Being Vegan is GOOD for the Environment!

I just read an interesting article in The Guardian, about the impact of a Vegan diet on the environment, or specifically avoiding meat and dairy is the single biggest way to reduce your impact on the earth. Here is a quote from the article:

"“A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth, not just greenhouse gases, but global acidification, eutrophication, land use and water use,” said Joseph Poore, at the University of Oxford, UK, who led the research. “It is far bigger than cutting down on your flights or buying an electric car,” he said, as these only cut greenhouse gas emissions."

Click here: for the full article.

I found the comments to be oh so predictable on the article, all the anti-vegans getting highly defensive worrying their steak will be ripped away from their fork. For goodness sakes get a grip, even if a person simply reduced their intake of meat, dairy, eggs and fish, went meatless for breakfast and lunch each day, or went meatless a day or two a week, it would still slowly make a difference.

It is not hard to eat vegan, and if you opt for a whole food plant based diet (WFPB) you will only benefit, what's not to like about normalizing blood pressure and blood cholesterol, maintaining a healthy weight easily, feeling well, reducing inflammation, reducing your risk for cancer and now you can confidently add reducing your impact on the environment.

What is your biggest challenge about giving up meat, eggs, dairy, fish and embracing the world of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and grains?
Many people say they could never, ever give up cheese. I did, and I don't miss it, I ate so much cheese and I would have said the same thing once, but I don't miss it at all and I have never been tempted to try the vegan "cheeses". 
Others worry that they won't get adequate protein, I get around 70 grams of protein each day, primarily from lentils, beans, oats, and almond milk.
As to other nutrients:
I exceed my daily need for calcium, a lot comes from those healthy greens, kale and collard greens, and some from fortification in the almond milk.
I exceed my potassium needs - those lentils and beans do that.
I way exceed my vitamin A and C each day, all the vegetables and a little fruit.
And fiber, I average 60grams or more a day

I would imagine compared to the average American diet I am doing really well on nutrition content and am not lacking in any way. My mantra, "Is this good fuel for my body", and for most things I eat each day, yes it is. And I enjoy a little piece of vegan dark chocolate - it is very nice.

And am I bored? Do I feel left out? Unhappy that I can't eat a bunch of junk food. I can answer that with a resounding NO, I love what I eat, I enjoy my meals immensely and I like the changes my vegan diet has brought to my life.