in general. Meaning if pollution continues, there will be fewer and fewer means to produce healthier meals and even worse problems. Animal farms are a massive source of pollution and the release of harmful particles is only increasing. If the demand for meat drops down so will the number of animal farms.
However, it does not stop there. United Nations published a report that states how the egg, dairy, and meat industries account for the majority of nitrous oxide emissions. This is greenhouse gas and it is unbelievably more potent and harmful than carbon dioxide.
Protecting forests and oceans
Building animal farms and feeding cattle consumes a great portion of rainforests. Even though the demand for soybeans is also one of the reasons for deforestation, 70% of its production is for feeding the animals rather than humans. This is one of the main reasons behind the Amazon forest destruction. So even if you are a vegan, make sure you check the origin of your soybeans in order to prevent further deforestation of the Amazon forest.
Lastly, our Oceans suffer from the waste that is dumped there and the marine ecosystem is unable to recover. This makes it difficult for organisms with calcium carbonate in their shells to grow and reproduce. Decreasing the demand for meat and dairy products will significantly alleviate these issues which will help the oceans recover.
