Vegetarian Diets Help the Environment
Both the vegetarian diet lifestyle and the environment are two topics that are near to my heart, so today I want to share with you the section from my book, “The Vegetarian Lifestyle” that explains the environmental destruction caused by our dependence on livestock…
The Truth About the Vegetarian Lifestyle and the Environment
And while the Vegetarian Lifestyle is one of the best things you can do for your own health, it’s also one of the most important things you can do for the health of the planet.
Eating a plant-based diet is a giant step toward improving our environment. It saves our drinking water, our food supply, our soil, and atmosphere.
Let me explain…
First we need to start by looking the resources it takes to raise animals for food. The amount of food needed to raise livestock is staggering. Here’s the shocking truth about what it takes to raise your burgers and chicken breasts!
• Livestock consume massive amounts of corn, soybeans, and grain.
• If these resources were fed directly to people, we could feed millions of people!
• Livestock also produces huge amounts of methane and other greenhouse gasses which may harm the environment.
Think of all the land we wouldn’t need to farm, water we wouldn’t have to use, fossil fuels for shipping livestock we wouldn’t need, and the pollution we wouldn’t create if we didn’t have to support over HALF A BILLION livestock a year.
That’s right, according to the government, in 1997 farms in the USA were home to…
• 403,000,000 chickens (That’s 403 MILLION chickens!)
• 99,500,000 cattle (Almost 100 million cows)
• 59,900,000 hogs (60 million piggys!)
• 7,600,000 sheep (Do you think anyone fall asleep while counting the sheep?)
By consuming less meat and more plants, we could save our soils from over-farming and reduce the loss of our nutrient rich top soil that is being depleted at a dramatic pace.
And it gets worse.
At those terrible factory farms that you’ve heard so much about, livestock manure is collected in enormous sewer systems. These “pools of poop” are several football fields in length and hold millions of gallons of livestock waste.
And when these high concentrations of manure overflow, leak, and spill, it can contaminate our drinking water and cause deadly water borne disease outbreaks in humans. Plus, it’s just disgusting to think that livestock waste might be in our water.
In addition to sabotaging our water supplies, factory-farmed animals consume massive amounts of water.
Millions of gallons of fresh water are used in the United States everyday to clean dairy operations, provide drinking water for livestock, to clean feedlots, and manage those awful manure tanks.
Plus, each year farmers cut down more of the rain forest for livestock production and destroy huge tracts of land.
I hope this section has been an eye opener for you.
If we cut down our consumption and reliance on livestock, we can feed more people for less money while having less of an impact on the environment. 
It’s the right thing to do. So at the very least, go from meat everyday to every other day. And then try and cut back a little more each month.
A vegetarian diet – done right, can help the environment while helping you get healthy and lose weight.
It’s a good thing to do,
Kardena Pauza
Author, Easy Veggie Meal Plans
Comments: Hi —
> I am so glad to come across your product and I want to order it, but am not
sure whether it would help my situation. Please advise and I will be happy to
order.
>
> My issue is: I have been a vegetarian since 1991. I do eat eggs and dairy
though. I currently do cardio and some workout and am just trying to get toned.
Unfortunately, I suffer from the skinny fat syndrome. I am a 51 year old male,
6’1″, 170 lbs and have good solid abs, but they are partially hidden under extra
fat in the belly area. So, my issue is not one of wnting to lose weight as I
really don’t want to weigh less than I do. I want a diet that will maintain my
current weight or add on weight from muscle. Can you diet help me in that
regard? I realize the working out part is up to me, I do need help with a
better vegetarian diet that will fill me up, and keep me from adding belly fat.
Thanks for your attention to this and I will await your reply.
Hello Kirk,
I don’t know your current diet so when someone says they are vegetarian, that can include many foods healthy and unhealthy. The benefit of the easy veggie meal plans is that it keeps you on track with eating healthy high nutrients carbs, proteins, and healthy fats. The mens plan is 2000 calories so you can experiment and you may need to add a little more calories to the breakfast and the snacks. You may need to add in an extra smoothie to the afternoon on your workout days. Thanks for your question. Kardena
Hi Kardena,
I am slowly moving into Vegetarianism, I am down to meat 3 x a week. I eat loads of veggies. For my health I want to do this properly, and I have food allergies/ sensitivities to dairy, grains, and soy products. If I eat any of those foods, I get horrible indigestion, break out in hives, and get headaches. I am really struggling to come up with a meal plan to fall back on. My question is could your plan work for me?
Great to hear! My plan has very little grains or dairy. only a couple of meals have grains or edemame or dairy. I have provided over 200 recipes in my book and believe me, with a ton of variety and the meals are portioned out for you.
Yes if definitely will work for you.
Dear Kardena,
I am a lover of fruits and vegetables and have decided to try and go vegetarian, but I love cheese.What is the healthiest one to have or should I avoid it at all cost.
Hi Valerie,
Kudos to you. With regards to cheese, the worst cheese to eat is pasteurized cheese from cows. A step up from there would be raw cheese, especially goat cheese. Goats milk is easier to digest. I would prefer consuming no cheese, but if you are going to once in a while do the goat. Kar
If the human population were to reduce, then there wouldn’t be the need to have so many animals. As a species, humans are responsible for more pollution than all the animals in the world. Less humans. more water. Less humans, more unfarmed countryside. Less humans, the natural balance would be restored. The problem is not animals, it is men and women.
Hi Chris, I’m not sure if I responded to your comment, learning the website format. The easy veggie meal plan has vegan options for dairy and soy. If there are grains in a snack or meal, you can substitute another meal in place of it. I worked to have plenty of variety in the food plan. Also you may want to try high quality food enzymes. to clean up allergies in your body. look at http://www.1inhealth.com for great quality.