Study confirms going vegan is the best way to reduce your carbon footprint

If you haven’t already made the switch.

There are plenty of widely acknowledged benefits to a vegan diet, a lot of which have to do with the environment.

Now, research has shown just how big of an impact a plant-based diet can have when it comes to creating a greener planet.

In the most comprehensive study into food’s environmental impact to date, the University of Oxford confirmed that a diet free of animal products can reduce our production of greenhouse gases.

Food production currently creates around 13.7 billion metric tons of carbon dioxide equivalents per year, mainly at the farming stage.

The meat and dairy industries, in particular, are responsible for 60 per cent of agricultural greenhouse emissions. So, it stands to reason that cutting down on meat consumption can lead to a cleaner earth.

According to the study, if everybody made the switch to a diet that excludes animal products, greenhouse gas emissions could be reduced by 49 per cent, as well as cutting down the industry’s land use by 76 per cent. Even substituting half of our meat and dairy consumption with vegetable equivalents can make a huge difference.

To read the full study, head here.