A substitute teacher in my ninth grade biology class once paused our documentary screening of Food Inc., to say that “Eating meat is not as bad as these people are making it seem.” I’ll be honest: As a vegetarian, I was disappointed. Reducing meat consumption isn’t some impossible, unrealistic demand. Moments like this affirm how conversations about the food choices we make can easily be dismissed. Instead of actively listening, we’re told that these documentaries are exaggerated and, as a result, youth are led astray, obscured from the environmental impact of meat consumption and the benefits of reducing it.
In a way, being a vegetarian has often felt like being put on display in a museum’s “Mysteries of the World” exhibit: People don’t understand you. Questions like “What do you even eat?” and “How do you do that?” are guaranteed to induce eye rolls from me. And whenever I mention the benefits of veganism or vegetarianism, there’salways someone — usually a gym bro in the corner — asking me how I hit my protein goals. The assumption seems to be that I survive on plain, blanched vegetables. Newsflash: I don’t, and neither does most of the plant-based community. There’s also this idea that vegetarian food is automatically bland. I have no clue where this assumption comes from — vegetables can be seasoned too — but I can confirm that no meal from my household could be accused of flavorlessness. Meat might be a well-known source of protein, but it’s far from the only one. Lentils, tofu, beans and more get the job done. Vegetarians aren’t the unicorn of Americans, and we can’t be spotted like Bigfoot.
Granted, the idea of never eating meat again can feel mystifying. But when vegetarianism is dismissed off the bat, the reasons for a meatless, or less-meat diet, are ignored. These reasons are not only personal, but also for the collective good. They’re largely tied to the environmental impact of food systems we all contribute to. Just buying meat increases your carbon footprint. We’ve all heard that cows release methane when they fart, but have you ever stopped to think why? When farmers prepare cows for slaughter to make your double-doubles from In-N-Out, it takes an incredible amount of water and processing that could be used to feed humans instead. If you remember the 10% rule from biology, only 10% of energy transfers from one level of a food chain to the next. Yet when you eat meat, you’re only getting 1% of the energy of what that animal ate, compared with 10% if you ate plants. If that’s not enough to convince you, any type of meat also requires thousands of liters of water per kilogram to be produced, according to Open Access Government. And vegetables? A mere 322 liters. On top of that, we all know that when cows digest all that food, they release methane. Once again, the National Library of Medicine has my back: Cattle methane emissions account for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. Let that sink in. Eating meat isn’t just unhealthy: It’s actively harmful to the planet. Would you rather eat meat for the rest of your life or watch the global temperature rise? Tough choice.
With this in mind, consider why people follow plant-based diets and stop rejecting the ideals they center their life around. Following a plant-based diet can reduce the risk of heart disease and reduce high blood pressure, according to the National Institution of Health. These are significant, tangible health benefits that come from veganism and vegetarianism. Don’t come crying to me when your heart is suffering from all the bacon you ate. I tried to tell you. Cutting out meat isn’t hard. The mental and social barrier is what makes it difficult. Baby steps, people.
