the online vegan

illustration by ThePunkyBunny

Empower yourself with the facts and make changes, little by little. We can turn this around 💪

FACTS:

In the last ten years, we have produced more plastic than in the whole of the last century

500 BILLION single-use plastic bags get used worldwide every year - that's about 1 million a minute.

The US alone, 35 billion plastic bottles get discarded annually.

50% of all plastic used is single-use.

1 million seabirds and 100,000 marine mammals die each year due to plastic.

Over 90% of Americans test positive of the plastic chemical BPA, and it would be safe to assume that is relative globally.

FACT: YOU CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE De-plastify your life, choose to reuse ♻️ 

One result of clearing all this land for cattle, sheep, and other farmed animals is that ‘livestock’ production is now recognized as the single greatest driver of habitat loss and destruction globally (Science of the Total Environment, 2015). It is also the leading cause of species extinction, deforestation, and rainforest depletion (Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change, "Agriculture, Forestry and Other Land Use," 2009). Animal agriculture is also the single greatest human activity use of freshwater (Forbes, "Limited Water Resources Might Mean Eating Less Meat," 2013) and the number one source of freshwater pollution (FAO: "Water Pollution from Agriculture: A Global Review.") In a recent article for The Guardian, "Goodbye— And Good Riddance— to Livestock Farming," environmental journalist George Monbiot notes, "Almost all forms of animal farming cause environmental damage, but none more so than keeping them outdoors. The reason is inefficiency. Grazing is not just slightly inefficient, it is stupendously wasteful. Roughly twice as much of the world’s surface is used for grazing as for growing crops, yet animals fed entirely on pasture produce just one gram out of the 81g of protein consumed per person per day.

…That vast expanse of pastureland, from which we obtain so little at such great environmental cost, would be better used for rewilding: the mass restoration of nature. Not only would this help to reverse the catastrophic decline in habitats and the diversity and abundance of wildlife, but the returning forests, wetlands and savannahs are likely to absorb far more carbon than even the most sophisticated forms of grazing"

Just a friendly reminder! By opting for just one day’s worth of plant-based meals, you can save 1,500 gallons of water, the equivalent of 45 pounds of grain (that won’t be directed to livestock feed), 30 square feet of land, and around 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. Now imagine if you did that for a month and beyond!

Our food choices have the power to make quite the impact.

While there is no doubt that the meat industry has a heavy hand in climate change, the dairy industry should not be overlooked. The dairy industry alone is responsible for 25% of all global greenhouse gas emissions caused by food and is also extremely water intensive. Large quantities of water are needed to grow feed for cows and the amount it takes to keep milk parlors clean (about 150 gallons of water per cow, per day). If we want to break it down further,  it takes around 30 gallons of water (a week's worth of showers) to produce one glass of cow's milk. Not to mention, the pollution caused by the dairy industry has been linked to ocean dead zones. Luckily, we don't need cows to make milk. There are many plant-based milk options available for the environmentally conscious consumer.

• Be fair • Be vegan • Educate others •

➡ WhatTheHealthFilm.com ⬅ ➡ CarnismDebunked.com ⬅ ➡ GoVeganWorld.com ⬅ ➡ ComfortablyUnaware.com ⬅ ➡ BeFairBeVegan.com ⬅ ➡ BiteSizeVegan.com ⬅ ➡ FreeFromHarm.org ⬅ ➡ GotMisery.com ⬅ ➡  Earthlings.com ⬅ ➡  ADAPTT.org ⬅ ➡ Cowspiracy.com ⬅ ➡ Seaspiracy on YouTube ⬅ ➡ ViveVegano.org ⬅ ➡ NutritionFacts.org ⬅ ➡ HumaneMyth.org ⬅

RP @vegancri @_vote_with_your_lifestyle_ @vegan_for_a_reason