Does going Vegan help fight climate change?
Yes. That's the short of it.
The long of it is full of calculations based on the billions of livestock we grow and kill annually, their farts, the wind, growing their food, clearing the land, all the gas associated with that, and lots of other data points. But does it actually make a difference?
Yes. A rapid phaseout of Animal product consumption would help! Large animals, like cows, and the infrastructure to support their production, release huge amounts greenhouse gasses of methane and nitrous oxide. The destruction of the natural Earth biomass leads to the inability to capture excess carbon from the atmosphere. A whopping 800 gigaton CO2 could be reabsorbed by the Earth through photosynthesis if we turn 30% of the worlds land used for cultivating livestock back to its natural, green, lush carbon absorbing state.
So, let's eat 1/3 less meat! Could it be that simple? We should try... I heard today on the Sidenote Podcast from ASAP Science that "from 2003 - 2018, diet related emissions from the US have dropped 35%." That's some proof in the vegan pudding, as they say.
Fun Fact - JELL-O Pudding flavors Vanilla, Banana Cream, Pistachio, and Lemon are all completely vegan if you substitute a plant based milk when making it.
Be well, eat less animals, heal the earth. XOXO
