How a Plant-Based Diet Is Healthier for the Planet

If you want to help the planet, the biggest thing you can do is cut some meat out of your diet. Developing a more plant-based diet is not only healthy for you, but it’s also great for the environment. Whether you want to go vegan, eat meatless certain days a week or try meat-free alternatives – every time you fill your plate with less meat, it’s a win for the land, water and air. Read more to find out why.

While all food production puts pressure on the environment, animal production puts the most. It takes a lot of resources to raise, process, transport and store meat products. In fact, over 400 million acres of land in the U.S. are used to raise livestock. In addition to the land used to raise them, is the cropland used to feed them. Most of the land in the U.S. isn’t even used to grow food for people – but to grow food for animals.

Using that land destroys topsoil, wildlife habitats and endangered species, and is one of the leading causes of deforestation – a major hit to the world’s oxygen supply, carbon cycles and global warming problem.

Water – one of the planet’s most important resources – is being used in large amounts to produce animal products. Along with drinking water, very large amounts are used to grow the crops that livestock eat. In fact, it takes several thousand gallons of water to produce the crops for each pound of beef that’s produced. On the other hand, plant-based diets are considered much more water efficient, with the lowest water footprint.

Raising livestock also creates water pollution. Waste from the animals contaminate local bodies of water – and eventually the groundwater that humans drink. Plus, antibiotics, pesticides, fertilizers and other chemicals used for feed pollutes the water, reduces oxygen levels and kills marine life.

Of all livestock, cows are the biggest cause of air pollution. Because of their digestion process, they release carbon dioxide, nitrous oxide and methane (methane being 30 times stronger than CO₂). This negatively affects the air quality and leads to climate change.