Should Veganism Be Good Or Bad For The Environment?

While vegetarianism has been proven to help environmental, health, and animal rights impacts, some people believe it to be too extreme. While vegetarianism claims to be helping the environment, there may be environmental problems associated with non-meat products. Stated before, animal agriculture produces greenhouse gas emissions. The farming of soybeans, which vegetarians fulfil their protein needs with, also has environmental impacts (Coogan,T.). Due to the increase in vegetarianism, there has also been an increase in the demand for soybean farming. Soybean farms have taken over many rainforests and diverse ecosystems (Coogan,T.). Ultimately, the creation of soybean farms destroys biodiversity. Biodiversity is necessary for ecosystems to

"Going vegan is empowering. In addition to feeling better physically and emotionally, it helps instill confidence," Said Gene Baur founder and CEO of Farm Sanctuary. "There are many things in this world that are outside of our control, but each of us has a lot of power over what we eat. Being mindful and intentional about the way we eat can lead to improvements in other parts of our lives as well."

First, becoming a vegetarian would prevent air pollution. Millions of cows are raised to be eaten, and those cows breathe, burp, and fart producing tons of methane. Methane is one of the worst greenhouse gasses which directly causes global warming. So by becoming a vegetarian, a person would be eliminating a lot of air pollution.

Bill McKibben, as environmentalist and widely published author observes, that the more livestock produced in unethical ways, the more green gases emitted into the atmosphere. In McKibben view, “Going vegan is fifty percent more effective in reducing greenhouse gas emissions than switching to a hybrid car according to a University of Chicago study.(201)” McKibben claims that becoming a vegan is one of the only choices someone can make that can actually help the environment. Livestock produces most of the world’s greenhouse gases, when they belch and because the livestock is stuck in one place, all the manure is in one place just emitting gases. Vegans want people to stop eating meat, because the more people eat, the more meat needs to be produced, producing more greenhouse

A vegan diet is the best possible diet because it inflicts less damage to the environment. According to Culinary Schools, “Nearly half of all water used in the UNited States goes to raising animals for food. It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat. Vs. 1 pound of wheat takes 25 gallons. You’d save more water by not eating one pound of meat than you would by not taking a shower for 6 months” (“Veganism & The Environment: By the Numbers” par. 9-11). In other words, 50% of the water used by the United States as a whole, was used to raise animals that were going to be eaten later on. This quote shows that raising animals for food is a massive waste of water. That large amount of water is used to provide the animals with wheat and grains to eat and to

The TED Talk video “Environmental Benefits of Veganism” by Christian Hextrum is a speech on the topic of the ways veganism affects the environment. Hextrum discusses how animal agriculture is the leading cause to the damage of the environment, and how no one is aware of the problem. He discusses the climate issues, oil, the waste of water, and deforestation of the Amazon rainforest. Hextrum talks about the difference of all the problems and how following a vegan diet would benefit the environment, and the difference that it would make. Hextrum also mentions how the vegan diet would quickly change the environment rather than the alternative sources of trying to save the environment.

Veganism is a lifestyle that is challenging, but the benefits of a vegan lifestyle are fantastic. Being a vegan is good for your health, good for the planet and good for animals. It is a natural cure for with people with certain diseases, it allows less animals to be slaughtered, and it is beneficial for the environment. Veganism allows people to live happier lives because their actions result is a better

I believe that veganism is merely a phase, in which people can convince themselves that it is both beneficial for their health and the environment. By not consuming meat and animal produce, we are encouraging a world of over-population and wastage, as well as poor health.

The final argument comes from Peter Dockrill, who claims that vegetarianism is bad for the environment. He begins with talking about a Carnegie Mellon Study, which states that the United States Department of Agriculture’s (USDA) , current recommended number of daily servings, if followed to the letter, would actually be bad (Dockrill 2015). However, this does not necessarily have anything to do with a vegetarian diet. Dockrill (2015) discusses how lettuce and other plants emit more greenhouse gas emissions than some meat products. He proposes three scenarios that could occur. The first, is that if people ate less of what they already do it would decrease the environmental impact (Dockrill 2015). Dockrill’s (2015) second scenario would involve

From an environmental perspective a switch to a vegan diet makes a lot of sense. Federal grazing deals given to ranchers result in the destruction of wildlife on huge areas of land. Also nearly all cattle spend their final months at feedlots, where they are fed an inefficient and resource-intensive corn-based diet. Cows have digestive systems that rely upon fermentation, and the corn-based diet makes cattle emit huge amounts of methane which is a gas tied to global warming. The methane produced by pigs and poultry account for a lesser but still a huge amount of greenhouse gasses. “The UN estimates that animal agriculture is responsible for 18 percent of the total global warming effect stemming from greenhouse gasses. Beef and dairy cattle probably account for about 70 percent of animal agriculture’s contribution to global warming.”(http://www.vegan.com/articles/faq/)

This would lead to multiple health benefits including lowering cholesterol, blood pressure, and increasing antioxidant intake. (Bhide.) Vegans also have a less likely chance of being diagnosed with heart disease and type two diabetes. Although there are many benefits of consuming little to no animal based products there are also some health risks related to the diet change that are life threatening. One of the harmful side effects of a vegan diet is a vitamin B12deficiency. “B12plays a vital role in both the normal functioning of the brain, and reduction in healthy red blood cells. If left untreated aB12deficiency can cause nervous system damage or anemia.”(Mayo

These are two extremes, but people who live in the developed world on average still eat twice as much meat compared to people living in developing countries. And while people in developing countries might consume less meat and dairy now, growing populations and wealth will strongly increase their consumption. This will have negative impacts on the environment - and on ourselves. More than 25% of climate gases that contribute to climate change are associated with our food. This is also expected to increase over the next decades. But our diets are not only unsustainable, they are also unhealthy leading to malnourishment and obesity.

For example, the Humane Society raises money and asks for petition signatures to help save either dogs being killed in meat farms or give homes to animals they save from the slaughter. The Agricultural business is one of the biggest causes of climate change. When animals like cows and pigs go poo, Methane gas is released from their manure and into the atmosphere. This contributes to global warming and with over 75 billion animals produced each year that’s a big problem. As well, the amount of land used for providing space to farm these animals is the size of Africa, the second largest continent. Because by 2050 our population will reach around 9 billion people, logically, more land will need to be used and we won’t have enough space to hold the animals used to provide food for the growing population. Adopting a vegan diet clearly helps the environment for the better, but also helps a person’s physical health.

Few vegans believe that everyone should become vegan to help cure the world in ways where we do not have to promote acts such as deforestation, and do not have to continue killing animals for our own desires. However, the majority of vegans are satisfied with their own actions, knowing that they can make a difference on their own.

Becoming vegan can be one of the greatest things anyone can do for themselves and to the planet. Ever since I turned vegan I feel so much better throughout the day, I have the energy to get through the day without reaching for coffee every morning. Not only do I have so much more energy I also have the peace of mind that I am not eating a cow that has been slaughter just for consumption.