So, I kind of have a thing for cheese. Smoked Gouda, Swiss, Pinconning Cheddar…  okay, so maybe it’s more than puppy-love. And when I casually mentioned to my housemates that I was contemplating going vegan for Lent, I didn’t expect them to take me seriously.  First of all, even though I was raised in a strict Catholic household, I am by no means a practicing Catholic myself. Secondly – well, see the first sentence. But one of my housemates seemed to think it was a good idea, and we decided to eschew all meat and dairy products on Ash Wednesday (February 17) and keep it vegan until Easter (April 4).

Why would two relatively-secular, occasionally carnivorous college students with a love for lactose bother attempting such a feat? For one, we both like competition. But more importantly, going vegan greatly reduces your carbon footprint. According to a 2006 United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization Report, the livestock sector accounts for about 18% of CO2 emissions – more than transport – and 64% of anthropogenic ammonia emissions, which lead to acid rain. Additionally, the livestock industry is responsible for about 8% of the world’s water usage. And, according to Vegan Outreach, livestock farming is a “…major driver of deforestation, as well as one of the leading drivers of land degradation, pollution, climate change, overfishing, sedimentation of coastal areas and facilitation of invasions by alien species.”

Oh, and cows poop a lot – about the same amount of waste produced by 20 to 40 humans a day, to be specific. Vegan Outreach summarizes information from a U.S. Environmental Protection Agency report on their website:

Manure, and wastewater containing manure, can severely harm river and stream ecosystems. Manure contains ammonia which is highly toxic to fish at low levels. Increased amounts of nutrients, such as nitrogen and phosphorus, from AFOs can cause algal blooms which block waterways and deplete oxygen as they decompose. This can kill fish and other aquatic organisms, devastating the entire aquatic food chain.

Needless to say, if the world ate less meat, thereby decreasing the size of the livestock industry, it’s highly probable that the global carbon footprint would be reduced. Many, like my parents and several of my friends, stop eating meat for animal rights- related reasons. I mean, it makes sense. If you don’t like to think about cows getting their heads chopped off, not eating beef is an easy way to prevent dinnertime guilt. But the environmental effects of the livestock industry provide a more convincing, urgent argument to people who regularly consume meat: eat less of it if you want to create a better world for animals AND humans! You don’t have to quit cold turkey (ha-ha…) and go vegan forever. Fans of alliteration, for example, might want to have “Meatless Mondays” and go vegan once a week.

As for my vegan experiment, I’m still counting down the weeks to Easter (less than two!). My housemate, however, gave in to ham and cheese pizza during a moment of weakness. Still, I have to give her props because she keeps on baking these delicious vegan brownies. On that note, make sure to check out next week’s edition of SHEI Vert which will feature a bunch of vegan recipes for your eco-conscious tastebuds!