Science Friday: The Startling Effects of Going Vegetarian for Just One Day

The Startling Effects of Going Vegetarian for Just One Day

Sometimes, solutions to the world's biggest problems are right in front of us. The following statistics are eye-opening, to say the least.

April 2, 2009

I've written extensively on the consequences of eating meat -- on our health, our sense of "right living", and on the environment. It is one of those daily practices that has such a broad and deep effect that I think it merits looking at over and over again, from all the different perspectives. Sometimes, solutions to the world's biggest problems are right in front of us. The following statistics are eye-opening, to say the least.

If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would save:

— 100 billion gallons of water, enough to supply all the homes in New England for almost 4 months;

— 1.5 billion pounds of crops otherwise fed to livestock, enough to feed the state of New Mexico for more than a year;

— 70 million gallons of gas -- enough to fuel all the cars of Canada and Mexico combined with plenty to spare;

— 3 million acres of land, an area more than twice the size of Delaware;

— 33 tons of antibiotics.

If everyone went vegetarian just for one day, the U.S. would prevent:

— Greenhouse gas emissions equivalent to 1.2 million tons of CO2, as much as produced by all of France;

— 3 million tons of soil erosion and $70 million in resulting economic damages;

— 4.5 million tons of animal excrement;

— Almost 7 tons of ammonia emissions, a major air pollutant.

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Click the title for the full article and this related one: 13 Breathtaking Effects of Cutting Back on Meat