Earth Day
By Nicole S.
Earth Day is coming up on April 22nd and it’s time for all of us to make a change in the world. For just one day, everyone can limit their use of resources and cut out animal products to slow climate change, save animals lives, and end world hunger.
In modern day culture, eating dog meat is accepted in some countries such as China, Korea, Vietnam, and Switzerland. To us Americans, we think of this as “disgusting” and “inhumane”. However, in the religion of Hinduism, the cow is thought to be sacred. Therefore it is forbidden for them to slaughter cows and use them for food. If it’s okay to eat dogs in their culture, why is it okay to eat other animals in ours?
A recent study said that livestock and their byproducts are responsible for 32.6 billion tons of carbon dioxide per year, which is 51% of worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. Greenhouse gases are gases that absorb and emit infrared radiation and is the cause of the Greenhouse effect (AKA Global Warming). If no one ate animal products, it would drastically slow climate change.
Most of us know that corn isn’t natural for most animals. However, we feed nearly 40% of the world’s grain to livestock that is raised for slaughter. Many people go hungry in underdeveloped nations because of this. By taking livestock companies down, the farming areas can be replaced by crops which can potentially grow enough food to feed the world. Not to mention we’d have fresher water, and we would slow down deforestation.
If you are still unconvinced and have the question that many people ask, “but how do vegans get protein?” know that it isn’t as big of an issue as you may think. In reality, vegans usually get the recommended amount of protein from foods like nuts, beans, oats, brown rice, and many others. In fact, the average American on a non-vegetarian diet gets twice as much protein than necessary. Switching to veganism gives you more energy, healthier hair, skin, and nails, and can significantly reduce body odor and bad breath. It can also remarkably reduce your risk of heart disease, heart attacks, stroke, and cancer.
By being vegan for just the 24 hours on Earth Day, you will save about 1/2 of an animal. If you decide you like it and you want to become a full time vegan, you can save over 200 animals a year! On April 22nd, everyone can make the decision to keep the Earth healthy and feel great while doing it.