Newsweek: Leadership & the Environment

I was glad that Newsweek had a special section in their latest issue on "Leadership and the Environment" special issue, but was disappointed that none of the articles in that section suggested that transitioning to a plant-based diet represents an easy and effective, not to mention healthy, strategy to reduce global warming. Gidon Eshel and Pamela Martin, researchers from the University of Chicago, found that the typical American diet (28% of which comes from animal-based sources) generates 1.5 tons more carbon dioxide than a vegan diet (New Scientist, 12/17/2005). In her article, "Vegetarian is the New Prius," Kathy Freston (Huffington Post, 1/20/2007), reports that "animal agriculture accounts for most of the water consumed in this country, emits two-thirds of the world's acid-rain-causing ammonia, and it the world's largest source of water pollution--killing entire river and marine ecosystems, destroying coral reefs, and of course, making people sick." Reducing meat from our diet is one of the most concrete—and gratifying—acts we can do to help solve our climate crisis.

Even if you can't go vegan, you can eat less meat in general or vow to go meat-free for a day a week. You can also buy organic and choose locally grown produce that has not had to be shipped long distances to reach the grocery store.