Going Vegetarian Could Cancel 16 Years Of Carbon Emissions By 2050, Says Study

Veganism advocates are always ready to recommend non-vegetarians to switch the green side, claiming that it is good for the animals and the environment overall.?

And while some make the switch, many prefer munching on their favourite non-vegetarian delicacy. However, this new study might make you think at least once to consider switching.?

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Researchers from New York University have discovered that switching to a vegan plant-based diet as opposed to resources-hungry meat and dairy diet could help in eliminating 16 years worth of CO2 emissions across the world by 2050.

In the study, researchers looked at areas of the globe where land currently being used for animal-sourced food production has eliminated natural vegetation -- like forests, farm etc. This allowed the team to understand what would happen if these meat or animal products consumers would restore the area to its natural ecosystem.?

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According to NYU’s professor Matthew Hayek, “We only mapped areas where seeds could disperse naturally, growing and multiplying into dense, biodiverse forests and other ecosystems that work to remove carbon dioxide for us. Our results revealed over 7 million square kilometres where forests would be wet enough to regrow and thrive naturally, collectively an area the size of Russia.”

The researchers conclude stating that if more people went the vegan way, it would result in lower demand for meat production and it will help vegetation regrow in these areas, resulting in sequestering of 9 to 16 year’s worth of fossil fuel emissions by 2050.?

Hayek said, “We can think of shifting our eating habits toward land-friendly diets as a supplement to shifting energy, rather than a substitute. Restoring native forests could buy some much-needed time for countries to transition their energy grids to renewable, fossil-free infrastructure.”

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Co-author and ecosystem scientist Nathan Mueller of the Colorado State University in Fort Collins further added “While the potential for restoring ecosystems is substantial, extensive animal agriculture is culturally and economically important in many regions around the world. Ultimately, our findings can help target places where restoring ecosystems and halting ongoing deforestation would have the largest carbon benefits.”