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Going vegan
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Before the term "vegetarian" came up in the 19th century, people who avoided meat were
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called "Pythagoreans". Ancient Greek philosopher and mathematician Pythagoras required
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his students to fast for 40 days before entering his school and to follow a plants-only diet
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afterwards. In the 20th century, some vegetarians felt that not eating any meat and fish was
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not enough for them, and as a result, went vegan.
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Vegans avoid any animal-based food products such as eggs, milk or honey and try to live in
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a way that prevents being cruel to animals, which should have the right to life and freedom.
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Some vegans, the "fruitarians", exclusively live on fruit. In order not to harm the plants, some
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fruitarians do not even pick the fruit but wait until it naturally falls off. Although living vegan is
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often considered very healthy, scientific evidence is not very strong with too few studies on
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long-term effects and not enough focus on certain groups like children.
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In the UK, 30 per cent of all vegans claim that their lifestyle helps the environment by fighting
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global warming and research has shown that a vegan diet is the most effective way to
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reduce our environmental footprint. While many people still believe that greenhouse gases
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only result from smoking factory chimneys and car exhausts, a report of the UN's Food and
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Agriculture Organization states that the meat industry is in fact responsible for 14.5 per cent
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of all greenhouse gas emissions. Emissions are not only caused by meat production and
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transport but also by the cattle themselves: Digesting their food, they produce methane, a
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greenhouse gas, which is much more effective than carbon dioxide at trapping heat in the
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atmosphere.
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According to a British survey, 44 per cent of the young people in London believe the future is
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meat-free and veganism is cooler than smoking. This might explain why the
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top ten UK supermarkets now offer their own vegan products and why the UK's consumption
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rates of vegan alternatives are the highest in Europe. As more people turn vegan, more fruit
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and vegetables are needed. And, as a lot of these popular and nutritious foods are not
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grown in the UK, they need to be imported.
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A good substitute to meat and dairy products are avocados, as they provide exactly what
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vegans miss in their diet. This is why the popularity and demand for avocados have
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increased tremendously. But growing avocados is a water-intensive business.
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And, as soon as you need water, energy-consuming pumps are involved, which means high
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carbon emissions. Thus, importing a small pack with just two avocados has an emissions
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footprint of almost twice the amount of carbon dioxide produced when importing one whole
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kilo of bananas, a study by Carbon Footprint Ltd points out. And what is more, the high
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demand of avocados is the reason why trees are being cut down illegally, so avocados can
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be planted instead. Deforestation not only increases the amount of carbon dioxide in the air
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but also threatens wildlife by destroying the natural habitat. As a result, many species are in
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danger of becoming extinct - something many vegans certainly would not want.
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According to Martin Heller, a sustainability researcher at the University of Michigan, all those
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environmental problems could be reduced by paying attention to how foods are grown and
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transported. Foods like kale', a nutrient-rich vegetable, which can be grown locally, are good
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substitutes to exotic ones that need to be flown in. So, making a few adjustments to your diet
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and being aware of how the food system works can help improve our planet's health.
Adapted from ['Read on' (12/2018), (04/2020), Eilers & Schünemann Verlag KG, Bremen; https://learnenglish.britishcouncil.org/generalenglish/magazine-zone/veganism (15.02.2022); https://www.worldveganorganisation.org/History/WorldVeganism (04.02.2022); https://academic.oup.com/ajcn/article/89/5/1627S/4596952 (18.02.2022); https://plantbasednews. org/opinion/major-rise-veganismyou ng-people/ (19.02.2022)