The Environmental Impact of Veganism
By: Sarah Dreher
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Climate change is an increasingly significant threat to humanity, facilitated by overconsumption and unsustainable utilization of resources. Over half of the world's population consumes meat, making it a driving force of the human race's repeated steps toward irreversible environmental consequences. Diet conversion to veganism has the potential to stifle excess land and water use, decrease levels of released waste, and promote land and aquatic biodiversity. However, transitioning to a fully plant-based diet can contribute to soil degradation and air pollution. The various components of becoming vegan establish benefits and drawbacks that the individual must weigh to determine their decision.
The accumulation of resources needed for meat production causes disastrous consequences for the environment. Approximately one-third of the world's land mass is dedicated to raising livestock. This is a significant amount more than the estimated area needed for plant production as plants require 20 times less land to produce the same amount of calories. The land solely in use for manufacturing meat, be it grazing grounds or grain fields, immensely negatively impacts the surrounding area. The substantial amount of land required further promotes deforestation as more space is needed, decreasing biodiversity as many species lose their habitat.
Grazing fields, the more humane alternative for meat production, can induce desertification from overgrazing, causing previously fertile land to become desert. Desertification can lead to the pollution of surface waters and erosion of stream banks as well as respiratory diseases such as asthma. The transition to a vegan plant-based diet can notably reduce the land mass required for the same level of caloric production, lessening deforestation and the amount of desertification due to overgrazing.
Similarly to land use, ten times less water is needed to derive an equal amount of calories from eggs and plants as meat. A study published regarding water resources research estimated that 41% of the water used for agriculture is dedicated to growing feed for livestock. The crops used to feed livestock result in a loss of 90% of the energy from the crops since only 10% of energy transfers between organisms, making it inefficient.
The quantity of water required to produce one quarter-pound beef patty is 460 gallons, adding to the overconsumption of fresh water. The UN estimated that if the world's water footprint is not reduced, by 2030, over 700 million people could encounter water scarcity. Transitioning to veganism can reduce an individual's water footprint by up to 55%, aiding in the goal to limit overall consumption. The expanding concern of water scarcity could be addressed by adopting a plant-based diet, largely reducing the amount of water essential for food growth.
The excessive portion of land and water utilized in meat production are not the only components that have harmful effects. Livestock releases the greenhouse gas methane, accounting for over a quarter of total methane emissions. Methane is eighty times more potent than CO2 when released into the atmosphere and as a result, has contributed to approximately 30% of the climate change observed. The UN estimated the adaptation of veganism (a more plant-based diet) could reduce global methane emissions by 45%, a critical path toward slowing global change.
In addition to methane, the manure from livestock contains high amounts of nitrogen, resulting in the release of nitrous oxide, a greenhouse gas. While the amount of emissions is smaller in comparison to methane, nitrous oxide is 300 times more dangerous than carbon dioxide in terms of heat-trapping capabilities. The gas additionally contributes to ozone depletion, quickening global change. Employing the vegan diet would successfully combat the quantity of greenhouse gasses released, decreasing the speed of climate change and working toward preserving countless habitats.
Additionally, besides the greenhouse gasses released from livestock waste, nutrient runoff occurs. Manure from livestock is heavy with nitrogen and phosphorus, each essential for plant growth. However, excess runoff into waterways results in eutrophication, meaning severely increased plant growth in bodies of water. The long-term effect is significantly reduced oxygen levels, causing the aquatic species present to die out, reducing the biodiversity in the area. Numerous aspects of meat production result in biodiversity loss, making an ecosystem more susceptible to extinction.
Deforestation, desertification, and eutrophication contribute to species depletion in various land and aquatic habitats. A plant-based diet would not only severely diminish the levels at which each of these processes occurs, but it would also preserve marine species that are threatened due to overfishing. Commonly used fishing practices have resulted in locations where overfishing occurs, harming the species' diversity as aquatic life is removed at an unsustainable rate. The vast majority of the population shifting to veganism could have immeasurable benefits on the environment and significantly limit the overconsumption of natural resources, preserving biodiversity and the planet.
While possessing extensive benefits for the environment, veganism can lead to environmental consequences in different ways. The heavy reliance on plant production could cause higher pressure on fertile soil. High-nutrient soil often houses greenhouse gasses, preventing them from being released into the atmosphere. Constant turning over and plowing of the soil results in the releasing of those gasses. The increased reliance on soil has the potential to degrade the level of nutrients present as certain plants utilize more of one nutrient than the other.
To sustain high-yield plant production, fertilizer is added to compensate for the low level of nutrients. Like livestock manure, fertilizers can cause nutrient runoff of nitrogen and phosphorus, resulting in eutrophication. The production of certain foods, fruits in particular, additionally requires a specific environment to grow — causing them to be transported immense distances. This transportation contributes to air pollution and the release of greenhouse gasses. Becoming vegan has numerous advantages, but is not exempt from having harmful impacts on the environment.
Conversion to a vegan diet can result in an overall reduction in harmful environmental impacts in comparison to meat production and consumption. The reduced levels of released greenhouse gasses as well as lowered water and land usage, promote resource sustainability with the potential to carry the human race further into the future with limited detrimental effects. Due to the benefits and disadvantages of a vegan diet, the importance rests on the individual in determining whether veganism contains more advantages than drawbacks when weighing the consequences of dietary choices.
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