The Seventh Annual VegFest event is coming up this Saturday, September 9 at Library Square. This is one of Salt Lake City’s ACE-sponsored events and one our Department particularly loves attending every year.
We’ll be there tabling all day and encourage you to stop by and say hi if you’re out and about on Saturday.
The event is focused on celebrating veganism and raising awareness of the many plant-based foods and products available to us here in SLC.
In honor of VegFest, we wanted to highlight some of the environmental reasons to choose more plants, rather than animal products, in your weekly meal planning. Even swapping one meal per week can make a difference.
One of SLCgreen’s summer interns, Kellen Hunnicutt, takes a closer look:
Eat Less Meat and Try a Beet!
I used to think that the only reason anyone ever went vegan, or vegetarian was because of animal rights concerns. I only recently learned that there are many other reasons to reduce meat consumption that are similarly important. I’ve always wanted to be more eco-friendly, but I often wonder what difference I can make. Sometimes, it can feel as if we, on the individual level, have limited opportunity to impact climate.
However, switching to a more plant-based diet is one of the highest impact choices we can make to decrease our personal contributions to climate change! Scientists at Project Drawdown, a climate change mitigation resource, have ranked choosing a plant-rich diet as one of the top 5 most impactful climate mitigation actions. According to Drawdown, “the most conservative estimates suggest that raising livestock accounts for nearly 15% of global greenhouse gases emitted each year; the most comprehensive assessments of direct and indirect emissions say more than 50%”
You don’t have to go entirely vegetarian or vegan to make a difference either. Reducing your meat consumption or opting for lower-impact meats (like fish, and poultry) can also make a difference.
What makes meat production so environmentally intensive?
It’s important to acknowledge that our food systems are complex, and not all meat products have the same impact. Overall meat production is land and water intensive, leading to deforestation and pollution of our waterways. Poor manure management is also common in animal agriculture which can lead to significant greenhouse gas emissions as well as other environmental and public health concerns.
The visual below from Our World in Data illustrates the greenhouse gas emissions generated by many different types of foods, and where the emissions come from. Notice that beef, cheese, and lamb emit considerably more greenhouse gas emissions than poultry, fish, eggs, and milk. Also notice that plant agriculture emits less greenhouse gas than dairy and meat.
We may not think about breakfast, lunch and dinner in terms of global warming, but what you choose to put on your plate can have a big environmental impact! A 2016 study from the University of Oxford projected that “business-as-usual emissions could be reduced by as much as 70 percent through adopting a vegan diet and 63 percent for a vegetarian diet (which includes cheese, milk and eggs).”
Eating Plant-Based Can Be Easy and Delicious
You do not have to sacrifice tastiness when trying a meat-reduced diet. Many beloved meat or dairy-based meals have delicious veggie alternatives. There are lots of incredible plant-based recipes online and resources dedicated to supporting people reducing their meat consumption. If you’re looking for some hands-on support, the Food Justice Coalition offers plant-based cooking classes with an emphasis on sharing recipes that are affordable and easy to prepare.
Salt Lake City also has a variety of local vegan and vegetarian restaurants including Zest Kitchen & Bar, Seasons Plant-Based Kitchen, Bud’s Sandwiches, All Chay Vietnamese in Rose Park, Vulture Food, and many more!
You can sample a whole range of vegan foods at Salt Lake City’s annual VegFest this Saturday, September 9th from 12-8pm at library square.
Vote for a better future one bite at a time!