Summary
Half of the world’s habitable land is used for agriculture, with most of this used to raise livestock for dairy and meat. Livestock are fed from two sources – lands on which the animals graze and land on which feeding crops, such as soy and cereals, are grown. How much would our agricultural land use decline if the world adopted a plant-based diet?
Research suggests that if everyone shifted to a plant-based diet we would reduce global land use for agriculture by 75%. This large reduction of agricultural land use would be possible thanks to a reduction in land used for grazing and a smaller need for land to grow crops. The research also shows that cutting out beef and dairy (by substituting chicken, eggs, fish or plant-based food) has a much larger impact than eliminating chicken or fish.
Just because you don’t actually do the murdering doesn’t mean you are not responsible for the murder. Those animals that you eat are murdered to create supply for the meat demand that you contribute to. If you stop eating meat, demand goes down by one meat-eater which will decrease the number of animals that are killed. Even though you aren’t slaughtering animals, you are still responsible for the deaths caused by the meat you eat, kind of like how a mob boss is still culpable for murders that they order. Or how the global leaders that send armed forces out to murder people in other countries are considered murderers even though they never personally pull the trigger.
And before you assume I’m a vegan, I’m not, but I feel quite a bit of guilt for the animal lives that I’m responsible for taking. I’m reducing my meat intake (no meat 2-3 days a week) because every little bit helps to reduce demand for meat and the deaths it directly causes.