There are plenty of reasons to go vegan, vegetarian, or even just establish a limited meat diet. It is becoming somewhat of a trend, as some consider it ethically wrong to eat animals. It can improve your health and it can improve the health of the Earth. I’ll be focusing on those last two to highlight the important reasons for people, especially those in our generation, to limit our meat consumption.

1. Helps Limit Greenhouse Gas Emissions

With the way climate change is quickly progressing and in light of the recent climate strike seen all over the world last week, one of the most important environmental reasons for this change in your diet is the reduction of greenhouse gasses. According to an article by environmentalists, Robert Goodland and Jeff Anhang, meat production requires an enormous amount of energy. Fossil fuels are burned in almost every part of the process including the raising and slaughtering of animals. In 2018, meat production accounted for  51 percent of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions.

2. Conserve Water/Food

Every day, the earth’s food and water resources decrease as we increase our population and general consumption. When you eat an animal you’re consuming the water that the animal needed to live and grow. According to an article from The Oxford Academic, as meat production increases, the water available for both drinking and raising of crops decreases. Meat production also takes up a large number of ingredients that could be used in plant-based products for humans. According to a CNN article written by Dr. George C. Wang, nearly 800 million people worldwide suffer from chronic undernourishment, while 35 percent of grains are given to livestock.

3. Helps Fight Against Heart Disease and Some Cancers

A limited meat diet can force you to eat more fruits and vegetables, which help to fight off potentially life-threatening conditions like heart disease and cancer. According to an article from Healthline, a website for health and wellness information written by licensed nutritionists and dietitians, studies that compare the vegan and vegetarian diet to that of the general population show that non-meat eaters have a 75 percent lower risk of developing high blood pressure and 42 percent lower risk of dying from heart disease.  According to an article from The Academic Journal of Clinical Nutrition written by Winston J Craig, a member of the Department of Nutrition and Wellness at Andrews University, many of the same reasons for a lower risk of heart disease also apply to a lower risk of cancer. Vegans and vegetarians tend to eat more legumes (beans), total fruit and vegetables, tomatoes, allium vegetables, fiber and vitamin C, all of which are known to reduce the risk of cancer. Fruits and vegetables are protective against cancers of the lung, mouth, esophagus and stomach, while fiber, vitamin C, carotenoids, flavonoids and other phytochemicals provide protection against various cancers. In addition, allium vegetables, which are high in beneficial sulfur compounds such as onions and garlic, provide protection against stomach cancer and foods rich in lycopene, such as tomatoes, are known to protect against prostate cancer.

4. Eat Less Processed Foods

A vegan diet guide by Heather McClees, a certified nutritionist and vegan herself, highlights that if you were to go grocery shopping with the goal of buying little to no pre-packaged foods like frozen meals or boxed dinners, you’d be forced to buy healthier products. She also clarifies that not all pre-packaged foods are processed and that the key is to choose packed foods with five ingredients or less such as hummus, fruit and nut bars or frozen veggies and fruits. She also highlights a wholefoods, plant-based diet, which specifically includes no processed foods and very limited amounts of meat products, all of which can improve your general health as well as help protect against the previously mentioned health conditions.

And now, with such information and in-depth research at your fingertips, I have to ask you. Why haven’t you made the change yet? Even more so, why haven’t I?