How Vegetarians and Vegans Are Saving the Planet

• 1. TheEnvironmentalImpact of Meat(And How Vegetarians andVegans Are Saving thePlanet)

2. Table of Contents Boring Math and Science You Sort of Know Hopefully Shocking Math and Science ThatMakes You Unhappy Inside A Glimmer of Hope Crushing Disappointment Really Scary Numbers Comparisons, Funny Pictures, Shock and Awe A Call to Action Warm and Fuzzy Feelings 3. Natural Resources Defense Council Clean Water Policy Basics 4. Well, how much of our meat and dairy productsreally comes from CAFOs?Union of Concerned Scientists CAFOs Uncovered 5. Meat Production Requires a Tremendous Amountof EnergyNew York University Fossil Fuel and Energy Use 6. Unsanitary Conditions in Cattle CAFO Thesefeedlot cows are caked in manureNot Just an Environmental Health Issue 7. But What if I Only Ate Free Range, Grass-fedAnimals From A Local, Organic,Environmentally-Conscious Farmer??Aw, I love happycows! 8. Great success!You sound pretty cool, and I think we should hang out. 9. HoweverAlthough youre AWESOME for choosing to support aproduction system that treats animals humanely, is wiseand careful in its use of antibiotics and geneticallymodified organisms, and seeks to reduce its overallenvironmental impactUnfortunately, the production ofmeat and other animal productswill NEVER be sustainable. 10. Here is How Vegetarians and Vegans Are Savingthe Planet, One Delicious Vegan Pizza At a TimeThis is my vegan pizza, and it is indeed delicious. 11. To produce just one pound of meat, it takes: 7 pounds of grain 2,400 gallons of water 8 or more times the fossil fuel required for soyAround the world, as more water is diverted to raisingpigs and chickens instead of producing crops for directconsumption, millions of wells are going dry.India, China, North Africa and the U.S. are all runningfreshwater deficits, pumping more from their aquifersthan rain can replenish. Ed Ayres, World WatchInstituteIncomparison, itonly takes 14gallons ofwater toproduce onepound ofwheat 12. That amount of grain can feed an individual in some developingnations for six months or more. A full 1/3 of the worlds grain outputis used to feed livestock.70% of U.S. grain is used to feed farm animals.1 lb 1 lb 1 lb 1 lb1 lb 1 lb 1 lb 1 lb 13. The average American consumes 250 pounds of meat per year.Therefore, by eliminating meat from theirdiet and eating plant proteins instead, avegetarian or vegan will save: 596,500 gallons of water 1,500 pounds of grain 984,200 BTUs of fossil fuelsPer yearThats over 200 pounds less CO2 entering theatmosphere per year. 14. With 984,200 BTUs ofenergy, you could 15. Watch every episode of Breaking Bad21 times.I love you Jesse 16. Brew 3,859 pots of coffee 17. Or toast 8,633 slices of bread 18. And thats just the energy used to produce, package,transport, and store the meat.It doesnt even count emissions like methane andnitrogen from the farms and animals themselves.It doesnt even count the ecological impact ofantibiotics, habitat destruction, runoff, and waste.It doesnt even count most of the irreversible damageto our water, our air, and our land caused by meatproduction. Everything we need to surviveis carelesslydestroyed to feed our outsized demand for meat andother animal products. 19. So Consider This.Try participating inMeatlessMonday, andsubstituting animalprotein for plantprotein.On Mondaysalone, you wouldsave 1,650 gallons ofwater, 4.2 pounds ofgrain (evenaccounting for grainyou might use toreplace meat), and2,706 BTUs. 20. Maybe Youll End Up Liking It.I know I do. 21. Natural Resources Defense Council. (2013, February). Clean Water PolicyBasics. Retrieved from http://www.nrdc.org/legislation/policy-basics/files/policy-basics-clean-water-FS.pdf Union of Concerned Scientists. (2008, April). CAFOs Uncovered. Retrievedfromhttp://www.ucsusa.org/assets/documents/food_and_agriculture/cafos-uncovered.pdf New York University. Fossil Fuel and Energy Use. Retrieved fromhttps://www.nyu.edu/sustainability/pdf/Fossil%20Fuel%20and%20Energy%20Use%202%20FCSummit-HO-20091207.pdf Vegsource.com. (2001, March). How Much Water to Make One Pound ofBeef? Retrieved fromhttp://www.vegsource.com/articles/pimentel_water.htm Chooseveg.com Wasting Resources. Retrieved fromhttp://www.chooseveg.com/conservation.asp Wannaveg.com Our Mission. Retrieved from http://wannaveg.com/References