Environmental Benefits of Not Eating Meat | Vegetarian Diet Benefits

When considering making the switch to a vegetarian or vegan diet, having a reason as to why you'd make the switch is key.  Luckily, there are endless reasons to eat a diet minus meat!  Here are 10 environmental benefits to a vegetarian diet.  

Eating plant based foods is less water intensive.   

According to Huffington Post's article, a pound of beef requires 1,847 gallons of water?  Holy buckets (literally)! 



That means every pound of beef equals about 107 showers for the average American (at about 17.2 gallons).  The numbers are similar for other meats:

• 1 lb of chicken (at 518 gal/lb) = about 30 showers

• 1 lb of pork (at 718 gal/lb) = about 42 showers

• 1 lb of sheep (at 1,248 gal/lb) = about 73 showers

On the other hand, tofu only requires roughly 302 gal/lb, about 6 times less than beef.

So if you are anything like me and take speedy showers to conserve water, consider how much water goes into producing the foods you're consuming!  You'd be surprised.

Animal agriculture produces a lot of waste... 

Cows produce a lot of manure...approximately 120 pounds of #2 per cow in just 1 day.  According to the EPA, the waste of that single cow is about equal to the waste of 20-40 humans.  That's quite the load of crap (okay I'll stop with the corny puns soon, promise).  

So what's wrong with poop, huh?  Well, if not properly managed this manure can pollute the environment.  Bringing us to our next point...


...and this waste pollutes air and water.

Improperly managed manure can lead to polluted rivers, lakes, even underground drinking water (eek!).   This means pathogens, hormones, antibiotics, and ammonia creep into the water we drink, fish, and swim in. 

Not to mention, methane from waste decomposition is a huge air pollutant; contributing to destruction of the ozone layer and global warming of the planet.

By not eating meat, you'll also reduce the amount of animal poop in the environment you're contributing to.  What a beautiful thing.

An omnivorous diet requires more land to produce.

Most people know it - deforestation is a huge issue.  It is estimated according to Rainforest Concern, every pound of beef contributes to the destruction of up to 200 square feet of rainforest.  You may think since your local deli isn't located in the rainforest you are isolated from the issue.  Truth is, most of this beef from Central and South America is exported to the US, China, and Russia.

A vegetarian or vegan diet requires fractions of the amount of land needed for an omnivorous diet.  So, without grabbing a shovel or tying yourself to a tree, you can help save forest land simply by eating less meat!