Running Head: GOING VEGAN WILL SAVE THE WORLD

If Everyone Went Vegan It Would Save the World

A Study of Veganism and Its Effects on the World

Craig Rappaport

Florid State University

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My best friend is the one that inspired me to research this topic. I have never cared about

what I ate, and what it did to the environment, until she forced me to. Her name is Stephanie, and

she is vegan. She used to call me ignorant because I would refuse to listen to the facts that she

showed me, and would call her wrong on the topics I knew nothing about, such as the meat

industry. As she kept spamming me with more and more information, I started to realize that she

was right, the meat industry is one of the main factors that is causing global warming, especially

from the United States. I was one of the many that did not care, until she made me promise that I

would do everything I can to help change the world, and help the future generations have a world

to live on. To keep my promise, and to help the not fully informed (such as myself), I am trying

to find out what would happen if every person went vegan, and how it would effect global

warming.

According to vrg.org, which stands for The Vegetarian Research Group, vegetarians do

not eat meat, fish, or poultry. Vegans, in addition to being vegetarian, do not use other animal

products and by-products such as eggs, dairy products, honey, leather, fur, silk, wool, cosmetics,

and soaps derived from animal products. Many people find this very extreme, and do not see a

point in having such an extreme diet. Veganism actually awesomely benefits the earth. The

greenhouse gas emissions from a person that eats meat are also around two times higher than that

of a vegan (Scarborough). People also are environmental activists and find it morally wrong to

harm animals, while others do it for health reasons. As shown in the study conducted by Janssen,

Busch, Rdiger, and Hamm most vegans questioned chose the lifestyle because of animal cruelty

or health concerns, with less than half mentioning climate change or environmental protection.

Yes, the meat industry is shown to treat animals terribly and it is wrong to harm animals against

their will when there are plant and vegan options that cause animals no harm (Bruers). Yes,
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studies have shown that vegan diets are said to help with diseases such as diabetes (Barnard).

These are perfectly fine reasons to be vegan, but are trivial compared to the big problem

concerning global warming.

Many people do not realize the damage the meat industry also does to the environment.

Tim Benton, a professor at the University of Leeds, is quoted saying in Carrington, The biggest

intervention people could make towards reducing their footprints would not be to abandon cars,

but to eat significantly less red meat (Carrington). Food production is the cause of about one-

third of greenhouse gas emissions, and the majority of that comes from the meat industry

(Nuwer). Results also indicated that if the world went vegan carbon emissions would reduce by

about 70% (Springmann qtd. In Nuwer). The greenhouse gas emissions from a person that eats

meat are also around two times higher than that of a vegan (Scarborough). Right now, planet earth

is dying. The people living on the planet are releasing too much carbon dioxide, and killing the

planet. Right now people do not feel a change, but those people confuse climate and weather.

Climate is long-term, while weather is short-term. Also, even the slightest change in atmospheric

temperature can cause a worldwide crisis. Ecosystems rely on being constant, and if that constant

is changed they will not react well to the change. If people do not change their diets or the meat

industry, it will be the death of the world as a result of global warming.

There are two main ways that the meat industry contributes to global warming. One, the

processes taken during meat production release four different kinds of greenhouse gases: carbon

dioxide (CO2), methane (CH4), nitrogen (N), and nitrous oxide (N2O). The main sources of

CH4 are the enteric fermentation of ruminants and releases from stored manure, which also emits

N2O. The application of manure as well as N fertilizers to agricultural land increases emissions

of N2O. Furthermore, N2O as well as CO2 are released during production of chemical N
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fertilizers. Some CO2 is also produced on farms from fossil fuels and energy usage and, as some

authors highlight, by the exhalation of animals, which is generally not taken into account

(Schwarzer). The other main cause of the meat industry contributing to global warming is

deforestation. Deforestation is the cutting down of trees to then use that land is used for

something that is not related to the forest, such as farming. Deforestation takes a lot of energy,

and machinery. That releases a great amount of CO2 and N2O, and the land that was grass is

converted into agricultural land, which makes the soil release carbon that it was stored inside of

it (Schwarzer). Deforestation also causes soil erosion, which makes the soil almost unusable after

the trees are taken out, and pollutes waterways. The minor ways in which the agriculture industry

releases greenhouse gases is through things like transportation and energy usage. It requires

technology use to keep up the farm, and this is most likely going to release greenhouse gases into

the atmosphere. The meat also needs to be transported after it is ready to be sold, and this is done

through trucks and other transportation methods that use fossil fuels. Animal meat is eaten

worldwide, so the amount of meat transported globally per year is extremely high.

