Leafy Greens Cafe: May 2016

At Leafy Greens we believe that the benefits of a plant-based diet for human health are pretty much beyond debate nowadays - although we’ll keep on telling anyone who’ll listen, of course!

However, we have recently been learning more about the planetary health benefits of opting for a plant-based diet. The statistics are both incredible and terrifying.

Modern industrial farming as practiced in most countries, presents a twofold problem. Huge amounts of precious resources are devoted to raising and processing livestock for human consumption, which means that those same resources are not available for healthier, more efficient food production. At the same time, the waste and byproducts of pastoral farming create a whole raft of new problems.

We don’t want to scare anyone, but here are a few statistics we unearthed that will make you think. If you’re reading this as a carnivore, this may help persuade you come over to the green side. Quite a lot of these statistics come from the USA, where much of this research was done, but they are equally applicable to other countries with similar approaches to farming.

Did you know that in the USA just 5% of all water is consumed by domestic needs, while a staggering 55% is used up by animal agriculture? It takes a staggering 10 000 litres of water to produce a measly 1 kilogram of beef. This means that for the amount of water that it typically takes to make one hamburger, the average person could shower once a day for two months. Meat-farming is also incredibly land intensive. It takes just one sixth of a hectare to produce enough plant-based food to feed a vegan for a year whereas feeding a meat-eater takes 18 times as much land.

Still not convinced? Meat-farming creates a lot of harmful waste products. Cows especially produce a lot of greenhouse gases which contribute to global climate change. Worldwide, livestock farming is responsible for generating four times as much greenhouse gases as all human transport. What’s more, a single large dairy farm with 2 500 cows produces the same amount of organic waste as a city of over 400 000 people.

The solution is fairly simple: switching to a plant-based diet reduces your carbon footprint by 50% immediately, so you can tread more lightly on the earth. The amounts of water, oil, and land used to feed you will also drop dramatically leaving you with a much gentler ecological footprint.

When you use your eyes, brain, and nose the facts are clear. Boosting your own health by switching to a plant-based diet also helps heal the planet. And it’s delicious! #antoniasfoodblog #eatwelldogood @antoniadeluca