The new research published in Plos One examined the environmental impacts of several diets including omnivore, flexitarian, vegetarian, vegan, and meat-eating. The study concluded that meat is a key factor in environmental damages, claiming that it ranked as the most significant emission driver in the study. The report found that healthier diets lined up with more environmentally friendly diets, asserting that reducing meat consumption could substantially lower the environmental cost of eating worldwide.

Healthier diets produce lower greenhouse gas emissions

“Healthier diets had lower GHG emissions, demonstrating consistency between planetary and personal health,” the report reads. “Further detail could be gained from incorporating brand, production methods, post-retail emissions, country of origin, and additional environmental impact indicators.”

The researchers examined 212 adults over a 24-hours period, linking 3,000 food to their individual environmental impacts. The report details that meat accounted for 32 percent of diet-related greenhouse gas emissions. Beyond the meat category, the report also indicates that dairy products account for 14 percent of diet-related emissions. Other categories such as drinks, cakes, biscuits, and confections account for the supplemental emission count.

“Meat was the dominant driver for diet-related GHG emissions, explaining most of the differences between GHG emissions associated with vegetarian and non-vegetarian diets, and between the differences in GHG emissions associated with the diets of men and women,” the report concluded.

Animal agriculture produces more methane

Alongside the United Nations report condemning animal agriculture, several other reports have emphasized the devastating impact of meat production. Between methane emissions from livestock and carbon emissions from deforestation and production facilities, the animal agriculture industry is a leading contributor to global greenhouse gas emissions.

A recent study found that meat farming is responsible for 57 percent of all greenhouse gas emissions from the worldwide food sector. The report compares this figure to the 29 percent linked to plant-based food production. The report exposes how dangerous meat and dairy production is for the environment, pointing out its significant land, water, and energy waste alongside the dangerous emission levels.

“The emissions are at the higher end of what we expected, it was a little bit of a surprise,”  Climate Scientist at the University of Illinois and co-author Atul Jain wrote in the report published in Nature Food. “This study shows the entire cycle of the food production system, and policymakers may want to use the results to think about how to control greenhouse gas emissions.”

Severe methane emissions continue to drive climate change as consumers worldwide begin to demand more protein. The UN explains that population growth, economic development, and urban migration have fueled the need for increased protein production. With the growing demand for protein and a worsening climate crisis, countries and organizations worldwide have recognized that it is imperative to bolster the alternative protein market.

During the UN Climate Change Conference earlier this month, world leaders discussed the dangers of methane emissions and the animal agriculture sector. The United States and European Union accounted for a joint pledge to reduce methane emissions over the next ten years, putting pressure on meat and dairy industries worldwide. The international promise included six of the top 15 methane emitters, promising the limit global warming by 0.2 degrees celsius by 2050.

“This will not only rapidly reduce the rate of global warming, but it will also produce a very valuable side benefit, like improving public health and agricultural output,” President Joseph Biden said. “We believe the collective goal is both ambitious and realistic. And we urge you to join us in announcing this pledge at COP26.

Bottom Line: Eat less meat and go plant-based whenever possible for the planet

If you want to spare the environment by reducing your greenhouse gas impact, choose a diet that is low or has no animal products and choose a plant-based diet instead. Plant-based diets can save up to 60 percent in greenhouse gas emissions.

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

1. Burger King

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

2. White Castle

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

3. Del Taco

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

4. Carl’s Jr.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

5. Taco Bell

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

6. Starbucks

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

The post Report: A Meat-Free Diet Can Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions by 60 Percent appeared first on The Beet.

“We intend to build on our shared efforts,” the UN released in a statement. “Working with governments, farmers, and other key stakeholders in our supply chains, to accelerate sector-wide action and to identify opportunities for public-private collaboration to catalyze further progress on eliminating commodity-driven deforestation.”

The declaration requires all participating countries to collectively work to promote land restoration and improve environmental protections worldwide. The plan will work to address decades of damages caused by animal agriculture, logging, and several other industries. The plan also will place pressure on agricultural industries worldwide to limit forest clearing and help reverse the damaging environmental harm caused by decades of malpractice.

`“Signing the declaration is the easy part,” Secretary-General of the UN António Guterres said. “It’s essential that it’s implemented now, for people and the planet.”

Approximately $12 billion of public money will be allocated to support the UN declaration. Countries from across the world will work together to stop deforestation within the next decades. Some countries that signed the pledge include Australia, Brazil, Canada, Chile, Russia, Spain, France, the United Kingdom, and the United States.

Alongside the 105 countries, 10 companies financially tied to the beef, soy, palm oil, and cocoa industries joined the pledge, announcing plans to help stop deforestation. The UN did not release the information about which companies joined the declaration. Within the United Kingdom, the government announced that 30 CEOs of major agriculture companies agreed to assist in reforestation efforts. Many climate and environmental activists hope that the countries begin to actually pass clear legislation.

“Given the way countries are failing to live up to even their weak pledges under the Paris agreement [signed at COP21 in 2015], it will be interesting to see if policymakers come up with approaches that have more teeth when it comes to something so specific and measurable as land conversion,” Director of the Partnership for climate campaign organization Policy Integrity Mary Booth said.