In 2013, global meat production rose by about 100 million since 1995, with an average

growth rate of 2.3% per year (Revell). Meat consumption has been rising over the years. The

meat industry is at an all time high of production. This is because meat is now being mass-

produced, with technology and techniques that increase greenhouse gas emission making it

cheaper, easier, and more profitable than ever to be a meat farmer. His article also says that

greenhouse gas emissions have also been on the rise in these industries since 2000. These two

facts are correlated to each other. As more people want to eat meat, the supply will rise along

with the demand. The meat industry will continue to produce more meat as long as the demand

remains extremely high. The U.S. Department of Agriculture released information that shows the
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average American eats 71 pounds of red meat and 54 pounds of poultry per year (Gilpin). The

estimates for how much some meat demand will rise are about 65% for pork, 170% for poultry

meat, and 80% for beef and sheep meat (Guinot). This rise will be caused by the population

growth that is estimated by 2050, which is about 3 billion people (Guinot). The only way this can

be lowered is for more people to go vegan to help drive down the profits of the meat industry,

which will then lower the amount of meat. Unless there is found to be another way to lower the

emissions from the meat industry, the only way to stop it is for people to decrease the demand for

meat to reduce the amount of meat supplied.

There is not much that can be done to change the emissions of the meat industry. Most

fixes fall under two categories: stop eating meat or find more advancements in technology for

farming (Gilpin). A big issue that is causing farmers to not use certain tools and resources to help

lower greenhouse gas emissions is money (Gilpin). There is not that much money in farming,

and there is little incentive to put time and money into trying to help reduce greenhouse gases

(Gilpin). One advancement that has been made in the industry recently is a change in the cows

diet to lower the release of methane from the manure and bodys of cattle, by lowering the

amount of microbes in the animal (Gilpin). As Ermias Kebreab, director of the Agricultural

Sustainability Institute at University of California Davis, is quoted saying in Gilpin, We have to

realize animal biology and microbes have evolved together for millions of years. You can only

do so much (Gilpin).

Global warming has been regarded by scientists as the biggest global health threat of the

21st century (Denchak). It not only effects humans, but effects animals, the air, the weather, and

everything around the world. According to nrdc.org, which is the official website for the National

Resources Defense Council, but for the world in which we live, climate experts project will be at
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least eight degrees warmer by 2100 should global emissions continue on their current path, this

small rise will have grave consequences, ones that are already becoming apparent, for every

ecosystem and living thingincluding us. Weather events such as droughts, intense rain events,

and heat waves have increased in frequency over the last 50 years, and global warming

contributed to this (NASA). Also, the earth is about 1.5-4.5 degrees Celsius warmer than levels

in 1950, but that has already caused a damage that cannot be repaired (Physicstoday). Imagine

what will happen when the earth reaches eight degrees Fahrenheit, and that is just the minimum.

Right now, though, this change in temperature is causing a dramatic change in the polar ice caps.

Sea levels are greatly rising around the world, and much of that is because of global warming

melting the polar ice caps. The ice sheets in the Antarctic are melting by about 125 billion tons of

ice per year (NASA). The sea levels have risen at about 3 millimeters per year, for a total of 48

millimeters between 1993 and 2009 (NASA). That may not seem like a lot, but the rising sea

levels have eroded coasts, caused more frequent coastal flooding, and will even cause some

inhabited island nations to sink in the near future if nothing is done (NASA). The average

temperature would also be 80 degrees Fahrenheit instead of 58 when all the ice melts, which it

eventually will if nothing is changed (Nationalgeographic). The entire eastern seaboard, along

with Florida, would be underwater and will no longer exist when this happens

(Nationalgeographic). Besides death, despair, and worldwide famine caused by the melting ice

caps, ecosystems will also be high effected. Warmer weather raises the amount of water used by

the agriculture industry (NASA). The growing season is extended due to the weather, and this

causes farmers to need more water, or the plants will dry out, also increasing the chance of failed

crops and wildfire (NASA). Some animal species also rely on the ice to survive, or just simply

cannot adapt to the warmer weather, and will go extinct (NASA). If the temperature climbs
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another 1.5 to 2.5 degrees Celsius, the International Panel on Climate Change estimates that

around 20-30 percent of plant and animal species will be at risk of going extinct (NASA). Now, I

will move on to the only thing people actually care about: themselves. I already mentioned the

flooding and death that will be caused by the polar ice caps, but even more death will be caused

by disease. As a result of the earth being warmer, some species will now be able to move into

places that were previously not available to them, such as mosquitos, which will cause diseases

such as malaria to be able to expand their reach around the world (NASA). The rising

temperature will cause summers to be hotter, which will lead to more heat strokes and deaths,

along with more frequent fires (NASA). Fresh water will become less and less available as the

ice caps melt, as a great deal of fresh water is received from the ice caps (NASA). The list goes

on, but in the end it comes down to two things: death and extinction.

Now is the time to help the future generations. The world needs global veganism now

more than ever. It is the only easy, non-government involved way to help ensure that our kids

and grandkids have a healthy earth to live on. The world going vegan and highly reducing the

amount of meat produced would be enough to save the world, and ensure everyone a healthy and

sustainable earth to live on.

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