A Vegetarian Diet Is Not The Same

Being vegetarian or vegan is not only beneficial to the animals that are being slaughtered but it also beneficial to the earth and helps to reduce global warming. According to Wikipedia, there are more than seven billion people and out of those seven billion people only three hundred and seventy five million people are said to be vegetarian or vegan. This mass slaughter of animals and livestock is also one of the leading causes of global warming. People may think that the earth is slowly dying but that is not the case anymore as global warming has caught up with us. According to NASA, there are 406.94 parts per million of carbon di oxide in the atmosphere the highest it has ever been in 650000 years. The global temperature has risen by 1.7 °F and sixteen out of the seventeen warmest years on earth have been recorded since 2001. The arctic ice minimum has decreased by 13.2% per decade and in 2012 arctic summer sea ice shrank to the lowest extent on record. The global sea level has also grown by 3.4 millimeters per year and the global average sea level has risen nearly 178mm over the past 100 years. These statistics show you how quickly global warming and climate change are having an effect on earth and who knows what the stats will be in another 50 to 100 years the earth may become uninhabitable and humans will be the sole reason for this.

Brought up in the southern of China, I often heard about that people from there “eat anything with four limbs except tables, anything that flies except aero planes, and anything that swims except ships”. Nevertheless, I eat more fruit, vegetables, nuts, and whole grains but less meat to make careful choices for environmental protection. Similarly, Kathy Freston argues that animal agriculture is one of the top contributors to global warming. In her Huffington Post selection “Vegetarian Is the New Prius,” Freston lists how many emissions of greenhouse gases people make when they eat meat and illustrates the consumption of tree in animal agriculture. She effectively convinces her audiences that the livestock results in the most serious environmental problems and encourages people to lead a greener diet to protect our environment. However, ardent craving, poor health, and perpetual hassle and cost prevent all Americans from being vegetarian.

Veganism is a way of living which seeks to exclude, as far as is possible and practicable, all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, animals for food, clothing or any other purpose. This includes not consuming meat, dairy, honey, eggs, gelatin, etc., as well as not using leather, feathers, wool, or products that have been tested on animals.

Over fifty-six billion animals are slaughtered yearly for consumption, but because we are conditioned from a young age to view animals as resources, we neglect that they are passionate and intelligent living beings. Cows want to enjoy their lives, pigs want to enjoy their lives, and many other farm animals want to enjoy their lives but instead are abused and confined in small cages. Ironically, though, when someone does likewise to a cat or dog, they’re prosecuted. The sole solution to these inhumane acts is Veganism. Veganism is the ideal diet because plant-based foods are plentiful, and it recognizes the unethical treatment of animals.

Agriculture for meat and beef, eggs and dairy products are responsible for eighteen percent of all the greenhouse gas emission per year, which is more than the emissions of cars, planes, and trains together. And livestock and their byproducts are responsible for fifty-one percent of the greenhouse gas emissions worldwide and for up to ninety percent of water consumption in the U.S.. Thousands of gallons of water are used to produce beef, eggs and dairy products. More than half of the oceans are fished and two acres of the rainforest get destroyed every second for food production. Switching to a vegan lifestyle can decrease all these factors and make the world we live in now exist longer.

More than 150 billion animals are slaughtered each year. “Every year in America, without mercy, we murder 10 billion land animals, and 18 billion marine animals. Not for health, survival, sustenance or self-defense. People eat meat, cheese, milk and eggs for 4 reasons: habit, tradition, convenience, and taste.” (Yourofsky). Making people go vegan for a month or years, can significantly drop the high amount of animal cruelty that happen each day. This can cause an growth in the animal population. It can help animals live a happy life instead of being trap in a slaughterhouse waiting for their

Meat consumption is a big area where individuals can drastically reduce their environmental impact. I’m neither vegan nor vegetarian, but I don’t begrudge people that are. It is hard to deny that being part of one of the aforementioned groups generally lessens a person’s impact. In fact, the Environmental Working Group and USDA put out a land breaking study in 2011 which detailed the impacts of an omnivorous diet. My favorite part of this article though is that it does not take the typical approach and admonish everyone for eating meat and demand a change, but instead advocates for a reduction in consumption. If that article seems a bit daunting, this one gives some good quick hits from it. Regardless of where you fall on the eating meat spectrum, realistically it is not practical to demand or assume everyone will just drop eating meat. It has become too much of a fixed staple in the typical

According to vegansociety.com, “ Veganism represents a philosophy and way of living which seeks to exclude—as far as is possible and practicable—all forms of exploitation of, and cruelty to, other animals for food, clothing or any other purpose; and promotes the development and use of animal-free alternatives for the benefit of humans, other animals and the environment.“ People that follow this way of living are called vegans. The vegan diet is more a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than just a diet. The vegan life is the best way to live because it’s healthier, helps the environment, and is kinder to animals.