The recent pledge intends to motivate countries to meet commitments established by the Paris Agreement, aiming to keep the world from warming more than 1.5 degrees. The UN’s 2019 IPCC report concluded that nearly 80 percent of global deforestation could be directly attributed to agricultural production – significantly tied to the production of animal feed for livestock.

This year, the UN released a “Code Red” alongside its 2021 IPCC report, detailing the rapidly worsening conditions, directly linking animal agriculture to deforestation and greenhouse gas emissions. The report – released ahead of the COP26 – highlighted the significant damage that animal agriculture caused to the environment and the atmosphere.

“[The report] is a Code Red for humanity,” Guterres said. “The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.”

Following the UN report, several campaigns have been launched that emphasize the importance of plant-based agriculture when discussing climate change. The Plant Based Treaty aims to improve the standards and policies established during the Paris Agreement, promoting the significant impact plant-based eating can have on the environment. The treaty advocates for the disbandment of animal agriculture to make room for a growing plant-based agricultural sector that is substantially more sustainable.

“As a companion to the UNFCCC/Paris Agreement, The Plant Based Treaty initiative is a grassroots campaign designed to put food systems at the forefront of combating the climate crisis. Modeled on the popular Fossil Fuel Treaty, the Plant-Based Treaty aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture and to promote a shift to healthier, sustainable plant-based diets,” the campaign’s website states. “We are urging scientists, individuals, groups, businesses, and cities to endorse this call to action and put pressure on national governments to negotiate an international Plant-Based Treaty.”

Echoing the Plant-Based Treaty, Moby just revealed his own treaty, pleading for world leaders to consider placing plant-based eating and agriculture at the forefront of climate talks. The electronic musician hopes to negotiate a treaty between world leaders that will examine plant-based agriculture as a primary solution to the climate crisis, to stop deforestation, and to cut greenhouse gas emissions.

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

1. Burger King

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

2. White Castle

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

3. Del Taco

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

4. Carl’s Jr.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

5. Taco Bell

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

6. Starbucks

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

The post 105 Countries Pledge to End Deforestation By 2030 appeared first on The Beet.

The acclaimed artist structured his treaty to coincide with the Plant Based Treaty – a campaign designed as a companion to the Paris Agreement regarding climate change that resituates plant-based food systems in the spotlight of the climate conversations. Moby emphasizes the dangerous level of methane emissions directly tied to animal-based food systems.

“We face a climate catastrophe and especially a methane emergency,” Moby said. “We need to strike a global agreement about a shift to a plant-based food system this year at COP26.”

The global conversation concerning climate change shifted heavily to food systems and animal-based agriculture following the UN Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change released a “Code Red” report that highlighted the dangerously high levels of greenhouse gas emissions coming directly from human behavior. The report detailed how the animal agriculture industry acts as a central factor to the rising carbon and methane emission, presenting dangerous, nearly irreversible damage to the environment. Moby’s campaign aims to help argue the need to discuss plant-based policies at COP26 due to these concerning reports.

“We are on track to hit 1.5C warming around 2030 and 2C warming around 2040,” the artist continued. “This would lead to catastrophic climate impacts such as increased heat waves, more intense hurricanes, wildfires, droughts, food shortages, violent weather patterns, sea-level rise, climate refugees, coral bleachings, and the ongoing mass extinctions of thousands, tens of thousands, and millions of species.

“We need to address all three greenhouse gases: carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide. Our biggest chance of limiting temperature rises in the next 25 years is cutting methane.”

In recent years, the animal agricultural industry has faced increasing levels of criticism as its role in the climate crisis becomes unavoidable in the climate change discourse. Another study conducted by Oxford University in 2018 determined that the global meat and dairy industries are directly responsible for 60 percent of greenhouse gas emissions. The significant percentage has since inspired several campaigns working to place plant-based solutions into the conversation including Moby’s treaty and the Plant-Based Treaty.

Similar to Moby’s plea, the Plant-Based Treaty is demanding that world leaders consider the harms coming from the meat and dairy industries worldwide, and then work to implement plant-based solutions. The campaign wants to provide solutions to the environmental damages caused by the current food systems, detailing how to move forward with plant-based agriculture.

“As a companion to the UNFCCC/Paris Agreement, The Plant Based Treaty initiative is a grassroots campaign designed to put food systems at the forefront of combating the climate crisis. Modeled on the popular Fossil Fuel Treaty, the Plant-Based Treaty aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture and to promote a shift to healthier, sustainable plant-based diets,” the campaign’s website states. “We are urging scientists, individuals, groups, businesses, and cities to endorse this call to action and put pressure on national governments to negotiate an international Plant Based Treaty.”

The Plant Based Treaty presents three core tenets to its proposal: Relinquish, redirect, and restore. The organization wants to cease animal-based agriculture worldwide, redirect the employment and systems available to plant-based food production, and help rewild and reverse the detrimental consequences to the environment caused by decades of neglect and malpractice.

Sandra Oh and 20 Others It Might Surprise You to Learn Are Plant-Based

1. Paul McCartney

Sir James Paul McCartney is no stranger to a meat-free life as he’s been vegetarian for 45 years. He initially went vegetarian in 1975 with his first wife Linda McCartney and began his advocacy for animal rights.

