Less turkey, more mashed potatoes
The Problem: We don't have enough earth to feed everyone meat.
The Fix: Eat less meat. Plants give the same nutrients for 1/5th the land and energy.
Summary: While millions of people are happily vegetarian, it's clear that not everyone wants to go veggie. However, simply reducing the amount of meat we eat can dramatically help the world.
There are a number of reasons why people become vegetarian or vegan and a variety of different diets that are capable of meeting these goals.
Reasons for Becoming Vegetarian
The oldest is an animal welfare reason, one set forth by some animal rights proponents and groups like PETA. Another is that of health concerns, much like part of the reasoning behind the organic food movement. There are some concerns over what additives are put into meat and their effect on human health. There are also some studies that show that a non-meat diet may be healthier than a meat-based diet, but those mostly depend on individual choices more than the diet itself. The reason we are concerned about, however, is the fact that much more energy goes into producing meat than producing grains and other food sources.
Types of Diets
- Pescatarian
- This distinction is often made in green discussions because fish do not consumer food that human's farm.
- Lacto-vegetarianism - Dairy, but no eggs
- Ovo-vegetarianism - Includes eggs, but not dairy
- Lacto-ovo-vegetarianism - Includes both eggs and dairy
- Vegan