The Earth’s environment is deteriorating at an alarming rate. Ice caps are melting, some countries are facing extreme drought or water pollution, and forests are being destroyed and burned to a crisp. Greenhouse gasses are being released into the atmosphere and are having an adverse impact on the Earth (a.k.a global warming). Some of the main gasses that are primarily responsible for global warming are carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Human interference is responsible for the mass depletion of all of the Earth’s natural resources. But luckily there is a seemingly simple solution to the hole we have dug ourselves into. The solution is veganism. In short, to be vegan means to live life without the use of animal products, especially in your diet. 

Becoming vegan can solve a bunch of problems that threaten the Earth and everyone that lives on it. The first problem it could solve is lowering the abundance of greenhouse gases in the atmosphere. Methane is one of the most harmful of them all.  Pigs, chickens, cows, and turkeys are the largest producers of methane. According to the infographic “Veganism and the Environment: By the Numbers” at culinaryschools.com, they say that “methane is 20x more powerful at trapping heat in the Earth’s atmosphere than carbon dioxide.” So people should limit the amount of meat they consume on average. By not eating them as often as the average American does, lowers the need for more of these animals while lowering the amount of methane in the air.

The second problem becoming vegan could solve is the water crisis. 70 percent of the Earth’s freshwater is used in the agriculture of animals and plants. It takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce only a single pound of meat. But to produce one pound of wheat it takes a measly 25 gallons in comparison. On top of that, a vegan diet uses 300 gallons of water a day while a meat-eating diet uses 4000 gallons of water. According to an article on vegnews.com, it says that “the United Nations has reported that the livestock sector is most likely the largest source of water pollution.” So skipping meat in your next meal will probably be more beneficial to the environment than taking shorter showers.

The third problem becoming vegan could solve is the decreasing amount of land due to farming. According to livekindly.co an article titled “This Is Why A Vegan Diet Is Better For The Environment” states that “The Oxford University analysis of farming found that 80 percent of the planet’s total farmland is used to rear livestock. Beef production requires 36 times more land than the production of plant-based protein like peas.” So if people were to eat a plant-based diet this would make room for the ever-growing population on Earth.

This can impact us today because by eating one vegan meal a week, it saves a tremendous amount of water and stops more harmful greenhouse gasses from being released into the atmosphere. This will also impact the present because it eliminates the vast amount of land that is used for farm animals, which has better use as places for people of our large population to live. This development will affect the future because it will put less stress on the Earth and its resources. Pollution rates would drop and the world would deteriorate at a less alarming rate. Becoming vegan might also start to reverse some of the effects brought upon the world by humans.