Being vegan can reduce/slow the rise in climate change and help the environment become a better place. The production of meat and other animal by-products​ affect the environment; from the crops and water required to feed the animals, to the transportation and process it takes in order to prepare the animals for human gormandizing. To produce one pound of meat it takes about 2,400 gallons of water. All this water consumption goes to waste, just for humans to consume the little piece of meat for their own short-lived entertainment. However, it takes about 25 gallons to grow one pound of wheat. As you can see, we are wasting water in order to have meat on our plates. This is not good for people to do, because we need water to survive in this

The word diet is defined as the kinds of food a person habitually eats. Diets often vary according to culture, religion, and personal preference. People often use different diets as a way to manage their weight or improve their overall health, both vegetarianism and flexitarianism are diets that are commonly adopted in order to improve health. Vegetarianism is typically practiced as lacto-ovo vegetarianism which means that milk products and eggs may be consumed although meat, fish, and meat byproducts are not. A flexitarian diet is less easily defined because it consists mainly of a vegetarian diet and includes only small amounts of meat when necessary. Both diets are based on either eliminating or reducing meat intake in one’s diet. Vegetarianism/Flexitaritarism diets are effect at reducing the risk of some diseases and can be used as a way to lose weight or maintain a healthy weight.

Consumption of meat by humans creates several problems. First and foremost, raising animals for food compromises the environment. For example, it takes a large amount of natural resources to sustain the meat industry. The use of water, land, and food to raise animals for human consumption is not an efficient use of our limited resources. In contrast, it is more efficient to feed humans directly than to use land, food, and water to feed animals to be used as food. There are shortages of fertile land, clean water, and food in several third world countries. Many of these countries’ resources are allocated to produce feed for animals in developed countries around the world. As a result, the citizens of these countries are stricken with water and food shortages, while their crops are feeding cattle from across the globe. However, this problem can be solved by adopting a vegan diet. The vegan diet will allow a more efficient use of resources that in turn can be used to feed starving men, women, and children throughout the world. Consequently, more people in the world could be fed if the land used to grow feed for animals was used to grow food for humans.

Some would not be able to live without eating any animal products in their diets, such as, meat, fish, poultry, eggs, dairy products, and honey. For vegans, however, this is a normal way of life. Vegans are frequently misunderstood as either people who have eating disorders, or an unnatural passion for animal rights. It is time for people to realize that veganism, a challenging yet rewarding lifestyle, goes way beyond being skinny or caring for animals. In reality, veganism can be extremely advantageous to anyone who adapts it as a way of life and has many different benefits that come along with it.

The term “vegetarian” is quite often misunderstood. Vegetarian simply means a plant-based diet. There are several kinds of vegetarian diets, defined by what types of foods are consumed. I for example am a Lacto-vegetarians which includes dairy products in their diet. Lacto-ovo- vegetarians also eat dairy products, eggs and some including me don’t eat fish either.

Veganism is often associated with vegetarianism. Vegans choose to solely eat from The Plant Kingdom. Meaning they eat mostly vegetables, grains, nuts, legumes, fruits and seeds. Veganism excludes dairy products, flesh, fish, fowl, poultry, honey, eggs, animal gelatin and any other animal originated food. Veganism has more restrictions and guidelines, in comparison to vegetarianism. Any animal products such as leather, fur, wool, silk in clothing, upholstery, etc. are all excluded from their lifestyle as well. Many vegans begin participating in this way of

For centuries, humans have been obsessed with the idea of a long life. From face creams and diets to climate change awareness and recycling, there has always been a push to keep ourselves younger, healthier and to keep humanity going. That’s why veganism is the way to go. Being vegan does not only benefit your health but the environment as well. The Earth is so important. From its beautiful scenery to all the astonishing life that calls this planet home, most would agee that Earth is absolutely phenomenal. While I understand that veganism isn't an option for everyone, those who have the ability to adopt a vegan diet and/or lifestyle should because it's not only better for the human body but the planet as well.