Vegan Eco-Footprint

Part of being vegan is constantly scrutinizing and re-scrutinizing where your food comes from. While some people become vegan because of health or animal rights issues I chose veganism because what I found out about the meat and dairy industry business practices sickened me. We actually eliminated almost all eggs and dairy from our diet long before going vegan (seafood was the last to go) but learning more about the mass production of agricultural products drove the final nails in the coffin. Even though I don't feel guilt anymore for contributing to those business practices (but still horror) I have become obsessed with constantly learning more.

The dialogue on veganism seems like it has turned to what benefits it holds for the planet. So I did a little test. I took the eco-footprint quiz once as a vegan and once as someone who ate meat or dairy at every meal. As a meat eater I would require 4.4 planets to satiate my meat eating needs. Just switching to veganism reduced this number to 3.6 planets. Not a saintly number but 22% lower.

Then I took the eco-footprint quiz as if I lived in Finland as a vegan. 1.8 earths. Half of my current usage. I guess for Americans they just take the score you might have gotten in a responsible country and double it as an asshole tax.

Instead of ranting about how New Orleans has yet to establish a recycling program and just passed out huge plastic bins large enough to accommodate five human bodies I am off to search for a curry recipe that includes chickpeas and cauliflower. My roti will be done resting in half an hour and I have no idea what to serve with it!