Earth Day

The Earth is our home. Everyone knows that. It's so vital to our everyday lives, and without it, we simply could not and would not exist. We all know the problems: deforestation, the usage of fossil fuels, greenhouse gas emission, global warming... I could go on, but we've all heard of it, and in fact, I'll bet most of us are educated on it. It's amazing to me how easy it is to look at a problem, scratch our heads, and walk away. To continue on with daily life the way we always have. We do it in our schools, in the food industry, and in the way we are destroying the earth. We live in a world of constant denial, but we do it by choice. I'm guilty of the same thing. We all are. Why? Because we don't know how to make a difference.

The problems seem so large, and we are only humans - humans without the capability to make a change in the systems that are so overwhelmingly problematic. I might not know how to reform the schools, or to save the world from evil.  I'm not saying to give up your car, or even to care much about the amount of gas you put in your 9mpg Truck. I'm saying that there is a solution that each and everyone of us has control over. That we can ALL make a difference in a way that helps the environment more than you could even imagine.

The United Nations said that raising animals for food generates more greenhouse gases than all of the cars and trucks in the world combined. By switching to a plant based diet, you are actually saving more carbon emissions than if you were driving a Prius. 50% more. [If you're a vegan driving a Prius, then go you!]

In the United States, 70% of grain grown is used to feed farmed animals, which we later slaughter and eat as food.  Millions of people die from simply not having food. If we all were vegan, and that 70% of grain didn't have to go to food production, hundreds of millions of people could be saved from starvation.

Looking at resources alone: it takes 12x as much land, 13x as much fossil fuels, and 15x as much water to produce one pound of animal protein than it does to produce one pound of soy protein.

I got all of these facts from: http://www.chooseveg.com/environment which is a great website that shows just how much raising animals for food hurts the environment. All health benefits aside, going vegan is the solution to changing the world, one person at a time. If you love being able to go on hikes, smell the trees and the grass, and enjoy the amazing Earth we are blessed with, then please consider eliminating some meat and animal products out of your diet, or adopting a vegan lifestyle entirely. It is so easy to pretend that the choices we make don't contribute to the 'bad,' but the truth is that they do. You don't have to live in denial, you just have to acknowledge that it is the responsibility of each and every individual to take care of the planet, and this is how you, as an individual, can do it.