By going one full day with no animal products, dairy, meat, eggs, ect. a person can save 1,000 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of forest, and 20 pounds of carbon dioxide. This is much more than you could save by cutting down driving time, which only reduces the amount of carbon dioxide. Not only this but it is proven that a plant based diet is a healthier lifestyle choice (Tuso et al.). It specifically benefits people with Type 2 diabetes, obesity, high blood pressure, and cardiovascular disease. More than just people with these can be largely benefited by having a more plant based diet. This doesn’t mean that you should completely go vegan overnight, just that you should consider incorporating plant based foods and meals into your daily life.
Tips on incorporating plant based foods into your life:
Start slow; this is a huge change in diet so don’t expect to be able to do it overnight
it may feel like you need to prove yourself and become a vegetarian/vegan overnight, but this is an unrealistic goal and will do more harm than good
Start with a meat free day once a week
Most chose monday for a “Meatless Monday” which is a movement created to inspire people to eat less meat
B12 and Iron are two things that are the most hard to obtain in a plant based diet and so it is recommended to find a vitamin or supplement with the daily requirements
B12 is about 2.4 micrograms a day (Vitamin B-12)
Iron is 15 mg (females 14-8) and 11 mg (males 14-18) per day (Ryan)
It is just as important to not have too much of a vitamin or mineral!!
Always consult with a professional before starting a new diet to make sure it is compatible with your body
If you go out to coffee try ordering with a plant based milk instead of dairy
Make sure to look up the brands that you use to make sure that they are what you consider to be ethical!
Check the ingredients on some of the foods you already eat to see if they are vegan (hint: oreos are!)
look for eggs, milk, gelatin, lard (in refried beans), seafood
some foods will be vegan but won’t have the certification so check for both!
Substitutions:
Meat
Lentils are an amazing substitute for ground beef in recipes and have a lot of iron!
Quinoa is a very good source of protein and is easy to make and add to salads or just eaten as the main dish
Beans and other legumes are the best way to get protein from unprocessed foods!
You can also try out tofu if you’re into that!
Eggs
Flaxseed, apple cider vinegar, bananas, and peanut butter are some substitutes for eggs in baking
look up your particular recipe to find out what will work best
the apple cider vinegar will be less likely to be used in recipes but it’s good to keep around!
Cheese
Nutritional yeast is a common substitute for cheese and is used in a lot of recipes
There are also vegan cheeses that you can find in grocery stores, usually there will be either a general plant based section or a plant based section with the other cheeses where you can find it
Butter
Oil is often substituted for butter because it has similar properties
To get the flavor of butter you can find plant based butter (made from oils produced by plants) in the butter section of the store; my favorite brand for butter is Earth Balance
Milk
Different types of plant based milks have different benefits:
Oat milk is the one that is the most environmentally friendly
Almond milk has a larger impact on the environment, but many people enjoy the flavor more
You can also make your own plant based milks if you have a blender. most are just made of that ingredient (oats, almonds, ect), sweetener, and water. Here is a general guide on how to make dairy free milk at home (https://minimalistbaker.com/guide-making-dairy-free-milk/ )
Works Cited
C., Dale. “Going Veg & the Environment.” Happycow.net, 2018,
www.happycow.net/vegtopics/environment.
Katherine D. McManus, MS. “What Is a Plant-Based Diet and Why Should You Try It?”
Harvard Health Blog, 15 Sept. 2020, www.health.harvard.edu/blog/what-is-a-plant-
based-diet-and-why-should-you-try-it-2018092614760.
Mayo Clinic Staff. “Vitamin B-12.” Mayo Clinic, Mayo Foundation for Medical Education and
Research, 17 Oct. 2017, www.mayoclinic.org/drugs-supplements-vitamin-b12/art-
Ryan, Monique. “Give Your Teen's Iron a Boost.” EatRight, 2019,
your-teens-iron-a-boost.
Smith, Diane, et al. “Plant-Based Substitutions.” Plant Based Cooking, 16 Mar. 2020,
www.plantbasedcooking.com/plant-based-recipe-substitutions/.
Tuso, Philip J, et al. “Nutritional Update for Physicians: Plant-Based Diets.” The Permanente
Journal, The Permanente Journal, 2013,
www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3662288/.