2. Sia

If you find yourself constantly singing along to the song The Greatest, then you’re already a Sia fan. Sia tweeted that she is “fully vegan now” back in 2014 and stays true to her word

3. Sandra Oh

Way back at the start of Grey’s Anatomy, Sandra Oh took the cast out for a plant-based lunch at Truly Vegan in Hollywood. In her effort to inspire contemporaries to eat vegan, the TV star is known to invite her friends for vegan meals that are delicious. She adopted the vegan lifestyle years ago and continues to quietly live a cruelty-free life.

4. Gisele Bündchen

Giselle revealed that when she was at the peak of her modeling career, her diet consisted of “cigarettes, wine, and mocha Frappuccinos,” according to an interview in People Magazine. Now 39 and the mother of two children, Gisele eats a “mostly” plant-based diet to nourish her body and stay fueled.

5. Alec Baldwin

Alec Baldwin has made a bigger commitment to plant-based eating since he was first told by doctors that he was pre-diabetic and needed to change his diet. That was decades ago. But, over the last few years, he’s been vocal about the benefits not only to his health but also the impact plant-based eating has on the environment.

7. Pamela Anderson

We all remember Pamela Anderson as the curvaceous blonde in the hit series Baywatch as she played Casey Jean in the red one-piece swimsuit that brought her world-class fame. She is a life-long active animal rights advocate and teamed up with PETA to join the Animal Protection Organization.

8. Kristen Stewart

“We shouldn’t eat as much meat guys,” Kristen Stewart told GQ in an interview in January. The Twilight star has made a full 180 from vampire to vegan. When she appeared on the game show “Hot Ones” she chose to skip the wings and instead compete by eating increasing spicier sauce on vegan cauliflower wings.

9. Jared Leto

This award-winning actor eats a high-protein diet consisting of only plants. Leto, who has been plant-based for 20 years, says it keeps him “shredded” in an interview. Now, 48, Leto looks half his age.

10. Jaden Smith

Jaden Smith switched up his diet from vegan to vegetarian, meaning that he doesn’t eat meat but does eat dairy from time to time. In a recent article by Plant Based News, Smith admits he skipped meals and was not getting the proper nutrition when he was vegan, but this hasn’t stopped him from espousing the plant-based life.

11. Meghan Markle

Meghan, the Duchess of Sussex has never admitted to being fully vegan, but sources say, she eats a plant-based diet most days during the week. She is teaching Prince Harry vegan cooking and in a Plant-Based News article, Markle explained how she hopes to raise baby Archie on a mostly vegan diet.

12. Serena Williams

As a professional athlete, fueling the body is a key factor to Willaim’s successes. In a Bon Appetite article, she explained that she adopted a plant-based diet back in 2012, she was eating a lot “healthier” for her sister, Venus, who eats a strict vegan diet for health reasons.

13. John Mackey

The popular grocery store, Whole Foods Market sells vegan products and nonvegan products which arises black lash from ethical vegans as CEO John Mackey follows a strict vegan diet. The successful businessman grew up in Houston Texas and told Business Insider that he would traditionally eat processed foods for dinner while watching TV with his family. Now, Mackey steers clear from the processed isle and eats a clean vegan diet and feels amazing at the age of 65.

14. Jason Mraz

Jason Mraz, singer of the popular song, I’m Yours, committed to a vegan diet to support his friend diagnosed with Type 2 diabetes. Mraz says he eats mostly raw food and told magazine sources his favorite vegan dish is “Chocomole, a mixture of avocados, dates, cacao, agave nectar, and coconut oil.”

15. Leona Lewis

Long time vegan, Leona Lewis grew up in a vegan household and continues to eat a plant-based diet. Lewis first adopted the diet at 12 when she learned about the health risks of eating animal products but told Women’s Health Magazine she occasionally eats an omelet. She also mentioned her 2:30 lunch is normally a kale salad topped with dried cranberries and she loves a veggie stir-fry for dinner.

16. Hannah Teter

Hannah Teter changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how “horrible” factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed as an athlete and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games.

17. Maggie Q,

You may recognize Maggie Q as the star of the Nikita series, but in the plant-based world, she’s well-known for her heroic activism. Maggie Q has followed a strict vegan diet for 19 years, making her a true veteran of the lifestyle. She made the plant-based diet transition because she felt sluggish and had low energy, she has said. The famous actress keeps in shape by eating veggies and plant-based protein and working out with a passion.

18. Madelaine Petsch,

Winner of the first Masterchef vegan cook-off with Gordon Ramsay, Madelaine Petsch was raised vegetarian and went completely vegan at age 14. She claims that she started this diet before it was “trendy” and shot a campaign for PETA last year wearing a dress made of bok choy. Petsch says her vegan diet allows her to feel “healthier” and not “lethargic.”

19. Millie Bobbi Brown

After doing a little sleuthing on her social media platforms we think Millie Bobbi Brown qualifies as plant-based. Whether or not she is actually skipping all meat and dairy, one thing is for sure: She eats mostly salads, vegetables and grains and lives a predominantly plant-based lifestyle full of healthy foods.

20. Chloe and Halle Bailey

The grammy-nominated sisters went vegan for a week with their mom but liked it so much they decided to stick with it. For one thing, it helps keep their “voices in shape” by eating a vegan diet and they emphasize the fact that dairy helps to limit extra mucus build-up, according to a PETA interview.

