According to the Alliance of World Scientists, a group comprised of over 15,000 scientists from over 184 countries, humans need to change their individual consumption and behavior… soon. Among encouraging people to lower their use of fossil fuels and reduce their reproduction rates — because, seriously, the Earth can’t sustain all of us — they urged folks to, essentially, go vegan.
They (eerily) issued a similar warning 25 years ago, talking about how rapid consumption and reproduction, as individual behaviors, could lead to ocean dead zones, ozone depletion, forest cover loss, decline in marine life, and loss of biodiversity.
While the warnings are the same, the warning this time around is a bit more severe, as the environmental impacts have gotten significantly worse. The group’s statement is clear. While people often focus on the greenhouse emissions of cars and other vehicles, animal agriculture is the biggest threat, as it produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, planes, and other forms of transportation combined.
If that weren’t bad enough, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that carbon dioxide emissions from raising farmed animals contribute about 15 percent of global human-induced emissions. Specifically, beef and milk are the biggest culprits when it comes to carbon dioxide emissions.
The group encourages people to avoid all animal products. Doing so can cut our carbon footprints in half. While it’s true that veganism isn’t entirely cruelty-free, all over the world — because someone has to grow the plants and there are accidental animal fatalities within the farming process — it’s important to know that factory farming is definitively more harmful, not only because its marginalized workers are often traumatized and destroyed by their violent work but also that a pound of beef requires 13 percent more fossil fuel and 15 times more water to produce than a pound of soy.
If you don’t feel particularly connected to the environment, maybe you feel connected to animals. Choosing veganism, and skipping animal products, ALWAYS save animals. Fight for one, fight for both, fight for everyone. It’s a winning situation, no matter what.