What’s better than metal straws? — Rebecca Clark
Often at conferences, trainings, team dinners, holidays, and any other events involving food, I hear numerous version of the same questions: “Oh you can’t eat that, right?” or “Is there anything here you can eat?”. This is because I’m vegan, and the answer is always the same. “I can eat any of it, but I won’t”. This is because my “why” for being vegan is not a simple preference, but is deeply rooted in the need to personally contribute to alleviating environmental damage, the well-being of animals, and my own health, making the “what’s” not difficult at all.
The two biggest reasons are the environmental impact and the inhumane treatment of animals, which will be discussed in this blog. We will save the health element for another blog. Most of us here are either animal lovers, or at least not pro-abuse, and recognize serious environmental action needs to happen. There is large uptake in environmental concern, with environmental action being a top platform for 2020 candidates, alternate energy sources, and the mass reduction in single-use plastic movement. However, on an individual level, reusable straws simply do not cut it (and I keep a set in my backpack — I am not saying they are pointless). On an individual level, the number one way to reduce your carbon footprint is to reduce or eliminate meat (specifically beef) and dairy intake.
My transition to veganism has been very gradual, which I would recommend to anyone interested. Throughout 2015–16, I essentially stopped cooking with meat, which was based on preferences and frugality more than anything. In 2017, I became more educated on the meat and dairy industries and became vegetarian and limited dairy and eggs. Then in 2018, I made the choice to go full vegan because I had accumulated too much knowledge to continue eating animal parts in good conscious.
What first drove my transition was the shocking environmental impact. Below are just a selected few figures.
· It takes 100–200 times more water to produce a pound of beef than it does to grow a pound of plant foods
· About 91% of all Amazon deforestation is due to animal agriculture
· Agriculture and land use is responsible for nearly a quarter of all global greenhouse gas emissions. The biggest culprit is livestock, particularly cattle.
· The biggest cause of dead zones is an overflow of fertilizers, sewage and industrial pollutants being pumped into rivers all over the world.
· Commercial fishing is one of the greatest threats to marine life and many species are on the brink of extinction.
“An Average American’s diet has a foodprint of around 2.5 t CO2e each year. For a Meat Lover this rises to 3.3 t CO2e, for the No Beef diet it is 1.9 t t CO2e, for the Vegetarian it’s 1.7 t CO2e and for the Vegan it is 1.5 t CO2e.”
Each day of eating vegan, a person saves:
· 1,100 gallons of water
· 45 lbs of grain (animal feed)
· 30 sq ft of forests
· 20 lbs of CO2
· The life of one animal
This keeps the big picture need for reduction in meat and dairy intake alive for me. But on a daily basis, my love of animals makes every meal, beverage, snack, or piece of clothing I choose, hardly a choice because it is so clear to me. I don’t want to go in to too much detail of the torture and inhumane conditions animals in both the meat, and especially dairy, industries suffer through, although I do recommend additional research. The Fair Oaks Farmvideo is painful, but provides an accurate look at mass-produced animal agriculture. I am a proud cat mom and one of the most difficult experiences in my cat’s five years of life was when he was hospitalized for near kidney failure. The extreme pain and fear he felt was evident from the moment I walked into the hospital room, during the time I spoon fed him (he was only comfortable eating or drinking when I was there), to the moment I left and he cried out for me. How could I do everything in my power to make his suffering stop, but then walk into a grocery store or restaurant and order up the products of a suffering animal?
A common response to veganism is that it is “too restrictive” or “too extreme”, but I believe the acceleration of climate change is too restrictive on future generations’ quality of life and the treatment of animals is far too extreme for the ability to add cheese to a burrito bowl or choose cow milk over almond milk at Starbucks.
At this point, I have a major plot twist for you. I am not trying to convince you to go vegan. If that works for you, great, go for it! But, I recognize not everyone has the desire to do so, and as I mentioned earlier, the transition should be very gradual, if at all. What I am trying to convince you is to evaluate your current eating habits and identify where small changes could make huge worldly impacts. As veganism becomes more popular, often the response is “all or nothing’. This should not be the case! Any small action is meaningful and should be celebrated, such as limiting beef intake to a couple times a month, or switching to dairy alternatives. I hope the above information I have shared have helped sparked your “why”, and I recommend checking out additional resources such as What the Health, Cowspiracy, and Forks Over Knives on Netflix. I have also included some “what’s” below, to help get you started on your journey.
Small changes for a big difference
· Swap cow milk for plant milk in coffee and/or protein shakes
· Swap whey protein powder for plant based protein shakes (hint: they have the same amount of protein)
· Make your own lunch for work (Yes, even if you travel. When I flew to work, I made quinoa bowls and packed them in my suitcase (because vegan food doesn’t typically go bad very quickly) and it was so much better than cafeteria salads)
· Pick one (or more) meals or days to practice veganism
· Try vegan ice cream — I swear it’s better
· Try the Impossible Burger, Beyond Burger, or other increasingly popular brands when you see them on a menu
· Use meat substitutes in some of your favorite meals
· Add in new foods: tofu, lentils, nuts & seeds
· Try cheese substitutes
· Learn not all beer and wine is vegan. Check barnivore.com
