Why vegetarian What we choose to eat is one of the biggest factors in our personal impact on the environment. A 2006 study, examining the impact of a typical week’s eating, showed that plant-based diets are better for the environment than those based on meat42. A vegan, organic diet had the smallest environmental impact, but the single most damaging foodstuff was beef and all non-vegetarian diets required significantly greater amounts of environmental resources, such as land and water. Similarly, a 2008 study found that the transition to less meat or even a complete switch to plant-based protein food has a dramatic effect on land use17. By feeding grain and vegetables directly to people (rather than livestock) we can increase the amount of food available to everyone. By going vegetarian you will help: • Avoid excessive CO2 production • Reduce methane/nitrous oxide production • Save large amounts of water • Avoid polluting our streams/rivers/oceans • Reduce destruction of topsoil & tropical rainforest • Reduce the destruction of wildlife habitats & endangered species • Reduce the use of antibiotics, growth promoters and chemicals The environmental arguments are strong, but many vegetarians simply believe that it is wrong to kill when there is no need to. Others love and respect animals and want to minimize their suffering. Some vegetarians are specifically opposed to intensive farming and choose vegetarianism because it sends a strong signal, guarantees you won’t be eating an animal reared in appalling conditions, and avoids the distress experienced by all animals slaughtered for their meat. Whatever their reasons for giving up meat, vegetarians benefit from much more than a clear conscience, with lower rates of heart disease, diabetes and certain cancers. There were approximately 6.5 billion people living on earth in 20081, this number is expected to rise to 9 billion by 20502 and as the world’s population continues to grow, our requirement for food will also increase. With dwindling resources and an already increasing number of undernourished people in the world, the effects could be devastating. Worldwide food production requires around 30% of the total soil available, 20% of fossil fuel energy and a major part of the fresh water flow3. Raising cattle is one of the most damaging components of agriculture4. They cause the most environmental damage of any non-human species through over-grazing, soil erosion, desertification, tropical deforestation for ranches and growing of soya for their feed, in addition to their gaseous emissions and manure products. Meat and seafood are the two most rapidly growing ingredients in the global diet and also two of the most costly in resource use. In 2006, 276 million tonnes of chicken, pork, beef and other meat were produced, 4 times as much as in 1961. On average, each person eats twice as much meat as back then (43kgs). The fishing industry harvested 141 million tonnes of seafood globally in 2005, 8 times as much as in 19505. Meat is now the single largest source of animal protein in all affluent nations6 and demand for animal flesh is expected to more than double by the year 20507. Within this timescale the livestock population is expected to rise from 60 billion farm animals to 120 billion8. In order to meet this growing appetite, animals will no doubt be reared more intensively and cheaply with factory farming and aquaculture (fish farming) causing further pollution, water and land usage. If nothing is done, the environmental impact of meat production can only increase. Diet is an important tool in working to achieve environmental sustainability. Studies on world food security estimate that an affluent diet containing meat requires up to 3 times as many resources as a vegetarian diet9. Going vegetarian is an easy way to lower your own environmental impact and help ensure worldwide food security