---
description: Veganism's intersectional benefits to our climate footprint
---

# Environmental Highlights

"Environmental researcher Joseph Poore \[...] found that going vegan could reduce your food-related greenhouse gases by up to 73 per cent. Poore says: '**A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact** on planet Earth.'"\
[https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987](https://science.sciencemag.org/content/360/6392/987)\
[https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth](https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth)

51% of **all** greenhouse gas emissions **worldwide** are caused by animal agriculture. **Every year**, animal agriculture produces **at least 32 billion tons of CO2**.\
[http://templatelab.com/livestock-and-climate-change/](http://templatelab.com/livestock-and-climate-change/)\
[http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/study-claims-meat-creates-half-of-all-greenhouse-gases-1812909.html](http://www.independent.co.uk/environment/climate-change/study-claims-meat-creates-half-of-all-greenhouse-gases-1812909.html)\
[https://gelr.org/2015/10/23/a-leading-cause-of-everything-one-industry-that-is-destroying-our-planet-and-our-ability-to-thrive-on-it-georgetown-environmental-law-review/](https://gelr.org/2015/10/23/a-leading-cause-of-everything-one-industry-that-is-destroying-our-planet-and-our-ability-to-thrive-on-it-georgetown-environmental-law-review/)\
[https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts](https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts)

"Dietary change is more important than intensification for climate targets in 2050 \[...] Our results show that **diets are the main determinant of GHG emissions**, with highest GHG emissions found for scenarios including high meat demand, especially if focused on ruminant meat and milk."\
[https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720328709](https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0048969720328709)

Many more studies cited in the main page:

{% content-ref url="greenhouse-gas-emissions" %}
[greenhouse-gas-emissions](greenhouse-gas-emissions)
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Meat and dairy provide just 18% of calories and 37% of protein, but uses 83% of farmland. If we were to all go vegan, global farmland use could be reduced by more than 75% – an area equivalent to the US, China, European Union and Australia combined – and still feed the world.\
[https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216](https://www.science.org/doi/10.1126/science.aaq0216)

{% content-ref url="land-use" %}
[land-use](land-use)
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Animal agriculture is responsible for eutrophication

{% content-ref url="eutrophication" %}
[eutrophication](eutrophication)
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Animal agriculture is responsible for extensive deforestation

{% content-ref url="deforestation" %}
[deforestation](deforestation)
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Regenerative farming is just industry propaganda, not real

{% content-ref url="regenerative-farming" %}
[regenerative-farming](regenerative-farming)
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## General Impact

"for all environmental indicators and nutritional units examined, plant-based foods have the lowest environmental impacts"\
[https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6cd5](https://iopscience.iop.org/article/10.1088/1748-9326/aa6cd5)

"Plant-based diets in comparison to meat-based diets are more sustainable because they use substantially less natural resources and are less taxing on the environment. The world’s demographic explosion and the increase in the appetite for animal foods render the food system unsustainable."\
[https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/100/suppl\_1/476S/4576675](https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/100/suppl_1/476S/4576675)

### Compendiums

The following are great "resources of resources" on animal agriculture's impact on the environment:\
[https://www.seaspiracy.org/facts](https://www.seaspiracy.org/facts)\
[https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts](https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts)
