Imagine waking up to a world where there’s no steak, fish, egg poach, and not even the go-to hamburgers!
A bit extreme, isn’t it?
Well, that’s your vegan world! Where every last person has gone vegan and we have completely eliminated anything related to animals from our diet, including dairy products and eggs.
So,
How will it be?
Will it be a green world?
A sustainable one?
Today, let’s delve into this possibility, and find out what will happen if we all go vegan!
Veganism — The Greener Food Habit
If you are yet to come across the terms veganism and vegan diet you might have few queries popping up. What is a vegan diet? Is it the normal vegetarian diet? Let’s explain in the simplest manner. The vegan diet is the most extreme form of vegetarian diet where no product derived from animals is consumed. This means that there is no chance of including even dairy items. It is a completely plant-based diet.
And, since there is no contribution to any form of animal farming, it is considered as the best diet when you pledge to go green!
This means that going vegan is the best thing for the planet, right?
Hold your thoughts right there! You might be surprised after learning about vegan diets in depth.
What Happens If Every Person On Earth Goes Vegan?
The current world population stands at around 7.9 Billion (as of 2021). And, as per the updated statistics in 2021, only 14 percent of the world population has adopted the vegan diet.
But,
What happens if the entire population across earth takes up veganism?
Will it be the best thing for the environment?
How will nature change?
Will this be the solution for climate change?
And, what about the world economy? Let’s find out!
Joys Of A Vegan World: Pros Of Going All Green
How did the vegan revolution gain such huge momentum? Let’s look at the pros of a vegan world.
Greenhouse Gas Emission Reduction
One of the immediate positive effects that the world will experience on adopting veganism is a massive reduction in greenhouse gases emission. Did you know that livestock produce 18% of the total greenhouse gas emissions, which is more than all the forms of automobiles put together across the world. Well, the major reason is that the livestock gives out methane, which has twenty times the potential as compared to CO2 to heat up the earth, and hence the high percentage. Going vegan eliminates the need of rearing livestock and cuts down carbon footprint. As per a recent report published in ‘Proceedings of National Academy of Sciences’ the emission due to food consumption will reduce by 70% by 2050 if the world goes vegan.
Better Use Of Land
Rearing livestocks, or maintaining a poultry farm, takes up massive areas of land. Not to mention the high water consumption as well. Currently, we use 68% of the total agricultural land to grow crops needed by the livestock we are rearing for human consumption. Statistically speaking, a person who consumes meat uses up about 17 times more land, 10 times more energy, and 14 times more water, as compared to a vegetarian. Everyone going vegan will free up the land for plantations and sustainable farming. The same amount of land will be able to produce a higher quantity of food. Increased forest cover will mean that there is less carbon dioxide in the atmosphere, thereby countering the carbon emission via other sources.
Eliminate Animal Cruelty
One of the main concerns of people adopting vegan diet is the animal cruelty in animal husbandries and dairy farms. Going vegan will eliminate the needs of these places, thereby countering the cruel practices carried out in these places. While this isn’t tackling environmental issues, it’s humanitarian for sure.
Is Vegan Diet Always Green? The Darker Shade
Even though countless supporters of veganism say that vegan diet is the way forward if we are to avoid the climate change crisis and numerous other environmental problems, in reality there are some issues with vegan diet as well that are not entirely beneficial for the environment.
Increased Farming Needs
A vegan world population will exponentially increase the need for farm produce. However, agricultural practices are also responsible for greenhouse gas emissions. The use of artificial and chemical fertilizers release carbon dioxide and methane. Moreover, these fertilizers combining with the soil then created nitrous oxide, yet another extremely potent greenhouse gas. Right now these emissions combined contribute to 3% of the global emissions. Imagine the increase when the world goes vegan!
Healthy Living
Vegan diet has been found to keep people healthier and reduce the need of medicines. This translates to increased overall life expectancy. But, lower mortality rate will certainly increase world population growth, thereby increasing the need of resources.
Crops, Plants, And Transports
Vegans say that they contribute least to the carbon footprint because their food habit reduces carbon emissions. But, is that entirely true? In fact, the carbon emission rises steeply if you are in the habit of eating imported food items, which needs transportation, thereby adding to the carbon emissions. If that was not all, trees like avocado, mango, and other fruits and vegetables have massive water requirements. As per estimate a single avocado needs about 30 to 60 gallons of water to grow. This transforms to 183 gallons of water requirement per kilogram of the fruit. Looking at these facts it doesn’t look as green anymore.
Shock To Food Chain
Human beings have not recently started eating meat. We have been on a diet consisting of both meat and plant based products for the past 10,000 years or so. The entire human population going vegan will give major shock to the natural food chain and no one can estimate how the natural balance will respond to this.
Economic Shock
The world economy consists of livestock farms, dairies, poultry farms, and such other businesses directly or indirectly associated with animal produce. A large section of these industries will be shut down forever. The livelihood loss will be unprecedented. Economically backward countries will have to start reconsidering their income sources since they mostly trade animal products at present. We are looking at a global economic shock.
World Hunger Will Still Stay
High farm produce will end world hunger in a vegan world, right? Wrong! Did you know that we currently produce 1.5 times the amount of food needed for all human beings to survive? Issue of world hunger is clearly not related to shortage of food. It is more of a political and social problem. Going vegan will do nothing to solve this. On the contrary, the low income group that gets protein and other nutrients from the meat based diet will now have to look for that in the vegan diet, and will almost certainly start suffering from further malnutrition.
Is The World Going Vegan Truly A Green Solution?
In terms of sustainability and benefits to nature the vegan diet looks like the best solution. But, we need to understand the delicate balance in nature. Every human being on this planet going vegan might not be the ideal solution after all. Surely we need to reduce animal consumption. But, to remove it altogether from the diet of every person on earth can have unforeseen effects, and we might not be ready for that!
Share your thoughts at WeNaturalists and participate in the forum discussion.
What are your views on a balanced share of the different dietary supplements?
What should be the perfect ratio between vegans, vegetarians, and non-vegetarians of the world population so as to maintain the natural balance?