21. Hilary Duff

Best known for her role as Lizzie Mcguire in the long-running series, Hilary Duff is a recent vegan advocate and entrepreneur. She recently launched the vegan and cruelty-free eyeshadow palette, “Day Dreamer” and changed her diet to plant-based last fall.

The post Moby Asks World Leaders to Make “Plant Based Treaty” appeared first on The Beet.

The announcement follows the UN’s “code red” report that called for immediate regulations restricting the level of greenhouse gas emissions worldwide. Following this research, the European Commission declared that reducing methane emissions, across every industry, is the “single most effective strategy in reducing global warming.”

The environmentalist pledge was introduced during a virtual conference regarding the climate crisis that hosted world leaders to discuss future regulatory measures. The involved countries include Argentina, Indonesia, Italy, Mexico, the UK, Ghana, Iraq, and the United States. The European Union also joined the discussions. The White House revealed in a statement that among the enlisted countries, six of the top 15 methane emitters were represented.

“This will not only rapidly reduce the rate of global warming, but it will also produce a very valuable side benefit, like improving public health and agricultural output,” President Joseph Biden said. “We believe the collective goal is both ambitious but realistic. And we urge you to join us in announcing this pledge at COP26.

The countries signing the pledge promise to cut emissions by 2030. The EU Commission announced that if all participating countries follow these regulations that it could limit global warming by 0.2 degrees celsius by 2050.

According to the United States Department of Agriculture, 10 percent of US greenhouse gas emissions can be traced to the agriculture industry, specifically through livestock production. The USDA reports that methane comprises 36 percent of greenhouse gases produced in the entire agriculture industry. The pledge argues that cutting the methane emissions worldwide could slow the human impact on the climate crisis and move towards reversal.

President Biden believes that by working with the other countries, the global animal agriculture industry could innovate its current production practices to incorporate more sustainable technologies. By reducing greenhouse gas emissions, the world will tackle the environmentally damaging byproducts of the animal agriculture industry. Beyond the animal agriculture industry, the pledge promises to extend its regulations across multiple areas including the energy sector and pollution.

“Countries have widely varying methane emissions profiles and reduction potential, but all can contribute to achieving the collective global goal through additional domestic methane reduction and international cooperative actions,” the Joint US-EU statement reads. “Major sources of methane emissions include oil and gas, coal, agriculture, and landfills.”

The United Nations recently released its Global Methane Assessment: Benefits and Costs of Mitigating Methane Emissions report that explained the impact that the highly volatile greenhouse gas had on the environment. The report highlights the human causes that have increased methane emissions over the recent decades, emphasizing the need to reduce its emissions as it is ten times more powerful than C02 when regarding climate warming.

“The existence of readily available, low-cost, targeted measures, and methane’s short-lived atmospheric lifetime means significant climate and clean air benefits can be achieved by 2030.” the report reads. “Targets and performance indicators to reduce methane must address the combined and multiple impacts methane has on climate, air quality, public health, agricultural production, and ecosystem health.”

20 Athletes Who Went Vegan to Get Stronger

1. Novak Djokovic: Number one tennis champion in the world

The number one tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, went plant-based more than twelve years ago to enhance his athletic performance and win more matches. In recent interviews, he has credited going vegan with helping him rise from third place in the world to first in the world because it helped clear his allergies. Before changing his diet, Djokovic had searched for cures to the breathing issues that cost him matches and focus which caused him to struggled during his most intense matches. The allergies used to make him feel like he couldn’t breathe and would be forced to retire from competitive matches as he did in Australia. “Eating meat was hard on my digestion and that took a lot of essential energy that I need for my focus, for recovery, for the next training session, and for the next match,” he said. Djokovic emphasized he does not eat foods that require a lot of digestion, especially in the morning, when he needs all of his energy for training. Instead, he starts the day with hot water and lemon, then celery juice, and some superfood supplements.

2. Tia Blanco: Professional Surfer and Beyond Meat Ambassador Read More: 20 Who Athletes Swear by a Plant-Based Diet to Boost Performance

Tia Blanco won gold at the International Surfing Association Open in 2015 and credits her success to her vegan diet. Blanco reports that a vegan diet helps her stay strong and she enjoys eating different forms of vegan protein like nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes. The professional surfer was influenced by her mother, who is a vegetarian and grew up in a veggie-forward household, Blanco has never eaten meat in her life, which made the plant-based switch much easier. And speaking of making things easier, Blanco has an Instagram cooking page called @tiasvegankitchen where she shares her favorite simple vegan recipes so all of her fans can eat like their favorite professional vegan athlete. In addition to her home-cooked meals, Blanco recently became an ambassador for vegan company Beyond Meat and now she posts Instagram stories and highlights of her favorite meatless meat recipes.

