June 5 was Environment Day – an opportunity to identify the human actions that damage it and put in place actions to remedy them. Here are three simple actions you can take today to keep the environment healthy for everyone .
1. Go vegan for the planet and all its inhabitants
In addition to harming the billions of animals raised each year to be killed for their flesh, eating meat also creates serious damage to our planet: according to the United Nations, the raising of animals for food is " one of the two or three most contributing factors to the most serious environmental problems, at all levels, from local to global”. Meat production contributes heavily to climate change, deforestation, soil and water pollution, and also requires huge amounts of water. According to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences, livestock uses one-third of the world's freshwater resources, and the United Nations has identified animal farming as "certainly the single greatest cause of environmental pollution." 'water ".
Researchers at Oxford University have found that going vegan could reduce our diet-related carbon footprint by 73%, leading to a significant drop in greenhouse gas emissions. The study's lead author, Joseph Poore, said:
A vegan diet is probably the most important way to reduce your impact on planet Earth. […] This is far more important than reducing your flights or buying an electric car.
It's easy to stop eating meat: millions of people around the world have already done it. Order our free “Budding Vegan Guide” where you will find recipes, info and practical advice to help you make the transition.
2. Go “trash fishing”
Every year, billions of fish and other marine animals are killed for human food. In addition to the horrific suffering that fish endure in nets, on hooks and on the decks of fishing boats – where they slowly suffocate or are disemboweled while still conscious – heavy fishing also takes untold devastation . on aquatic environments.
The gigantic trawlers with nets the size of football fields destroy corals, seabed flora and scrape up everything in their path, including sea urchins, dolphins, crabs, turtles and seals. For angling, the vessels unroll lines that can go up to 120 kilometers, riddled with deadly hooks. The gigantic driftnets are invisible to most fish and extend into the water like a "wall of death" that traps all animals that swim in them.
Scientists affiliated with The Ocean Cleanup Association have determined that fishing nets make up at least 46% of the plastic weight of the Pacific Trash Patch, a floating pile of trash three times the size of France. Eel traps, baskets, ropes and other abandoned fishing gear (also known as "ghost tackle") make up the majority of the rest.
Banning plastic bags and straws is a first step, but it is far from enough. Let's replace cruel and damaging animal fishing with trash fishing – it cleans up animal habitats and protects them by preventing them from eating or getting entangled in debris, which can be deadly to them.
ORGANIZE A FISHING FOR GARBAGE
You now know that a vegan diet is the best way to reduce your ecological footprint, but do your Facebook friends and Instagram followers know it too?
Knowing better means doing better – so be sure to let everyone know how they can help.
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Written by : Marie J - PETA France
Posted on 2023-06-06 15:25
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