Abstaining From Animal-based Foods Reduces Carbon Emission More than Giving Up Car Travel

Pledge to Reduce Intake of Animal-based Products to Decrease Carbon Footprint

​The World Meteorological Organization (WMO) has revealed the shocking fact that concentrations of CO2 in the Earth’s atmosphere surged to a record high in 2016, which is 50% higher than the average increase in the last decade. This increase is devastating and the first of its kind in the last 800,000 years. The increase in CO2 in the atmosphere is nearly 100 times larger than it was at the end of the last ice age, in the past 70 years. Such imbalance and changes can totally disrupt the climate system leading to ecological and economic disruptions.

Animals & Climate Change
Going vegan is a great initiative to combat climate change and save the environment. There is no external dependency involved and it is entirely in our hands to take this initiative. Vegan diets are well-balanced diets if the right foods are consumed. Get in touch with a nutritionist/dietitian at www.firsteatright.com to plan your healthy vegan diet.

Almost 3.5 billion humans can live off the food fed to livestock and for every 100 calories fed to animals we get back only 12 calories by consuming their meat or milk. While the world population has doubled, the meat production has quadrupled. Such increases can result in deforestation, global warming, water scarcity and increased carbon footprints. The most effective solution to lower carbon footprints is to avoid all animal products.

Carbon Dioxide
The livestock sector holds responsibility for 18% emission of greenhouse gases measured in CO2 equivalent. Burning fossil fuels emit CO2. Almost 11 times more fossil fuel is needed to produce a calorie of animal protein compared to plant protein which results in more CO2.

A study involved 10,000 people who were challenged on a vegan diet for one week and the results are astounding. The participants during the entire week saved 147,000 kg of CO2- a quantity that can be used to fly to the moon and back.

Another study showed that meat-eaters are responsible for almost twice the amount of greenhouse gas emissions per day than vegetarians and about 2 ½ times the amount than vegans.
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Hence, the fastest way to address climate change is by stopping our consumption of meat, eggs and dairy products.