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Plant-based diet
A diet that includes vegetables, fruits, nuts, seeds and grains and is free from all animal products including dairy and eggs. Compelling evidence supports the idea that such a diet has the potential to optimize human health, while also being the only viable approach to sustainably feeding the earth's more than 7 billion people. Beyond all these practical benefits, a plant-based diet is free of the inherent violence and injustice associated with using and killing animals against their wills. The plant-based diet also has the potential to reduce the injustices caused by the use of vast tracts of land to grow feedstock for animals, which 1) often makes it more difficult for those in less wealthy countries to get access to the farmland needed to feed themselves, 2) contributes to deforestation as more and more land is cleared, 3) dramatically lowers the amount of habitat available for wild animals, and 4) damages biodiversity. Livestock & Climate Change, a report produced by two researchers with the World Bank and published by WorldWatch Institute, has documented that over 51% of all global warming impact is being caused by animal agriculture.
The implications are staggering, as it means that individual people eating a meat-based diet, by adopting a plant-based diet, have the ability to cut a major percentage of their carbon footprint. If enough people were to make this healthy and compassionate change, the climate crisis could conceivably be solved, without the need for exotic new technologies, coordinated government action and complex international treaties.
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Frequently Asked Questions
How will I get enough protein on a plant-based diet?
How can I have healthy bones without milk? Don't growing children need animal products to be healthy? Isn't soy bad for you?
What is the difference between vegan and vegetarian?
How do I get started? Is it hard to shop for and prepare plant-based foods?
Glossary
Plant-based diet Transitional foods Vegan Vegetarian
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