Climate change has become a term that nearly everyone is familiar with. Many times, humans contemplate whether or not they are doing enough to help fight climate change; I know that I do. One way that I have never fully considered was going vegan. I always thought of veganism as something you did for solely the love of animals. But after a recent conversation with my aunt, who happens to be vegan, my viewpoint has shifted. Becoming vegan is the number one way a single human can reduce their carbon footprint. At first, this surprised me; I mean, what about owning a Tesla, right? Wrong. Livestock is humans’ number one contributor to the world’s carbon footprint. It takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce just 1 pound of beef; meanwhile, a pound of whole wheat only needs 180 gallons to be produced.
There are many other interesting connections between the idea of veganism and climate change of which I was unaware. Many of us now have heard of the plastic straw and bag bans happening around the globe, and the pollution in our oceans. Many vegans have pondered this thought because of its subtle irony: we are worried about our pollution killing sea life, while we kill millions of fish every day for consumption. One aspect of veganism that I can personally connect myself to is the burning of the Amazon Rainforest for agricultural purposes. I was lucky enough to have traveled to the Amazon. While there, I realized that we could be responsible for destroying this magnificent ecosystem because of meat. –Sam