For the Planet

To be fair, I am not much of a flag-flying environmentalist, but I do think about my footprint and the effect that my family has on the environment. The subject is so complex and so divisive that I just try and follow my heart and instinct in this area.

 

A few Ways to help the environment.

Apart from being plant-based, I also try to make sure I don't throw food out, I work to buy less shit, buy second hand and do things that help to reduce my carbon emissions. The environment crosses my mind on a daily basis.

 

We obviously can't stop living in a consumerism-driven world but we definitely can make fewer trips to the Dollar Store for cheap crap. And, by moving towards a plant-based lifestyle, you can significantly reduce your environmental impact. 

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The environmental reasons I choose to be plant-based for are the following in order of importance to me:
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1. The Ocean: The literal depopulation of fish in our ocean is horrific. We have literally decimated the fish population. From 1970 until 2020 there has been a 76% reduction in the number of fish in the ocean. 76%!!! It is estimated that by 2050, 90% of the fish in the ocean will be gone. 
    

2. Land Pollution, Emission + Deforestation: Just beef and dairy production alone causes incredible emissions and deforestation. We are literally losing our rainforests to graze cattle. Rainforests are the lungs of the planet (along with the ocean) and house ecosystems and animals we have not yet discovered. The transportation of animals and feed, the resources needed to process it and the energy to produce it all create emissions that are 100% unnecessary. 
   
   Have you ever heard of palm oil? Palm oil is found in many of our processed foods. Just palm oil alone causes tremendous suffering and deforestation. Read here what effect harvesting palm oil has on our ecosystem. 
    

3. Water conservation: Believe it or not, we are running out of truly clean, potable water. Did you know it takes 1600 gallons of water to produce 1lb of beef? That is a lot of fricken water for something you put on your tongue for one minute and poop out the next. 
    

4. Waterway cleanliness: Don't get me started on the pollution that happens from factory farm runoff. Waterways, estuaries, rivers and lakes are continually polluted due to runoff from factory farms. 

 

Facts:

• 83% of farmland is set aside to raise animals. 

• Overfishing has led to disastrous imbalances for the ocean’s biodiversity

• Livestock pollutes water and erodes and weakens soil. 

• The Amazon alone loses roughly 20K square miles of rainforest each year. Cattle grazing is one of the most destructive to the rainforest. 

• Plant-based proteins, meanwhile, can be raised with 8 times less energy costs than meat-based proteins.

• All the livestock in the world causes more air pollution than all the cars, buses, planes, ships and other modes of transportation in the world combined.  
  
  
  
  MORE TO COME