3. Steph Davis: World Leading Professional Rock Climber

Steph Davis has been vegan for 18 years now and says, “there’s nothing in my life that hasn’t become better as a result, from climbing and athletics to mental and spiritual well being.” Davis has competed on some of the most challenging verticle routes on the planet –like Concepcion (5.13), which is known to be one of the hardest pure climbs anywhere. Davis holds the third overall ascent and is the first female to ever make the ascent of the route. Davis described it as her “most technically demanding climb ever.” Davis explained why she went vegan eight years ago when she partnered with PETA. “What can we do to start making changes in a positive way? And if it just so happens that changing our lifestyle leads to environmental benefits, health benefits, economic benefits, and positive social change, then all the better. One thing I’ve learned is you don’t have to do or be anything you don’t want to be, and you can change anything in your life just by starting to do it. It’s you who chooses who and what you are, by the things you think and the things you do.” She goes on to add, “no one says you have to become a “perfect” vegan overnight. But why not start making small changes and see how it feels? I believe it’s the small choices people make that have the biggest power to change, and nothing is more simple yet also more far-reaching than changing how and what you choose to eat. We’re all here for a short time, in the end, and living a well-intentioned and compassionate life seems like what ultimately matters the most, the only real goal that I aspire to.”

4. Venus Williams: Tennis Great

Tennis champion Venus Williams swears that making the switch to veganism was one of the factors that helped to improve her performance and get over an auto-immune disease. The tennis star went vegan back in 2011 when she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, a debilitating autoimmune disease with a range of symptoms from joint pain to swelling, numbness, burning eyes, digestive problems, and fatigue. She chose to eat plant-based to recover to her formerly healthy self, and it worked so she stuck to it. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion recovers faster on a plant-based diet now, compared to how she felt back when she ate animal protein. When you have an auto-immune disease you often feel extreme fatigue and random body aches and for Venus, a plant-based diet provides energy and helps her reduce inflammation. The Beet reported on Willaim’s diet and what she normally eats in a day to stay healthy, fit, and win more matches. Talking about her favorite dinner meal, Williams adds, “sometimes a girl just needs a donut!”

5. Mike Tyson: The First Heavyweight Boxer to Hold the WBA, WBC, and IBF Titles

Mike Tyson recently said he is “in the best shape ever” thanks to his vegan diet. The boxing legend then announced he’s getting back into the rings after 15 years, to fight against Roy Jones, Jr. in California later this fall. Tyson went vegan ten years ago after dealing with health complications and in the wake of having cleaned up his life: “I was so congested from all the drugs and bad cocaine, I could hardly breathe.” Tyson said, “I had high blood pressure, was almost dying, and had arthritis.” Now, the 53-year-old powerhouse is sober, healthy, and fit. “Turning vegan helped me eliminate all those problems in my life,” and “I’m in the best shape ever.” His new trainer agrees: Watching Iron Mike’s speed during recent training sessions, observed: “He has the same power as a guy who is 21, 22-years old.”

6. Chris Paul: The NBA’s Newest Vegan Who Was Influenced by The Game Changers

Oklahoma City’s point guard Chris Paul decided to ditch meat and dairy and was asked join on as a co-executive producer for the popular documentary, The Game Changers. For breakfast, Paul enjoys oatmeal with plant-based milk and nut butter. For lunch, he fuels up with pasta or brown rice with Beyond Meat sausage, grilled vegetables, and a curry sauce. His chef told USA Today, “The main thing is, we try to keep it as light and clean as possible for his normal routine, with organic ingredients. Anything that can minimize body inflammation. Chris is always worrying about what he can and can’t eat.” So far it appears he’s getting it right. In an exclusive interview with The Beet’s Awesome Vegans columnist Elysabeth Alfano, Paul said eating a plant-based diet helps him keep up with players half his age.

7. Colin Kaepernick: Former (future?) NFL Player and Social Activist

In 2016, Kaepernick made the switch to veganism with his longtime girlfriend to recover from a series of injuries that had him down for the count. The Beet recently reported on how this dietary switch has allowed Kaepernick to stay strong and healthy. Now, he’s in the gym building muscle and looks fitter than ever. But will he be picked up? The professional football player claims that a vegan diet makes him feel “always ready” to perform his best on the field.

8. Cam Newton: New England Patriots’ Newest Quarterback is Vegan

Cam Newton just replaced Tom Brady, who also follows a mostly plant-based diet, as the New England Patriot’s QB, after having made the plant-based switch back in March 2019. The NFL Star first decided to ditch meat and dairy to recover quicker from injuries when he learned that a plant-based diet is proven to help reduce inflammation. “I’ve seen such a remarkable change in the way my body responds to the food that I eat,” Newton told PETA for his recent partnership for a new campaign called, “Built Like a Vegan,” proving that you don’t need to eat meat to be strong. Newton enjoys a meat-free burger on a pretzel bun, heavy on pickles and sauce. He adds: “People often ask, ‘How do you get your protein?’ I just say, ‘I get it in the same way you do, but it’s fresher and cleaner.’ ” Newton shares how to do it: “My advice to a person who wants to become vegan is to eat on schedule. If you can eat on a schedule, you won’t miss [a meal or crave meat] or think anything different, and you’ll be alright.”

9. Elijah Hall: American Sprinter Training for The 2021 Tokyo Olympics

Elijah Hall says about his vegan diet: “Going vegan was the best decision” he has ever made. Hall holds records in the indoor 200 meters and was training for the Tokyo this summer when it got postponed by a year due to the pandemic. Hall said “the effects that it’s having on my body are amazing. Becoming a plant-based athlete has opened many doors to my health and my training.” We predict he’ll only get faster in the next 11 months and break records, come home with golf and be the world champion in 12 months.

