|
Let’s do the math: • Animal agriculture (i.e., using animals for food) occupies more land than any other human activity, consuming an unbelievable **45%** of the ice-free surface of the planet (per International Livestock Research Institute). • It should therefore come as no surprise that it’s also the major driver of global deforestation (per the United Nations F.A.O. and others) and the single biggest driver of habitat loss (per Science of the Total Environment and others). • Habitat loss is the largest driver of species going extinct right now. • And, we’re losing so many species, that scientists have concluded that we’ve already entered the Sixth Mass Extinction in our planet’s history, with more than 50% of wildlife having been lost in just 40 years (!!!) (per World Wildlife Fund). A rational response to this? Eliminate meat and dairy, an action that would allow us to far more efficiently feed the world and, at the same time, reduce global farmlands by more than 75%, an area equivalent to the U.S., E.U., China and Australia combined (per Journal Science). For anyone even minimally concerned for the planet and protecting what’s left of biodiversity, the case for ditching animal foods forever should be a no-brainer. But, this isn’t the only immensely concerning reason to live vegan. In addition, our addiction to animal foods is decimating ocean life, contributing to climate change (even more so than transport), polluting our water, fostering antibiotic resistance, exacerbating food and water scarcity, increasing our risk of cardiovascular disease, cancer, diabetes and other chronic diseases, and – of course – imposing relentless horror and suffering on countless billions of sentient animals. For all of us with access to basic food options and autonomy, there is every compelling and urgent reason to go vegan immediately, and there is literally no downside in doing so. *[Further resources/links to come]. |