I made a decision to go vegan back in February. It resulted mostly from a need to eat less processed foods. I was still on a sugar high from the holidays and ended up reading some trendy diet book that was basically advocating the removal of crap from daily diets. Since then, I've gradually cut out caffeine, most processed foods, and animal products from my diet. After two months I added dairy back in but have since returned to a mostly vegan diet. I strive to eat the most basic, simplistic plant foods everyday which means lots of vegetables, fruit, whole grains, and beans. When I do mess up (I have a very difficult time turning down free food), my body can feel the difference. I've become an avid reader of nutritional labels. No one should be ignorant of what goes inside their bodies. I try to go for products that have the least number of and most recognizable ingredients.
But beyond health reasons, I've realized how huge of an impact an average meat and dairy diet has on the environment. Animal-based diets use up significantly more water and energy to produce and of course have far more of an environmental impact than plant-based diets. A 2006 UN report found that cattle farming "uses more land than any other human activity; it's also one of the largest contributors to water pollution and a bigger source of greenhouse-gas emissions than all the world's trains, planes, and automobiles combined." The following graphic, via GOOD illustrates this.
Much of the environmental damage is a result of the modern farming industry. Small, local farming is certainly a much better alternative. But the majority of the nation's food is not only environmentally damaging but also pumped full of...I'll just say bad stuff. Our government has been subsidizing corn heavily and as a result companies have been cheaply filling our food with it. I'd rather not be corn fed. It makes me angry that buying vegetables and fruit at the grocery store costs more than if I were to fill up on the processed, packaged crap that food companies have been shoving down our throats.
So while everyone yells at you for being obese and federal programs are instated to deal with the effects of it, the government has been playing probably the biggest role in making you that way. There are many places in this country where the closest place to buy food is a gas station or a McDonald's. The poorest areas are usually the most unhealthy. They can either go to the Arby's around the corner or spend more by taking a half hour bus ride to the grocery store where they can actually find produce.
I'm not trying to turn you all into vegans. I just think it's incredibly important that we all think about what's going into our bodies as well as what's going into the food that's going into our bodies and the significance it has on our society and environment. And if you do want to make a difference, even small changes can have an impact. Try local beef instead of cattle raised 200 miles away or maybe just forgo the meat for dinner and experiment with a meat-substitute.
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