10. Morgan Mitchell: Omplyian Sprinter Who Won her First Title at 2014 Australian National Championships

Five-years ago, Morgan Mitchell went vegan and it made her faster, leaner and happier. Last year she was featured in the plant-based athletes documentary The Game Changers and said, “Being vegan has helped me immensely. I don’t feel sluggish like I did when I was eating meat, and my recovery from training really took off. It felt like an overall cleanse for my body, and I started seeing greater results on the track.” Now Michelle is committed for the planet as well. “Ultimately helping the environment and not contributing to animal cruelty was a big thing for me, too. That was my initial reason for going vegan, and the rest of the benefits were just added bonuses.” Mitchell describes what she eats in a day for enhanced performance and more energy to win sprints. “I like to make sure I have three different types of protein in there. I use tofu, beans, and mushrooms, along with spinach, vegan cheese, and hash browns,” she says. “I also love to add Beyond Meat for more flavor, which is a great source of plant protein as well. That usually keeps me full for the better part of the day,” she told Well + Good.

11. Lewis Hamilton: Formula One Driver Who Credits His Vegan Diet For Allowing Him to Be Victorious

“We were taught that eating animal products was good for us but we’ve been lied to for hundreds of years,” said Lewis Hamilton. The Beet reported on Hamiltion’s vegan diet quoting The New York Times that he credits his new plant-based diet with making the difference in his career. Hamilton gave up processed food and animal products for vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, because of his strong compassion for animals, for the benefit of the environment, and his own health. Hamilton isn’t the only vegan in his family. His dog Rocco is fully vegan and Hamilton says he’s “super happy” on Rocco’s very own IG post. Earlier this year, Hamilton gave up his private jet because he said it’s a big pollutant and aims to live a sustainable lifestyle. Back in February, he started a line of sustainable clothing with Tommy Hilfiger at London Fashion Week.

12. Patrik Baboumian: Arguably The Strongest Man in The World

Featured in The Game Changers for his elite strength and his superhuman ability to lift a car, Patrik Baboumiam is one of the strongest men in the world and also happens to be vegan. Baboumian lifted 358 pounds in the 2009 German log lift nationals. Back in 2014, Baboumiam partnered with PETA in his campaign “Want to be Stronger” describing powering yourself with plants and how you can build muscle without eating meat. One of his 2019 PETA campaigns showed him posing with crossed arms and leaves in his mouths with the text: “The world’s strongest animals are plant-eaters: Gorillas, buffaloes, elephants and me.” Bahoumiam’s diet consists of a dairy-free shake for breakfast with 8 grams of protein and 0 carbohydrates. For lunch, he enjoys vegan sausage, falafel, low-fat oven fires, peppers, and more grilled veggies. He normally eats 250 grams of carbs and 90 grams of protein just for lunch. Dinner includes vegetables cooked potatoes, and tofu. If you want to eat like Boubanian, he reports his food diary on his blog BarBend.

13. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Former Proessional BodyBuilder, Producer, The Game Changers, and former Governor of California

Here’s a guy who has worn many hats: Bodybuilder, Terminator, California Governor, and now vegan and advocate for the plant-based lifestyle. Arnold Schwarzenegger ditched meat and dairy and has proven that you don’t need to eat animal products to be strong, healthy and reverse symptoms of heart disease. Now 73, he had a pulmonary valve replacement 1997 due to a congenital defect and underwent emergency open-heart surgery in 2018 to replace the valve again. He then changed his eating and fitness habits and now extolls the virtues of plant-based eating for the environment as well as health reasons. He is a producer of The Game Changers (a movie with many masters) and an advocate for going vegan for health, the environment and the sake of animals (he posts on IG with his pet donkey and miniature pony, both household dwelling animals). Schwarzenegger said last year: “Right now, seven million people are dying every year. That is alarming and everyone in the government has the responsibility to protect the people…. 28 percent of the greenhouse gasses come from eating meat and from raising cattle, so we can do a much better job.”

14. Scott Jurek: Named One of The Greatest Ultra-Marathoner’s Of All Time Read More: 20 Who Athletes Swear by a Plant-Based Diet to Boost Performance

Jurek is an extreme ultra-marathon runner who has won the Hardrock Hundred, the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Spartathlon, and the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (you get the idea). Jurek has been vegan for almost two decades, after easing into it by cutting out meat in college, he slowly stopping seafood and finally giving up all animal products once he realized that eating this way made him feel healthier and happier. To run such an extreme amount of miles, you need to fuel your body with plant-based foods that will give you enough energy and carbohydrates to go the distance. The goal is to eat 5,000-6,000 calories of plant-based foods daily. Jurek outlined his plant-based diet in an interview with Bon Appetite. Instead of waking up to a hot cup of coffee to boost energy, he prefers to drink tea and a green smoothie with spirulina or chlorella and a host of other ingredients. He adds bananas, frozen pineapple slices, or mangoes, brown rice and pea protein, (for protein) to rebuild what’s lost in training. This is not just any smoothie.

