A vegan diet excludes all products derived from animals, including meat, dairy, eggs and honey. Eating less meat means less destruction of wild places and cutting meat significantly would also free up pasture and cropland that could be returned to nature. So what about all those arguments in favour of meat-eating and against vegan diets? Often, these products are avoided for health, environmental and ethical reasons. All protein needs can easily be met from plant-based sources, such as beans, lentils, nuts and whole grains. Synthetic fertiliser is easily made from the nitrogen in the air and there is plenty of organic fertiliser available if we chose to use it more widely in the form of human faeces. The crops no longer being fed to animals could instead become food for people, increasing a nation’s self-sufficiency in grains. The big cuts in meat and dairy are needed in rich nations. Food is also a vital part of our culture, while the affordability of food is an issue of social justice. And given that most people are unlikely to give up their burgers and sausages any time, the plant-based options are a useful alternative. Both factors mean less methane. Food writer Michael Pollan foreshadowed the planetary health diet in 2008 with a simple seven-word rule: “Eat food. All rights reserved. Among vegans the figure is only about 10%. That is probably true but misses the real point. According to an article done by the Guardian, this practice ignores two powerful “tools” to reduce our environmental impact: grazing and browsing animals. Only a small fraction of that pasture land would be needed to grow food crops to replace the lost beef. The rampant destruction of the natural world is seen as the root cause of diseases leaping into humans and is largely driven by farming expansion. By replacing meat with vegetarian sources of protein, (nuts, seeds, beans and lentils, for example), we can reduce carbon and other greenhouse gas emissions. First published on Tue 24 Dec 2019 07.30 GMT. “We’re at a point in time where our soils have been so degraded that it is actually becoming more and more difficult to grow crops in those degraded soils,” said Jessica Lang, research coordinator for the Rodale Institute. Growing Green: Animal-Free Organic Techniques. But almost everyone eats these foods, not just vegans. Environmental impacts of veganism . Eating a vegan diet could be the “single biggest way” to reduce your environmental impact on earth, a new study suggests. Palm oil plantations have indeed led to terrible deforestation. South Devon-based organic farm Riverford says one way to reduce the environmental impact of a vegan diet is using a British veg box. Quinoa was never a staple food, representing just a few percent of the food budget for these people. There is an issue with falling soil quality, as the land is worked harder. Conversely, some argue that veganism actually does nothing to help the environment. Going Veg & the Environment Making Sustainable Food Choices. Veganic farms remain small scale now, and less developed in the United States than in the European Union, where growers already have a certifying body, called “biocyclic vegan”. “The claim that rising quinoa prices were hurting those who had traditionally produced and consumed it is patently false,” said researchers who studied the issue. Further, nearly … An earlier version had said: Avocados generate three times fewer emissions than chicken, four times fewer than pork, and 20 times fewer than beef. Why you should go animal-free: 18 arguments ... - The Guardian (2018, October 10). The researchers are more worried now about the loss of income for South American farmers as the quinoa supply rises and the price falls. Living vegan is part of the solution. We shouldn’t argue that cattle farmers can continue to pollute just because they have done so in the past, they say: “We need to do more than just stand still.” In fact, the short-lived nature of methane actually makes reducing livestock numbers a “particularly attractive target”, given that we desperately need to cut greenhouse gas emissions as soon as possible to avoid the worst impacts of the climate crisis. Either way, the emissions from even the best beef are still many times that from beans and pulses. Now, let’s assume that we’re living in a utopian world where everyone is vegan. Again, the problem here is the rapid growth of production in specific regions that lack prudent controls on water use, like Peru and Chile. Algae are a plant-based source of B12, although the degree of bio-availability is not settled yet. But if you are still worried, there are plenty of alternatives, with oat milk usually coming out with the lowest environmental footprint. Lead author Michael Clark told the Guardian, “Choosing better, more sustainable diets is one of the main ways people can improve their health and help protect the environment.” Millions of people in wealthy nations are already cutting back on animal products. In fact, 70% of the grain grown in the US feeds livestock, and, globally, 83% of farmland is set aside to raise animals. Traditional almond production in Southern Europe uses no irrigation at all. But animals can play a role in some parts of Africa and Asia where, in India for example, waste from grain production can feed cattle that produce milk. In short, veganism is … Today there are over 600,000 vegans in the UK – a dizzying 400% But that applies to both synthetic fertiliser and manure and results from bad management. Huge Reductions in Meat-Eating ‘Essential’ to Avoid Climate Breakdown. Researchers there are pushing not for veganic methods, but for “regenerative organic certification”, which they hope can promote animal welfare, social justice and soil health. Steven Crowder reveals how veganism is not only bad for animals and the environment but actually worse than meat-eating! According to the United Nations (U.N.) report Climate Change 2014: Impacts, Adaptation, and Vulnerability, climate change is having an impact on every continent, affecting agriculture, human health, ecosystems, water supplies, and even people’s livelihoods. The International Union for the Conservation of Nature argues that choosing sustainably produced palm oil is actually positive, because other oil crops take up more land. The report looks at the huge numbers of people signing up to do Veganuary - an initiative which supports people as they try a vegan diet throughout January - and their motivation, including fears around the devastating environmental … Freshly harvested Leeks from the plot...slightly various sizes, not huge but totally happy with them plus there’s many more Next year I’m going to try the multi sow approach #leeks #allotment #veganic #nodig pic.twitter.com/k0Jebs8I4e. The Guardian. “In other words, grazing livestock – even in a best-case scenario – are net contributors to the climate problem, as are all livestock,” says Tara Garnett, also at the University of Oxford. In any case there is no reason for horticulture to rely on manure at all. If you are worried about the Amazon, not eating meat remains your best bet. The quinoa boom has had no effect on their nutrition. The global livestock herd and the grain it consumes takes up 83% of global farmland, but produces just 18% of food calories. Leading newspaper the Guardian has published a list of 18 reasons why people should opt for a plant-based diet.. In the rest of the world, where much of cropland that could be used to feed people is actually used to feed animals, a cut in meat eating is still needed for agriculture to be sustainable. If the world adopted a vegan diet, a recent study in Science found, global farmland use would shrink by 75%, equivalent to the area of the US, European Union, China and Australia combined. Approximately 1kg of food transported through long air distance has about the same impact as production of 1kg of organic meat. 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