Fact Page
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4-5 % of the US is vegetarian
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30% of India is vegetarian
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20 billion chickens, 1.5 billion cows, more than a billion sheep, and less than a billion pigs are in the world. Without these animals it would free up a lot of land.
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33 million km squared are used for pasture which is about the size of Africa. That is not even counting the land used for animal feed!
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When cows fart, out comes a gas that is 25x more powerful that Co2, which is called methane.
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Livestock production is responsible for 15% of the world's greenhouse gas emissions and is more than planes, trains, and automobiles put together.
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Scientist say that going vegetarian would be one of the best solutions for climate change
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70% of global freshwater consumption is used for agriculture
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15,000 liters of water are used for beef
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6,000 liters of water are used for pork
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4,000 liters of water are used for chicken
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Going vegan for two thirds of meals could cut food related carbon emissions by 60%
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When comparing two Western adults who eat an average diet, the person who guzzles an additional 50 g of processed red meat per day has a 41% higher chance of dying in a given year
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Loss of land to agriculture is the main cause of the current mass extinction of wildlife
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Meat and dairy produce 60% of agriculture's greenhouse gas emissions
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Turning vegan is far better than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car as these only cut greenhouse gas emissions.
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Meat, especially beef, drives climate change in two ways. First, through cow's emission of methane which is a potent greenhouse gas. Second, by destroying forests as they are converted to grazing land
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If every person in the US cut their meat consumption by 25% it would reduce annual greenhouse gas emissions by 1%
Works Cited
Carrington, Damian. “Avoiding meat and dairy is 'single biggest way' to reduce your impact on Earth.” The Guardian, 31 May 2018, https://www.theguardian.com/environment/2018/may/31/avoiding-meat-and-dairy-is-single-biggest-way-to-reduce-your-impact-on-earth Accessed 26 September 2023.
Higgins, Nick, and Naomi Oreskes. “Eating Less Red Meat Is Something Individuals Can Do to Help the Climate Crisis.” Scientific American, 1 January 2022,
Accessed 26 September 2023.
“How much would giving up meat help the environment?” The Economist, 15 November 2019, https://www.economist.com/graphic-detail/2019/11/15/how-much-would-giving-up-meat-help-the-environment Accessed 26 September 2023.
“What would happen if the world went vegetarian?” TED-Ed, 29 September 2016,