15. Alex Morgan: USA Soccer Star, Plays for the Orlando Pride of the NWSL

Soccer star, Alex Morgan is one of the beloved members of the USA National Team that won the World Cup and has shown that the female players deserve to get equal pay as their male counterparts by the US Soccer Federation. She is also an animal rights advocate and longtime vegan, having given up meat when she decided that “it didn’t feel fair to have a dog, and yet eat meat all the time,” referring to her adorable pup Blue. Morgan aims to eat 90 grams of plant-based protein daily to stay fit and lean, especially for her workouts and on the field. Morgan admitted that breakfast was difficult because “a lot of the things I love like pancakes and French toast had dairy and eggs.” But now she enjoys oatmeal with nut butter and berries, smoothies, rice, quinoa, veggies, black beans, protein shakes, Mediterranean food, Impossible burgers, Mexican beans, and sauteed veggie burritos, she told USA Today.

16. Paul Rabil: Pro Lacrosse Player: A Vegan Diet Helped Alleviate His Sciatica

Paul Rabil who played for the Boston Cannons and the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, ditched meat and dairy after his 2019 season ended and revealed he’s now “officially” vegan on YouTube. “At first [switching to a plant-based diet] was to help solve some pain and trauma that I was going through. Over the last two years, I’ve had two herniated discs…. and that has led to a ton of shooting pain down my legs, its called sciatica,” Rabil explains the purpose of his diet switch. He adds: “I’ve tried to a lot of things; I’ve had a number of cortisone shots; I’ve done physical therapy for two years. And I reached a place where I was thinking ‘okay maybe I can solve this with nutrition because a lot of our pain stems from inflammation. Within a few weeks, I started noticing a lot of alleviation so I started focusing and doubling down more on veganism”

17. Hannah Teter: 2006 Olympic Snowboard Gold Medalist

Hannah Teter won Olympic gold and silver in the halfpipe and is also a seven-time XGames medalist. She changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how “horrible” factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games. She now considers herself “plant-based” and in an interview with the Huffington Post, Teter said, “I feel stronger than I’ve ever been, mentally, physically, and emotionally. My plant-based diet has opened up more doors to being an athlete. It’s a whole other level that I’m elevating to. I stopped eating animals about a year ago, and it’s a new life. I feel like a new person, a new athlete.”

18. Nick Kyrgios: Professional Tennis Champion Ranked 40 in The World

Djokovic is not the only tour player to go plant-based. Nick Kyrgios shared that he does not eat meat anymore because of his strong compassion for animals. During the time of the Australian wildfires, the Aussie native explained: “I’ve been passionate about animal welfare for some time now. I don’t eat meat or dairy anymore. That’s not for my health, I just don’t believe in eating animals.” “I tried a vegan diet a couple of years ago but with all the travel I do, it was hard to stick to it. Since then I’ve managed to make it work, and I’ve been vegetarian for quite a while. “Seeing the footage of these animals suffering from the fires only reinforces why I’ve chosen this diet. When I see these terrible photos, I can’t comprehend eating meat.”

19. Matt Frazier: Ultra-Marathoner Credits Vegan Diet For Breaking Personal Records

Matt Frazier has run 27 ultra-marathons in his career so far and continues to write about the endurance strength of being a vegan athlete in his personal blog, which he started 11 years ago: No Meat Athlete. The Beet recently interviewed Frazier about his vegan journey and how to be a successful athlete on a plant-based diet. When asked about the first time he ditched meat Frazier replied, “I had already cut 90 minutes off my first marathon time. I was still 10 minutes away from the Boston Marathon qualifying time. I had plateaued, and I was not sure how I was going to find 10 minutes. [Plant-based eating] was what I was missing. That’s what it took. The other big noticeable difference to me [after going vegan] was I stopped getting injured. Injuries had always been a big part of my running journey. When I became vegan, it was around the time I ran three 50-milers and a 100-miler. I didn’t have any injuries. If it’s done right, [plant-based diets] can really help you recover faster.”

20. Michaela Copenhaver: Professional Rower, World Record Holder, 10,000m Indoor

Rowing is grueling. It’s known as the toughest endurance sport in the world. The world record-breaking female rower, Michaela Copenhaver went vegan in 2012 for ethical reasons, she told Great Vegan Athletes. “Initially, I just wanted to eat more vegetables. Those things are super good for you, and they’re delicious. Being vegetarian and vegan made me more conscious of how many servings I was getting a day (or not).” When she switched from vegetarian to vegan it was almost accidental: “I was traveling for a regatta in the fall of 2012. I had been vegetarian for 1.5 years already but relied pretty heavily on dairy and eggs. While I was traveling, I was bouncing from couch to couch and had no way to safely store dairy or eggs—so I decided to try a week without them. I felt great, and it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought. I’ve been vegan ever since.” Now it’s a value system: “Once I stopped eating and using animals, I felt I could finally address a question that had been bothering me for a long time—what right do we have to exploit other creatures? Now, I understand that we have no right, and my motivations are primarily ethical.”

The post 8 Countries Pledge to Cut Methane Emissions 30 Percent by 2030 appeared first on The Beet.

The five-year campaign is spending $6.2 million to facilitate the growth of sorghum plants that can most efficiently and directly funnel carbon from the atmosphere and store it in the ground to reverse the rising carbon levels.

