Help build a better world with your diet!
Environment
The environmental impact of animal products is unsustainable. Livestock alone accounts for about 20% of all greenhouse gas emissions from human activities.
Nitrous oxide is almost 300 times more harmful to the climate than carbon dioxide and 65% of the amount of this gas produced by humans comes from livestock. On the other hand, carbon dioxide is also emitted by this activity through deforestation to produce animal feed and fossil fuels used for transport within the sector.
Meat production, especially beef, is a water-intensive process. Cattle account for 8% of global water consumption.
Moreover, in terms of land, currently, 30% of the land surface is used to raise exploited animals for human consumption.
Society
Livestock is responsible for 70% of Amazon deforestation, threatening native species and crops.
To feed 30 people a whole year with vegetables, fruits and cereals, only one hectare of arable land is needed. With that same space, only 5 to 10 people could be fed a diet that includes animal products.
Water remains a scarce resource for a significant portion of the world's population, and producing one kilogram of meat may require 10 to 100 times more water than producing one kilogram of grain.
Animals
More than 56 billion animals are slaughtered for human consumption annually.
Both land and sea animals we consume are sentient beings capable of positive and negative experiences such as pleasure and pain. In industry, animals are extremely confined and subjected to painful and stressful practices without any anesthesia, such as castration, tail-cutting, debeaking or horn cutting.
Almost half of the fish that are consumed today are raised on fish farms, where they suffer from stress and disease. And the fish that are caught from the rivers and the ocean also suffer because they drown out of the water.
Although laws seek to regulate how animals are treated in different production processes, the suffering of millions of animals in the industry is still undeniable.
Health
The American Dietetic Association has stated that a properly designed vegetarian diet, including the vegan diet, is healthy and nutritionally appropriate, and may have health benefits in preventing and treating some diseases.
Studies show that a vegetarian diet is healthier in many ways than a common diet. Compared to the omnivorous diet, the vegetarian diet contains less saturated fat and less cholesterol, while it is rich in fiber, antioxidants and carotenes. Scientists have found that vegetarians have a lower incidence of diseases such as hypertension, heart problems and type II diabetes.
In addition, a balanced vegetarian diet usually exceeds the recommended daily intake of 5 fruits or vegetables, which is associated with a lower likelihood of colon cancer. On the other hand, this diet is sometimes recommended for people with chronic conditions such as arthritis or kidney problems.
Source: Vegetarian Society
