World Vegetarian Day: How can being a vegetarian impact the environment?

Just as there are meat eaters in the world, there are millions and billions of vegetarians and even vegans on this planet. Of course, there can be a big debate on which is better-being a non-vegetarian or a vegetarian. However, since today is World Vegetarian Day the focus is on how being a vegetarian can impact the environment.

It slows climate change

Due to rapid development, pollution and chemical use the climate on Earth has undergone a massive shift. Very few people know that raising livestock animals for non-vegetarians leads to more greenhouse gas production than the emissions from trucks and cars around the world. Thus, it is quite evident that reducing livestock production can greatly reduce greenhouse gas emissions which has been the major factor for climate change.

The aspect of climate change must be taken seriously as it has led to severe weather changes like droughts, forest fires, and storms that are harmful to both animals as well as humans and have even killed the animals directly and destroyed their habitats . The melting of sea ice is one of the main reasons the global temperature has increased.

Reduction in animal waste leads to reduced pollution in water bodies

Livestock production on a large scale causes the creation of animal waste in huge quantities which is ultimately runoff into waterways like rivers, streams, and oceans thereby polluting them. Many times these animals are also fed some chemically-induced foods for better growth and through animal waste the chemicals reach the water bodies thereby threatening the aquatic ecosystems .

At the same time, the waste also contaminates the air and destroys topsoil which makes a big impact on both humans and wild animals. So if the demand for meat is reduced it will ultimately cut down the pollution caused due to livestock.

Water pollution is already affecting many aquatic and wildlife species and also have made a negative impact on the reproduction and growth processes of the animals in natural surroundings.

So reducing the intake of non-vegetarian food or shifting to being a vegetarian step by step is a good way of reducing the process of climate change.