If everyone in the US ditched meat it would be equal to taking 60 million cars off the road while saving 35–50% of land needed to grow crops for animals, a new study has revealed.
Gidon Eshel, lead author of study Environmentally Optimal, Nutritionally Sound, Protein and Energy Conserving Plant Based Alternatives to Meat, indicated that humans could also still meet their nutritional needs while having huge environmental benefits.
Eshel and his team reported that if every US citizen replaced all meat portions in their diet with a vegetarian option, they would save the equivalent of 280 billion kilograms (280 million metric tons) of carbon dioxide every year. That’s approximately the total amount of carbon dioxide emitted by the entire state of Ohio, or the same amount emitted by 60 million cars every year.
Livestock Carbon Emissions
Many research projects have confirmed that livestock farming and the meat industry contributes roughly 18% of human-produced greenhouse gas emissions into the atmosphere.
Livestock farming also depletes land and water resources and is a major cause for deforestation — 30% of land worldwide is currently used either for animal husbandry or to grow crops to feed the animals.
A UN report suggested that our food system accounts for a whopping 37% of greenhouse-gas emissions, including land and resources required in raising animals and growing crops in addition to conveying and packaging food.
Study Results
Eshel and colleagues demonstrated that by replacing meat with devised plant alternatives – namely soy, green pepper, squash, buckwheat, and asparagus – Americans could save approximately 29 million hectares (72 million acres) of crop land, 3 billion kilograms (6.6 billion pounds) of nitrogen fertilizer, and the equivalent of 280 million metric tons of carbon dioxide per year in the US.
However, water needed for plant crops would rise by 15%.
Eishel told Business Insider: “The carbon-emissions cost is 3.5 kilograms per American per day for producing all the meat they need that day, and only about 0.6 kilograms for producing the meat’s replacement.
“Producing meat substitutes for a meatless diet emits about 80% less carbon than producing meat,” he added.
Researchers reported that producing buckwheat and tofu required only 12% of the nitrogen fertilizer and water and less than 22% of the cropland that would be used to produce the meats they replaced. In addition, they could deliver one-third of the total protein in a meatless diet.
“There’s something empowering about these results, because they offer people a sense of agency in terms of determining their own impact,” Eshel said.
Should meat be taxed in an effort to prevent climate change? Share your thoughts in the comments section below!
Lifestyle
Vegan culture, food, beauty & more
Michelin star awarded to a vegan restaurant in France for the first time
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 19th January 2021
Vegan eatery ONA has also been awarded Michelin’s green star – in recognition of its strong ethical practices. A vegan French restaurant has won a Michelin Guide star, the first for an establishment serving only meat-free products in France. Claire Vallee runs the ONA restaurant in the city of Ares, near Bordeaux, in south-west France. …
Katy Perry tells 109 million followers she and her dog are ‘ready to be 100% vegan’
- Mohsina Dodhiya
- 18th January 2021
Katy Perry has announced she is planning to go vegan this year along with her dog Nugget, who has been slowly changing her diet with her. Katy Perry is turning over a new leaf this 2021. The pop superstar recently announced that she is nearly ready to become a full-time vegan. She also added that …
VEGAN MEMES
NEED A LAUGH?
QUIZZES
All the quizzes you love to binge!
QUIZ: If you score 11/12 on this quiz, you’re a verified vegan food expert
- Marlon Farrugia
- 10th January 2020
How much vegan knowledge do you have stored away? Do you have to Google your way through a shopping trip, or do you have all the bad E-numbers memorised? Find out now with this quiz. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …
QUIZ: What is your perfect Vegan Halloween Costume?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 13th October 2019
Spook Season approaches. There will be ghosts, goblins, ghouls, and glucose. You need a costume, and you want to it to show off your personality, which means VEGAN. But what to choose? Take our quiz to find out your perfect outfit. Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a …
QUIZ: What kind of vegetable are you?
- Marlon Farrugia
- 26th September 2019
“If you were a vegetable, what kind would you be?” A question that has tormented humanity throughout the ages – until now. Read: QUIZ: If you score 19/20 on THIS quiz, you’re a Vegan God Marlon Farrugia Marlon Farrugia is a freelance writer from Brighton. He has been a dedicated vegan for many years, and …