There are many things one can do to help protect the environment such as recycling, saving energy and driving less. However, there is one cheap and easy thing to do that’s better than all of those. And that is going veggie.
The positive impact of vegetarianism on the environment is twofold. First of all, eating vegetarian prevents a lot of direct pollution of air and water by animal feces as well as secondary factors such as fuel, antibiotics, pesticides, herbicides all used in meat production. Secondly, eating vegetarian avoids waste of natural resources.
Here are some facts about how vegetarianism prevents pollution.
Animal Feces Contaminate Ground Water
The millions of animals raised for meat produce huge amounts of feces. These feces contaminate the ground water.
Meat Industry and the Oceans
The nitrogen from animal feces and fertilizer used to grow animal feed causes oceanic algae populations to skyrocket, leaving little oxygen for other life forms. A projection compiled for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration called “NOAA Forecasts Larger Than Normal ‘Dead Zone’ for Gulf This Summer” from 24 July 2006, describes how this ultimately results in so called “dead zones”, where all sea animals and plants have died.
Factory Farms and Air Pollution
Factory farms produce massive amounts of dust, containing bacteria, mold and fungi from the animal feces and feed. Feces also emit toxic gases such as hydrogen sulfide and ammonia into the air, as mentioned by the Consumers Union in “Animal Factories: Pollution and Health Threats to Rural Texas". May 2000.
Livestock and Global Warming
Meat, egg and milk production is one of the world’s leading emitters of carbon dioxide (CO2). And it is the leading source of methane and nitrous oxide emissions, which — combined with carbon dioxide — cause the vast majority of global warming. As mentioned in the United Nations Report "Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options" of 2006, the livestock sector is responsible for about 18% of greenhouse gas emissions, while the whole transportation sector (that’s all cars, trucks, planes, trains and all other forms of transport combined) only accounts for about 13%.
Vegetarian or Vegan?
While the ecological benefits of a vegetarian lifestyle (‘no meat, fish or eggs’) are numerous, they are even stronger for eating only vegan food (‘no meat, fish, eggs or milk products’). For one, many negative climate factors of the meat industry also apply to dairy farming. Besides, animals products such as dairy, wool and leather indirectly support the meat industry by making it more profitable. Therefore, many vegans avoid even non-food items such as wool and leather. However, eating vegan may require extra consideration in order to get all the necessary nutrients. In any case, both the vegan and vegetarian lifestyle are highly beneficial to the environment and it’s far better to be vegetarian than to be none of the two.
To read how a vegan/vegetarian lifestyle prevents the waste of natural resources inherent in meat production., see Vegetarianism and the Environment: How Going Veggie Preserves the Earth's Natural Resources.
Reference
"Meat and the Environment" by PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals)
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