Topic: Vegetarianism and the Environment
I have considered becoming a vegetarian for a long time. I was a vegetarian for about six months in high school, but went back to eating meat after not getting enough protein and iron in my body. At the time I was doing it for ethical reasons, and if I were to go back, it would be both for ethical and environmental reasons.
Believe it or not, becoming a vegetarian is actually good for the environment. The obvious is that not eating meat saves countless animals that are important to our ecosystem and fights animal cruelty. But there are so many other benefits to the environment. Switching to a vegetarian lifestyle reduces a person’s ecological footprint.
Producing two pounds of beef causes a large amount of greenhouse gasses to be released into the air. “The amount of greenhouse gas that is released is more than driving a car for three hours and uses more energy than leaving your house lights on for the same period of time” (Vegetarianism and the Environment). Every day, factory farms produce billions of pounds of manure which ultimately ends up in lakes, river, and drinking water. Also, the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) reports that 80% of ammonia emissions in the United States comes from animal waste.
Those few facts alone are enough for me to become a vegetarian.
The Vegetarian Food Pyramid:
A PETA ad promoting vegetarianism:
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