All of Square Root’s products are completely vegan, meaning they are made without any form of animal products. There are, of course, many debated health benefits to eating a vegan lifestyle or limiting your intake of animal based products, but the environmental benefits of eating vegan and producing vegan friendly products is undeniable. Here are 5 major ways veganism is beneficial to the environment!
- Water Conservation
Plant foods require significantly less water to produce than animal foods do. Because of this, one person going vegan could save over 200,000 gallons of water a year. Making an effort to buy more plant based products as well saves a significant amount of water.
- Limiting Greenhouse Gas Emissions
Carbon dioxide, methane, and other greenhouse gasses produced by animal agriculture account for 14% of the world's global emissions, more than any other cause of emissions, including transportation. Since greenhouse gas emissions are also the number one contributor to climate change and global warming, veganism can also help fight climate change.
3. Fighting World Hunger
A huge portion of the food grown in the world does not actually go to feeding humans. 70% of the grain grown in the United States goes to feeding livestock and 83% of farmland globally is set aside to raise animals. An estimated 700 million tons of food that could be consumed by humans goes to livestock each year.
4. Preserving Land and Species
It can be estimated that eating meat requires three times more land than is needed for a plant based diet, simply because of the vast amount of land required to raise animals. Every second, an area of rainforest roughly the size of a football field is cleared to raise animals. It is estimated that one pound of beef is equivalent to 200 square feet of destroyed rainforest. Destruction of habitat land can lead to species extinction, and in addition to this, poorly managed animal waste products are leading to species extinction because of polluted water getting washed into water systems or disposed of improperly.
5. Reduces Energy Consumption
Raising animals requires eight times more energy than it takes to grow plants. Plants are just far more energy efficient because with the same amount of energy used to produce an animal product, the volume of plant based food that could be produced instead is much higher.
In conclusion, even limiting the amount of animal based products you are consuming has serious environmental benefits. This can start with things as simple as cutting meat out of one or two meals a week and making an effort to buy vegan friendly products at the grocery store. Square Root is proud to produce vegan products and it is important to recognize the importance of vegan products and a plant based diet on the planet. It is a fairly easy personal way to reduce your carbon footprint, and you can still eat great food and feel great while doing it!
Sources:
https://www.independent.co.uk/life-style/health-and-families/veganism-environmental-impact-planet-reduced-plant-based-diet-humans-study-a8378631.html
https://www.globalcitizen.org/en/content/9-reasons-why-veganism-can-save-the-world/?template=next
https://www.environmentbuddy.com/health-and-lifestyle/environmental-benefits-of-going-vegan/