|
This photo of sled dogs in an area flooded by the melting Greenland ice sheet has gone viral. It’s a powerful visual of global warming. A climate disaster is bearing down on us, and time is not on our side. The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) warns we only have about ELEVEN YEARS to avoid catastrophe (with some saying even that is overly-optimistic). To state the obvious: We need to act, and act NOW. While we can (and must) put pressure on policy makers, governments and corporations to address this threat with the seriousness it merits, we must also take responsibility in our personal lives to do what is within our control to avert this disaster. So, are you actions hastening this catastrophe? In short, if you’re still consuming meat and other animal products when you have other options, then yes. The livestock industry is responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions than the entire global transportation sector combined (per United Nations FAO). On top of that, it is also single largest user of land on the planet and the *number one* driver of deforestation. Deforestation is driving loss of habitat and, with it, an alarming loss of species as we plunge further into the Sixth Mass Extinction. In addition, forests are critical in absorbing and decreasing a large amount of the CO2 in our atmosphere. And, their rapid loss (particularly from raising animals for food) is further accelerating climate change. While solving this crisis requires action on multiple fronts, it cannot be timely or adequately solved without an urgent and mass global shift away from animal foods. If you are concerned about the planet, please withdraw your participation from one of the most environmentally destructive industries on the planet by going vegan. It’s an incredibly easy (and urgently important) thing to do. |