Go vegan to combat climate change

If you truly want to combat climate change, cross off meat, eggs, and dairy foods from your shopping list.

Foods derived from animals, whether eaten by candlelight or not, require more resources and cause more greenhouse-gas emissions than plant-based foods do.

Each year, humans kill 60bn land animals for food — about 7m every hour. These animals produce massive waste, which releases powerful greenhouse gases into our atmosphere. The livestock sector is the single largest source of both methane and nitrous oxide, greenhouses gases 25 and 300 times more potent than carbon dioxide, respectively.

A person who follows a vegan lifestyle produces the equivalent of 50% less carbon dioxide than a meat-eater and uses 1/11th of the oil, 1/13th of the water and 1/18th of the land, which is why the UN has stated that a global shift towards a vegan diet is essential to combat the worst effects of climate change.

So blow out the candle, turn on the lights, get in the kitchen and cook a vegan meal. It’s the best thing any of us can do for the environment, as well as for animals.

Jennifer White

Society Building

8 All Saints St

London