Did you know that reducing your meat consumption or going meatless at least one day per week will not only benefit your body, it will benefit the environment?
First, let’s take a look at what meat production does to the environment. It is a startling fact that producing one pound of beef creates up to 11 times as much greenhouse gas emission as a pound of chicken. And did you know that in the large agricultural and meat producing countries like Brazil and Australia, over 50% of all of their emissions are from agriculture. And it is estimated that 18% of all greenhouse gas comes from livestock production. Skipping meat just one meal a week is estimated to save about 10 kg of greenhouse gas emissions.
It’s also true that in a world where people are starving, 40% of the world’s grain is fed to livestock instead of humans.
It’s true that in a world where clean water is a concern, it takes 100 times the amount of water to produce one calorie of red meat than it takes to produce one calorie of grain.
Let’s take a look at the health benefits, too. According to the American Heart Association, people who skip the meat and other high-fat dairy products one day per week actually reduce their consumption of saturated fat by 15%. In case you were wondering, saturated fat is the fat that builds up in your arteries and leads to heart attacks. Something we could do without, don’t you think?
So what can you do to go meatless for one day per week?
- Join the Meatless Monday campaign.
- Having a summer barbecue? Try veggie burgers and veggie dogs.
- Enjoy the real flavors of grains, fruits, and veggies as a meal, instead of as a sad little garnish.
- Try out vegetarian restaurants in your area.
- Try vegetarian recipes.
- Educate yourself on what the impact of your diet is doing to the Planet and your body.
