The U.S. is one very carnivorous nation. But what if, just for one day, everyone went vegetarian?
Well, according to a Huffington Post article by Kathy Freston, just one meat free day in the U.S. would save nearly 100 billion gallons of water, 1.5 billion pounds of crops, 70 million gallons of gas, and 33 tons of antibiotics.
Wow. All that just for eating pasta instead of pork chops. Surprised? You shouldn’t be. After all, the Livestock’s Long Shadow report, released recently by the UN, has already concluded that the meat industry is responsible for almost 40% more greenhouse gas emissions than all the world’s transportation systems.
These numbers have definitely given me food for thought (sorry). A regular meat eater – I admit it! – it’s got me convinced that I should try and have at least one meat-free day a week.
Image: Steven Fernandez