15 amazing ways vegans help the environment

By Gloria Stovall

I can tell you from my vegan journey, the vegan lifestyle is extraordinary in countless ways; and there is not a single day that I have regretted or was remorseful about going vegan.   If I may be candid, to succeed as a vegan you must genuinely have the drive and passion to stay committed to the vegan life, otherwise failure is in the horizon; and the burden of guilt will make a dent in your heart.  Do not go vegan because you think it is cool, go vegan for a significant reason, such as reducing animal suffering, your health or the environment.  My ardent love; and compassion for animals and desiring to reduce their suffering was the chief motivation behind me succeeding as a vegan. 

Not only do vegans greatly reduce animal suffering, they also help the environment.  If you are contemplating whether or not you should go vegan, I am going to share 15 amazing ways vegans help the environment, which will hopefully persuade you to take the leap and go vegan!

1. Reduce the use of water: Plant foods do not require nearly as much water to produce as compared to animal products.  Agriculture uses over 90% of the world’s water supply.
2. Reduce the environmental impact on the earth: Avoiding dairy, meat and all other animal products reduces your carbon footprint up to 73%!
3. Reduce greenhouse gas emissions:  Meat and dairy production is responsible for at least 60% of greenhouse gas emissions.
4. Help free up the wild land lost to agriculture, which is one of the main causes for the extinction of wild animals.  
5. Reduce air and water pollution.
6. One vegan can save at least 200,000 gallons of water in one year.
7. Vegans help keep the soil clean:  Farms and animal agriculture as a whole weaken the soil but plants and trees make the soil more sustainable.
8. Help reverse global warming:  If everyone became a vegan, global warming would be reduced by over 65%.
9. Vegans help reduce the need for deforestation.
10. Vegans help provide a sustainable agricultural model.
11. Reduce world hunger:  Livestock require food to eat, which impacts the amount of food that is available in parts of the world where starvation is prevalent. 
12. Reduce energy consumption.
13. Vegans do not contribute to the imbalance of the ocean’s biodiversity. 
14. Going vegan can eliminate animal waste.
15. Save the rainforest:  Animal agriculture is the main reason for the destruction of the Amazon rainforest. 

I only mentioned 15 ways vegans help the environment; but truth be told, there are hundreds of ways vegans contribute to a healthy planet, which I will touch upon in future posts.  When I first became a vegan, I had no idea how much of a positive impact I was having on the planet; so you can imagine how thrilled I was when I learned I was not only reducing animal suffering; but also saving the planet.