Earth Day, April
22, falls on a Meatless Monday this year, so people will have a double
incentive to eat vegan meals. Vegan
is the "new green." You can do more for the planet by going vegan
than you can by recycling, using cloth bags, taking short showers and walking
to work. These actions are important and worthwhile, of course--but if you're
serious about saving the environment, you should opt for vegan foods
instead of animal flesh.
Meat just has no
place on an Earth Day menu. According to the United Nations (U.N.), meat and
dairy products require more resources and generate more greenhouse gasses than
do plant-based foods. Fortunately, a recently released U.S. Department of
Agriculture report suggests that meat consumption is on a steady decline in the
United States. Per capita meat consumption has fallen for four straight years,
according to the most recent statistics. The 6 percent drop between 2006 and
2010--the largest decline since recordkeeping began in 1970--indicates that many
Americans are fed up with meat.
Several U.S. cities,
including Aspen, Colo.; Durham, N.C.; Los Angeles; San Francisco; and
Washington, D.C., have even issued proclamations about eating less meat. And
for good reason. Meat contributes to major health
problems,
including cancer, heart disease, strokes, diabetes and obesity, as well as serious
environmental issues, including climate change, pollution and deforestation. Researchers from the University
of California Riverside claim that cooking just one charbroiled burger causes
as much pollution as driving an 18-wheeler for 143 miles.
A new Gallup poll
shows that 58 percent of Americans "personally worry" about climate
change. Worrying, though, really won't do much good--but going vegan will. According
to Loma Linda University researchers, vegans have the smallest carbon
footprint, generating 41 percent fewer greenhouse gasses than meat-eaters and
13 percent fewer than vegetarians.
A
NationalGeographic.com report shows that vegans use less water, too. The
average vegan indirectly consumes nearly 600 gallons of water a day less than
the average meat-eater. U.N. officials have urged everyone to go vegan to
conserve resources and combat climate change. Some scientists even predict that
people will have to go vegetarian by 2050 in order to counteract
ever-burgeoning environmental problems.
Let's not wait
until the planet is parched and extreme weather is a daily occurrence before we
change our eating habits. Let's continue eating less meat--or preferably, none
at all. Great-tasting vegan foods are widely available. The
National Restaurant Association says that vegetarian entrees are a "top
10" hot trend, and many ballparks, including Safeco Field in Seattle and
Oriole Park at Camden Yards in Baltimore, are offering new vegetarian and vegan
options this year.
Bill Gates and Biz
Stone, the cofounder of Twitter, are investing in innovative new vegan
companies, including Beyond Meat and Hampton Creek Foods, which makes Beyond
Eggs. These and other companies are creating vegan meat, egg
and dairy-product options that are animal- and eco-friendly, cheaper than the
"real thing" and just as tasty.
Vegan foods are
also cholesterol-free and generally low in saturated fat and calories, and each
vegan saves more than 100 animals every year. Plus, if everyone goes
vegan now--in
commemoration of Earth Day--we'll all be in good company.
Heather Moore is
a staff writer for the PETA Foundation, 501 Front St.,
Norfolk, VA 23510; www.PETA.org.
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