Photo by Brooke Lark on Unsplash
By Jack Miller, Otzinachson Group
Up to 75 percent of people in the U.S. call themselves environmentalists, but what does that mean? What level of commitment and/or what level of action does it take to make this a meaningful statement? We can take many actions like recycling, driving efficient cars, taking shorter showers, buying fewer consumer goods, and supporting environmentally concerned candidates, but is this enough? There seems to be an almost endless list of things we can do. Of the actions we can take, which will make a greater contribution to our commitment to protecting the biosphere?
It is so easy to rationalize not doing anything because we are just one small part of the population, but as Thoreau wrote, “each one of us is a society of one and that society of one doesn’t depend on others to take action”. We can only be responsible for our own actions. While there must be very significant societal changes if we are to solve the full range of environmental problems we face, each one of us must do all we can.
While there seems to be countless things we humans do to harm the environment, some actions are more harmful than others. While what is the most damaging action we humans do to the living world may be debated, many agree that it is animal agriculture. The list of the damaging effects of animal agriculture seems almost endless. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of climate change, deforestation, species extinction, ocean dead zones, and water pollution.
Consider that to produce a quarter pounder it takes about 660 gallons of water. Know that 91 percent of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest has been done for cattle grazing and the growing of soybeans for animal feed. Ruminants like cows produce significant amounts of methane. Sixty-five percent of nitrous oxide, a powerful greenhouse gas, comes from animal agriculture. The Worldwide Institute has concluded that 51 percent of all greenhouse gases come from animal agriculture. In just the U.S., seven million pounds of excrement are produced by farmed animals every second which ends up as a major contributor to stream pollution and ocean dead zones. Thirty percent of the earth’s total land surface is used for animal agriculture. If you switch from a typical American diet to a vegan diet you will be responsible for only 50 percent of the carbon dioxide, nine percent of the fossil fuel, 33 percent of the water, and six percent of the land your animal product consumption diet required. The list of the damage resulting from animal agriculture goes on and on, but that might take an entire book.
I don’t have any scale or chart to determine who is an environmentalist. What level of commitment does it take to be called an environmentalist? Most of us would agree that it would be difficult to describe someone as an environmentalist if they drove a big old Hummer, but what about the consumption of animal products? Are meatless Mondays enough?
It is almost impossible in the society in which we live to not be an environmental hypocrite to some degree. I drive a Prius and try to limit its use, but can I justify driving it to a state park? I could give you a list of all the things I do for environmental reasons, but I know I still come up short. I have chosen to eat a vegan diet. It makes me feel better for two reasons. I eat a plant-based, vegan diet because I know it is the biggest single thing I can do to protect the environment and my health. The key to good health of the biosphere and personal health is at the end of our forks.
In the words of the poet Edward Everett Hale:
“I am only one, but still I am one. I cannot do everything, but still I can do something; and because I cannot do everything, I will not refuse to do the something that I can do.”
Jack Miller is a member of the Otzinachson Group and a delegate member of the Sierra Club Pennsylvania Chapter Executive Committee.
This blog was included as part of the 2021 Winter Sylvanian newsletter. Please click here to check out more articles from this edition!