The case for plant-based
Soy is one of the key drivers of deforestation globally. These days, you’ll find tofu as a veggie option in many a restaurant, and soy milk seems to be on the menu at every coffee shop. Given that soy is found in many meat and dairy substitutes, the logical conclusion would seem to be that we should stop eating all of this soy, as our demand for these products indirectly drives deforestation.
In fact, only a mere 20% of the soy that is grown worldwide is used to feed humans. The real problem – the deforestation-driving, carbon-emitting problem – is the other 80% used to feed livestock1.
Livestock makes up 62% of the mammalian biomass on Earth. Humans make up a further 34%, and wild animals sadly only account for 4% of all the mammals on Earth2. While human population is growing by 1% annually, our livestock is growing by 2.4%3. As a result, agriculture is the fourth largest producer of greenhouse gas emissions globally, behind electricity and heating, transport, and manufacturing and construction4.
The food we eat has a tremendous impact on our planet. One of the simplest ways you can significantly reduce the effect you personally have on the environment is by reducing or cutting out animal products from your diet.
The environmental argument hasn’t convinced everyone yet. So here are four other, wholly unscientific, (but perhaps more convincing for some) reasons why you should consider a plant-based diet in 2024.
Credit: Geronimo Giqueaux / Unsplash.
1. You will feel cool and superior to everyone else
Vegans have a reputation for being arrogant, judgmental, and condescending. In my experience, this is unfair. Most plant-based people would prefer not to talk about their diet. It’s like being tall – people have this irrepressible desire to mention it.
Telling a vegan why you continue to consume animal products is the equivalent of asking a glasses wearer for ‘a go’.
These days, most people in the UK (and I would wager around the world) understand why it is better not to eat meat. Only a small minority of people are willing to sacrifice the delicious taste of animal products because of ethics (be it animal welfare or the environment). And the person who does choose to do so is making a judgment. They judge that it is better to have a plant-based diet than a carnivorous one.
Most people understand the arguments against the consumption of animal products, and perhaps many are even sympathetic to those arguments (no one likes thinking about caged calves or cute chicks being gassed). And so when faced with a vegetarian or vegan, they are going to feel judged for not making the same choice.
I am entirely accepting of carnivores. I would only very rarely outwardly criticise someone’s dietary choices as I don’t think you can convince people to change their behaviours by shaming them. But, I must admit, there are times when I do feel superior to those who continue to eat meat, eggs, and dairy. I’m happy that I have the willpower to do so even though I love the taste of animal products. I feel like I am a part of a special club, and I will continue to be quietly contented by that fact.
2. Meat substitutes are delicious
I was not brought up as a vegan or vegetarian. Growing up I never would have suspected I would have become plant-based. I loved smoked salmon, bacon sandwiches, and beef lasagna, as much as the next guy or gal.
But I also loved animals and the outdoors. As I grew older, I always had this feeling in the pit of my stomach that consuming animal products was wrong. I was a green-voting environmentalist, but I ignored the hypocrisy basically because, well… bacon is delicious.
You will never hear me say that meat is disgusting. These days I am put off by the sight of raw meat for sure, but breaded chicken, cheese and ham toasties, roast dinners… They are all undeniably tasty.
But you know what else is undeniably tasty? THIS bacon plant-based bacon. Not the new rashers that are too stringy and fall apart, but the original strips. They are perfect for pastas and breakfast. Violife Cheddarton, Meatless Farms Chicken Breast, Oumph! Döner Style Kebab Meat, VFC Chick*n Mince. They are all delicious.
I implore carnivores to just try a few of these replacements. They have come a long way from the vegetable mush burgers of the 90s. Swapping the protein source in just one of the meals for a plant-based alternative could have a huge impact on your carbon footprint over a lifetime.
I would not be plant-based if it were not for the innovation in meat substitutes, and I don’t think that should be overlooked by environmentalists.
Credit: LikeMeat / Unsplash.
3. There seem to be health benefits
Finding a straight answer to the question ‘is being a vegan better for your health?’ is difficult. I am not qualified to tell you if the calories derived from animal fat or vegetable fat are better or worse for you. Even claiming something is ‘better’ or ‘worse’ is controversial to some.
All I can say, from a personal and qualitative perspective, I feel better eating a plant-based diet than I did when consuming animal products. I started feeling healthier, lighter, and more energetic when I switched over to being fully plant-based. Some of it may well have been psychological, or a placebo – but who cares? I feel better and that is the main thing.
4. You can save some money
This one’s tricky. The meat substitutes I was endorsing earlier are not necessarily cheaper than meat. So let’s take a look at some prices on Sainsbury’s:
Sainsbury’s skin on chicken thigh: £2.15 per kilo
Sainsbury’s skinless chicken breast fillet: £6.49 per kilo
Quorn chicken style pieces: £5.90 per kilo
The Vegetarian Butcher ‘What the Cluck’ vegan chicken pieces: £11.67 per kilo
Sainbury’s beef mince: £6.98 per kilo
Quorn mince: £5.90 per kilo
Meatless Farm plant-based mince: £9.43 per kilo
Sainsbury’s British pork sausages: £4.41 per kilo
Sainsbury’s Taste the Difference Cumberland sausages: £8.13 per kilo
Richmond meat-free frozen sausages: £7.07 per kilo
THIS Isn’t Pork plant-based sausages: £12.96 per kilo
Chickpeas: £2.09 per kilo
Edamame beans: £5.05 per kilo
As you can see above, some of the more affordable plant-based alternatives do beat the more premium meat options. However, the cheapest own-brand animal products are cheaper than the vegan options. More ethical options like free-range seem, on average, to cost slightly more than the meat-free alternatives. And beans, nuts, legumes, fruits, and vegetables generally remain very cost effective. Sticking to a more traditional plant-based diet that avoids meat substitutes will save you money.
So I cannot proclaim that having a plant-based diet will save you massive amounts of money in modern day Britain, but if you mainly stick to fruits and veggies the savings will add up over a lifetime.
In the end, for the sake of a few extra quid each month, I would much prefer to have a diet that doesn’t necessitate the death of animals and has much less of an impact on the environment. It’s a classic example of prices not capturing all the costs (or the negative externalities for those who remember their A Level economics).
Factory farmed beef mince may be slightly cheaper than Meatless Farm’s plant-based mince, but what about the land cleared to feed those cows? What about the fresh water those cows drink? What about the greenhouse gases those cows release? What about the energy used to keep those cows warm? What about the cruel existence forced upon those cows? What about the fuel used to transport the carcasses of those cows?
I think I can spare the extra £1 to help stop all of that.
So if you are even a little curious about trying a more plant-based diet, I implore you to try and make the change. You will feel happier and you really don’t have to sacrifice much. Just try and reduce your consumption of typical day-to-day animal products gradually over time. You’ll be amazed by how easy and enjoyable it is.
Credit: Cam Adams / Unsplash