the importance of earth-friendly diets
Save Endangered Species
Save Endangered Species
Save Endangered Species
Wild animals suffer not only the collateral damage of meat-related deforestation, drought, pollution and climate change, but also direct targeting by the meat industry.
Native species like wolves, elk and prairie dogs are intentionally killed to protect meat-production profits, while other species like turtles, bees and butterflies are d
Wild animals suffer not only the collateral damage of meat-related deforestation, drought, pollution and climate change, but also direct targeting by the meat industry.
Native species like wolves, elk and prairie dogs are intentionally killed to protect meat-production profits, while other species like turtles, bees and butterflies are driven to the brink of extinction by our outsized appetite for meat and dairy.
Protect Wild Habitats
Save Endangered Species
Save Endangered Species
In the United States, 80% of agricultural land is used for raising animals and feed crops. That’s almost half the land mass of the lower 48 dedicated to feeding the nation’s appetite for beef, chicken and pork. More than half of the grain grown in the country goes toward feeding livestock, and nearly half of the water used goes toward meat production.
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Fight Climate Change
Save Endangered Species
Fight Climate Change
Global warming presents the gravest threat to life on Earth. Meat production is a major contributor to the rising temperatures that are affecting habitat, reducing food sources and worsening drought, while also increasing human health risks and food insecurity.
Promote Food Justice
Promote Food Justice
Fight Climate Change
Not everyone has equal access to healthy and sustainable food. The most marginalized U.S. communities are more likely to suffer from food insecurity and diet-related disease and have the fewest options for purchasing healthy food. They’re also more likely to be harmed by the toxic impacts of industrial food production. Earth-friendly food
Not everyone has equal access to healthy and sustainable food. The most marginalized U.S. communities are more likely to suffer from food insecurity and diet-related disease and have the fewest options for purchasing healthy food. They’re also more likely to be harmed by the toxic impacts of industrial food production. Earth-friendly food can help prevent harmful pollution and ensure that everyone has better food choices.
Cut Food Waste
Promote Food Justice
Conserve Clean Water
The United States wastes up to 40% of the food we grow, at the same time wasting all the land, labor, water and energy that went into producing that food and worsening the hunger crisis. Committing to zero-waste policies, with a focus on preventing the waste of animal products that come with a much higher environmental cost, is an important part of shifting toward an Earth-friendly diet.
Conserve Clean Water
Promote Food Justice
Conserve Clean Water
Meat production, especially the beef industry, is a leading source of water use in the U.S., even in drought-ridden states. The meat industry also produces 500 million tons of manure annually, polluting more than 40% of rivers and impairing riparian habitat, wetlands, lakes and estuaries.
WHAT'S AN EARTH-FRIENDLY DIET?
Food production is driving the extinction crisis — but it doesn’t have to be that way. An Earth-friendly diet is rooted in justice and the health of people, the planet and the wildlife who depend on it.
Production of meat and dairy is a leading cause of deforestation, pollution and the climate crisis. The demands of raising animals for food and growing their feed crops contribute half of all agricultural emissions and occupy 30% of the Earth’s surface. The industry also contributes to food insecurity, poor public health, antibiotic resistance, environmental injustice, dangerous worker conditions, inequality and the inhumane treatment of other animals.
By reducing beef consumption and production by 90% and all other animal products including seafood by 50%, we can take extinction off our plates and support a just, healthy food system for all.
We must transform industrial agriculture to farming practices that are better for wildlife and the environment, but that's only feasible with significant reductions in meat and dairy production. When we change what we grow, in addition to how we grow it, we can build more resilient ways of nourishing people and the planet.
Join the challenge
Every time we sit down to eat, we can be part of building a better future for wildlife, people and the planet. As the extinction and climate crises loom large, we need widespread, ambitious transformation of our food system.
This will take meaningful leadership from policymakers, but each of us can also reduce our own footprints and build momentum for change by choosing more plant-based meals. Cutting half of the meat and dairy from just one person’s diet can save as much as 511,000 gallons of water, more than 6,000 square feet of land, and the greenhouse gas equivalent of driving 4,000 fewer miles per year.
Check out our resources for how you can start taking extinction off your plate.