Did you know?
Don’t Despair!
If the world went vegetarian, greenhouse gas emissions could be cut down by two-thirds by 2050.
Eating three plant-based meals a day for a year can save the equivalent of greenhouse gases generated from driving from New York to San Francisco four times.
On average, just two football fields per year can feed 14 people a plant-based diet vs. only one person eating meat and dairy.
If everyone in the world consumed a predominantly whole food, plant-based diet, nearly 5 billion football fields of land could be restored to forest.
Shifting the world toward eating more plant-based foods could supply 30% more food to the planet’s growing population.
Climate Change.
“The rearing of livestock for meat, eggs and milk generates 14.5% of total global GHG emissions, occupies 70% of agricultural land, is the main agricultural cause of deforestation, biodiversity loss and land degradation, and a major polluter of waterways. Meat-heavy diets are implicated in rapid growth in diet related diseases around the world.”
— Tara Garnett, University of Oxford, Food Climate Research Network
The science is in. Animal agriculture is the #2 contributor to greenhouse gas emissions in the world. In fact, if the world’s cattle formed a nation, it would be the 3rd largest greenhouse gas emitter after China and the U.S.
Greenhouse gasses including methane, carbon dioxide and nitrous oxide have caused a chronic state of climate emergency, which includes:
While you might feel overwhelmed, anxious, or even numb to the facts, the good news is there is something you can do. Starting with what you choose for breakfast, lunch or dinner. Every meal is an opportunity to reduce your carbon emissions. In fact, by going plant-based, you can cut your greenhouse gas “foodprint” — emissions generated from the food you eat — in half. Chew on that!
Deforestation
Water Usage
How Much Water Does It Take?
1 cup of milk = 688 cups of water
1 quarter-pound cheeseburger = 1,800 gallons of water
1 2-ounce serving of cheese = 75 gallons of water
Swapping out just one pound of real beef with a plant-based alternative “Beefy Crumbles” saves almost 2,000 gallons of water
A couple eating plant-based once a day for a year would save about 337,100 gallons of water — or half the water in an Olympic-size swimming pool
EXTINCTION & ENDANGERED SPECIES
We are in the middle of the 6th great mass extinction of the planet’s history, where species are being lost at 100 times the natural rate of extinction.
Surprisingly to most, what we cook up for dinner is linked with the plants and animals disappearing from the planet — and not in the way you think. While images of cows, pigs and chickens are what first comes to mind, animal agriculture’s impact on animals extends far beyond factory farm animals.
The leading cause of biodiversity loss is due to habitat loss, or land use change from agriculture, with nearly 1/3rd of the Earth’s land surface used to raise livestock. Sadly, the meat and dairy we eat is impacting the very extinction of the wild animals and plants we love.
The Center for Biological Diversity reports that by 2050, the world could see between 30-50% of all species being extinct. And a whopping 30% of biodiversity loss on land has been linked to animal agriculture.
To learn more about what OMD and the Center for Biological Diversity are doing to create change, visit our Restaurant Campaign page. You, too, can join the movement toward getting more plant-based options on menus across the country!