Earth
Our rate of consumption of the Earth's resources rises each year, and we passed the point of sustainability in 1969. This late in the game, it is critical that we adopt a more sustainable society. According to the Global Footprint Network, we use Earth's resources 1.7 times faster than nature can regenerate them. This means forests turning to deserts, fisheries turned into dead zones, and farms turned into dust bowls.
Our food choices play a huge role in our footprint on this Earth. The livestock industry is a top 5 emitter of pollution and greenhouse gases, causing more carbon emissions than all of transportation (all cars + trucks + trains + planes combined)!
When people switch to plant-based eating, they experience the amazing win-win-win of better health, less human and animal suffering, a major reduction in their depletion of the Earth's resources, and a lower carbon footprint. A recent Oxford study found that vegans have a 73% lower carbon footprint overall. The International Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) is a body of the world's leading climate scientists. It has said that in order to avoid catastrophic runaway global warming, we must reduce our dependence on animals for our food. We have until 2030 to reduce our carbon footprint by 45 percent from 2010 levels. We aren't even close, and there is NO WAY we will get there if we continue to eat our western meat-centric diets.
A big part of the problem is land usage and rainforest depletion. A US omnivore claims 4 times as much land usage and rainforest depletion than a vegan. The biggest culprit? Animal agriculture. The farming of cattle, sheep, and goats account for the greatest portion of the blame for carbon. If we want to be kind ancestors and not steal away our grandchildren's future, we must stop consuming animal products.