The Sunshine Yogi: Veganism and the Environment

I don't think I've formally announced it yet, but The Sunshine Yogi is going Vegan. In a recent blog post, I talked about some of the ethical and medical reasons why veganism is the right choice for me. However, I completely neglected to mention the environmental impact of this lifestyle.

Little did I realize that the vegan lifestyle is not only healthy and humane, but it is the most environmentally-conscious way to live. For example, did you know that raising animals for food uses about 30% of the Earth’s land mass (or an area about the size of Asia)? Or that it takes 2,400 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef, but only 25 gallons to produce a pound of wheat?

We are collectively expending an enormous amount of the earth's resources to raise animals for their meat and other byproducts, but all you hear about in global warming debates are plugs for hybrid cars and advertisements for solar panels. But did you know that if every American dropped just one serving of chicken per week from their diet, it would save the same amount of C02 emissions as taking 500,000 cars off the road?

Going vegan is a lot to ask of people, I understand that. But is it too much to ask for Americans to switch out one serving of chicken a week for a delicious homemade Sweet Potato Black Bean Burger, with avocado and barbecue sauce?