Going green tip #3 is to go vegetarian or vegan, but doing so isn’t just about greening the planet and saving animals — it improves your life as well.
This is a pretty controversial one. But when it comes to going green, going vegetarian or going vegan may be the biggest thing you can do, so it would be a crime not to list it.
The good thing is, there are a lot of reasons why going vegetarian or vegan is good for you, not only for the planet and the animals whose lives you save.
Health and Happiness Benefits of Going Vegetarian
A new study shows that vegetarians are happier! Not a bad reason to go vegetarian. Who doesn’t want to be happier?
Vegetarians also live longer, studies have shown, and the American Dietetic Association (ADA) now recommends a vegetarian diet for its health benefits. So, if you’re interested in living a healthier life & living longer, this is one potential way you can do so.
If you’re still not convinced that it is healthier, check out some of the top athletes and fit celebrities who are (or were) vegetarian or vegan, including:
- Carl Lewis (“Athlete of the Century” last century)
- Elle Macpherson (“The Body”)
- Andre 3000
- Billie Jean King (tennis great)
- Ricky Williams (yes, the star football running back)
- Hank Aaron
- Shania Twain
- Christain Bale
- Josh Hartnett
- Orlando Bloom
- Kristin Bell
- ok, maybe not the most fit, but hard to leave him out — Albert Einstein
- many more…
Also, if you missed the news this week, studies have found babies growing breasts due to the growth hormones they put in cows these days (and those hormones making it into babies’ infant formulas).
How Much Greener is Going Vegetarian or Vegan?
Want some facts on how going vegetarian or vegan equates to going green? Here are a few:
- eating meat is essentially the third largest net contributor to global warming pollution in the world (behind using motor vehicles and burning household biofuels — mostly wood and animal dung), according to NASA;
- a few years ago the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) found livestock production to be responsible for 18% of global warming pollution, but, more recently, a study published in the journal World Watch has found it to be responsible for as much as 51% of global warming pollution;
- the energy needed to produce meat and dairy is tremendously more than for most fruits and vegetables (graphs and charts here)
- the amount of water needed for meat and dairy production is also much greater.
So, if you’re interested in going green (and possibly even being healthier and happier), go vegetarian or vegan. For a little help on doing so, check out a post I wrote last year on how to go vegetarian or check out the eating vegan series on Eat.Drink..Better.
Photo Credit: Night-thing via flickr
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Zachary Shahan
If you couldn't guess, I spend most of my time on CleanTechnica and Planetsave. I'm the director/editor of both sites and am a little obsessed with them and the topics they cover. I'm also Publishing Services Manager at Important Media, which means that I do everything I can to support other Important Media writers, editors, and directors (as well as the network as a whole) in the good work they are engaged in. You can also find my work on Scientific American, Reuters, Change.org, most of the sites in the Important Media network, & many other places. For more, or to connect, go to: zacharyshahan.com
16 Responses to Go Vegetarian or Vegan! (Going Green Tip #3)
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[...] production, and one of the easiest and quickest things we can do to combat global warming is cut (or cut down on) the meat and dairy products we [...]
I LOVE being a vegetarian!!!! booyah!
[...] to going green? Well, for one, eating more fruits and vegetables (instead of meat or dairy) is one of the greenest things you can do (perhaps the greenest). Additionally, avocados are native to Mexico and a lot are also [...]
[...] remember, eating vegetarian is one of the greenest things you can do! So, you can be happy about your green dish while enjoying [...]
[...] This post was mentioned on Twitter by Jim Davis and OptOutPhoneBook, Susana Maria. Susana Maria said: Go Vegetarian or VeganGoing Green Tip3 – Planetsavecom climate … http://bit.ly/f3XQBm [...]
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[...] One of the best ways to cut your greenhouse gas emissions is by going vegetarian. [...]
[...] we did a bit in Going Green Tip #3, they focus their personal action suggestions around the topic of food. One of the best ways to [...]
[...] course, vegetarianism is also good for the environment, and for the animals who get to keep their lives (and hopefully not be [...]
To Eat only vegetarian food is not response to global problem. What more Vegetarian food need enormous deforested fields and as person who wants to go green you should know what deforestation means to the planet climate or biotop harmony. Next case why the vegetarian is not green at all is that our society produce more meat than we can ever consume so the waste of water for producing meat will not change after your mind change. I love our planet more than noone else but Vegetarians will not change anything on devastation of this beautiful place.
Do you want to know what is usable way of eating for our planet?
You will do more than enought if you will eat chemical free food and offcourse the meat cause meat is the most thrifty way of gaining sustenances for our body. All vegetarian substitute are produced in planty water-demanding and chemical processes which are much more dangerous for our planet and all living creatures than eating meat.
I do not agree with way of breeding where the meat is produced or with low price of food or water. But I hate this short-sightedness of vegetarians. Their live style is just like anyone else’s but definately it’s not true green live style. Only true green live style was extincted by european human who make stop to the indian natural way of living and ofcourse big portion of blame wear also the Christian way of life reception where human is in the middle of everything as something most important instead of natural understanding of human as equal part of everything.
Sorry for breaking your illusions.
Jiri, i agree about eating more chemical-free food, but every single scientific study on the matter of environmental impacts of our food show that meat production requires much more water and energy use and causes much more deforestation. completely the opposite of what you just claimed above
[...] discussed the environmental impact of eating meat and dairy a bit in the previous Going Green Tips post, due to it being a leading contributor to global [...]
[...] Going Green Tip #3: Go Vegetarian or Vegan! (planetsave.com) This entry was posted in review and tagged blogsherpa, children, Covent Garden, england, family, great britain, Greek cuisine, london, restaurant, travel writing, uk, united kingdom, vegan. Bookmark the permalink. ← Kids Week – go see a show! [...]
[...] look so “perfect.” The ads are bringing more attention to this important cause of vegetarianism. If they make more people eat more vegetarian food and less meat, I think that is surely a good [...]