Is a vegan diet better for the environment than a meat based diet?

Answer 1

Yes. The production of a quarter-pound hamburger requires 625 gallons of water, the destruction of 55 square feet of forest, and wastes 50 times more fossil fuel than would the production of the same amount of plant-based food. Up to 16 pounds of grain and soybeans are needed to produce one pound of beef. Of the grain grown in the United States, 80% is fed to animals to produce meat, milk, and eggs. That statistic is even more alarming now that we are also using grain to produce more fuel. Out of the huge amount of pesticide used on these grains, a percentage ends up on the food is destined for animals that are used to produce meat, milk, and eggs. The pesticide concentrates in the bodies of the animals. This pesticide is then eaten by people, and fed to their companion animals. The other 99% of pesticide ends up in the air that we and other animals breathe and the water that we and other animals drink. The meat industry generates nearly one-fifth of man-made greenhouse gas emissions, according to the UN Food and Agriculture Organization. Using animals to produce food is bad for the environment.