Earth Day 2024: 22 Reasons to Go Vegan on 22 April

The food you eat has a large impact on your carbon footprint, which is why this 22 April, PETA is launching “Go Vegan for the Earth Day”, a new campaign urging everyone to eat vegan for the day.

Here are just 22 reasons why eating vegan is the best way to celebrate the Earth Day:

1. It’s easy. The climate crisis is scary, but vegan food is delicious and humane – and opting for it is one of the most effective actions anyone can take to fight climate change. If you need help, PETA’s free vegan starter kit has all the tips you need.

2. Going vegan can reduce your carbon footprint from food by up to 73%.

3. Eating vegan means playing your part in protecting the natural habitats of animals we share the planet with. If we all stopped eating meat and dairy, global farmland use could be reduced by 75%.

4. Now think of emissions. Cows alone produce more than 560 billion litres of methane per day. Another great reason to stop eating their flesh and consuming dairy.

5. You will also be saving water. Over 15,000 litres of water are needed to produce 1 kilogram of beef. And raising cows for milk requires 72% more water than is used to produce soya milk. By eating vegan, we reduce our water footprint by nearly 60%.

6. Going vegan does more to protect the environment than giving up driving. Animal agriculture is responsible for about 14.5% of greenhouse-gas emissions globally – which, by some estimates, is more than the combined emissions from all forms of transportation.

7. How about helping to fight global hunger? Each year, 760 million tonnes of grain are fed to animals on factory farms. If the grain were used to feed humans directly, instead of being funnelled through animals, there would be more than enough food for everyone.

8. You will be part of a growing movement. Being anti-speciesist and fighting climate change go hand in hand. When it comes to the climate crisis, animal agriculture is a leading culprit.

9. You’ll be helping the oceans, too. Commercial fishing decimates the world’s oceans, leaving them empty, lifeless, and on the brink of ecological collapse. An estimated 90% of fish populations are fully exploited, and at this rate, soon, there won’t be plenty more fish in the sea.

casperhilt

10. And don’t forget that killing animals is linked to deadly diseases. Ammonia, which is emitted by the UK’s cow, chicken, and pig farms, is a deadly air pollutant that is a threat to human health and can cause premature death. It’s estimated that 3,000 deaths could be prevented annually if ammonia emissions were halved.

11. By eating vegan, you’ll help prevent future pandemics like COVID-19.

12. Going vegan can make you healthier! Eating animal-derived products can clog your arteries with cholesterol and increase your risk of developing obesity, cancer, diabetes, and heart disease.

13. You’ll discover a whole new world of vegan fish and seafood that you’ll love.

14. And vegan fried chicken, too.

Vegan Grocery Store

15. You’ll also have an excellent excuse to treat yourself to these delicious chocolate fixes…

Papa John's

16. … vegan pizzas (how about PETA Vegan Food Award winner The Vegan Works from Papa John’s?) …

Magnum

17. … and ice-creams!

Unsplash

18. You can try out some new vegan recipes or discover hundreds of vegan meals on Deliveroo.

19. Have we mentioned vegan BBQ?

20. You’ll be in good company, too: Joaquin Phoenix, Lewis Hamilton, Jessica Chastain, Natalie Portman, Leona Lewis, Lizzo, Billie Eilish, Al Gore, Morrissey, Jared Leto, Russell Brand, Tobey Maguire, Emily Deschanel, Moby, Bryan Adams, Thom Yorke, Carl Lewis, Jake Shields, Alan Cumming … the list of vegan celebrities goes on and on.

21. You’ll be able to watch Seaspiracy and Cowspiracy without feeling guilty.

22. Most importantly, you’ll be saving lives. Cows, chickens, pigs, sheep, and fish have feelings, thoughts, and personalities, just as we do. Yet the meat, dairy, egg, and fishing industries treat them like commodities, with cruelty that’s hard to swallow.