“Our research community has the opportunity to use cutting-edge science and innovation to help change the course of climate change,” Nadia Shakoor, the senior research scientist at the Donald Danforth Plant Science Center, which is working with the Salk HPI, said. “Sorghum is an incredible plant that holds great promise as a carbon-sequestering crop”

The key to how sorghum pulls carbon out of the air is suberin, a plant tissue that loves carbon and is already found in the roots of plants. By increasing root mass, depth, and suberin content, Salk researchers will transform sorghum, as well as wheat, rice, corn, and other crops into carbon-storing machines. In addition, more ground carbon means farmers benefit from improved soil health. The initiative is being funded in part by a grant from the Bezos Earth Fund.

“If we can optimize plants’ natural ability to capture and store carbon, we can develop plants that not only have the potential to reduce carbon dioxide in the atmosphere but that can also help enrich soils and increase crop yields,” states Salk Professor and the Plant Initiative Co-Director, Joanne Chory, on the site.

Shakoor developed sensors that monitor plant environments and behaviors to identify the best variety of sorghum that will most effectively absorb carbon. The project will then select the sorghum crops with the optimal traits, specifically looking for sorghum with deep root systems that will store the most carbon from the air.

The Harnessing Plant Initiative was launched to use plants and crops to directly combat climate change. Arguing that selecting crops that best store carbon could cut down on atmospheric carbon levels, the sustainable initiative believes that sorghum could be central to its mission. Research professor and member of the Harnessing Plant Initiative Todd Michael plans to analyze the plant sample selected by Shakoor and work to breed sorghum plants that maximize carbon absorption.

“We believe sorghum can be optimized to potentially capture and store more carbon and, combined with its inherent traits such as drought tolerance, make a positive contribution to both food security resiliency and the mitigation of negative climate impact,” Shakoor continued. “I greatly appreciate the support of HPI to undertake this research.”

Farmers planted approximately 7 million acres of sorghum across the United States in 2020. The drought-resistant crop is an ideal cash crop to plant to reduce carbon levels in the atmosphere. Beyond the environmental implications, the crop is extremely versatile in the food sector, making it a profitable and sustainable venture through the agriculture sector.

Launching plants that can feed people are capture carbon and return it to the soil

The Salk Insitute launched this initiative to find useful methods of improving sustainability in the agricultural sector and provide a clean solution to cutting down greenhouse gas levels. Alongside sorghum, the organization is studying corn, wheat, soybean, canola, and rice to examine how these crops can be used to absorb the overwhelming carbon levels.

“Crops are some of the most prevalent plants on this planet because there are millions of farmers all over the world who cultivate crops,” Plant Biologist and professor at the Salk Institute Wolfgang Busch said. “So if you use a few crops [and they’re] better at storing carbon for longer you’d have an enormous impact.”

Over recent years, the Salk Institue secured more than $80 million for its Harnessing Plants Initiative. The project currently has three more years to test out the different crops to assess the best iteration and breeding capacities of the cash crops. The organization has received significant support across the agriculture and scientific sectors including support from global climate leader Dr. Veerabhadran Ramanathan at Scripps Institution of Oceanography.

Ramanathan highlighted that the total greenhouse gas emissions have reached approximately one trillion tons of C02, and to successfully curb climate change, humans would have to clear out 500 billion tons in the next 40 years. The scientist noted that “Mother Nature already takes the carbon out of the air, the 25 percent of the junk we dumped in it already, otherwise there would’ve been a catastrophic problem already” when discussing how human involvement is necessary to reverse the negative side effects.

The Harvesting Plants Initiative is not the only organization working to improve the production of cash crops: Four different plant breeding projects out of the Texas A&M College of Agriculture and Life Sciences Department of Soil and Crop Sciences received nearly $1.75 million from the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Institute of Food and Agriculture (NIFA). The four programs launched similar research projects to enhance sorghum, corn, wheat, and peanut farming practices.

“This is a fantastic program for advancing our national plant breeding effort,” Head of the Department of Soil and Crop Science Dr. David Baltensperger said. “We are extremely fortunate to have four projects selected for this program. These projects will make a difference not only for Texas but for our nation.”

The plant-breeding programs aim to enhance the overall contribution that these cash crops can have for the food sector in terms of yield, nutrition, and efficient resource use. The partnership reflects a similar mission to the Harvesting Plants Initiative’s goal to maximize the sustainability of cash crops.

“These innovative projects will advance crop production efficiency, healthfulness, product quality, and the value of U.S. agricultural plants while increasing farmer profitability and sustainability,” NIFA Director Dr. Carrie Castille said when announcing the grants earlier this summer.

You may think iron is synonymous with meat, and while animal protein certainly has it, that doesn’t mean you can’t get enough iron if you eat a mainly plant-based diet. In fact, you can, if you know the right foods to choose and how to pair them. The daily recommendation from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for iron intake is 18 milligrams (mg), but not all iron sources are created equal. Here’s what plant-based eaters need to know about iron and which iron-rich foods are best to help reap the benefits.

1. White Mushrooms

1 cup cooked = 3 mg iron (17% daily value (DV))\There are many reasons to eat mushrooms on the regular, but their meaty texture (try a Portobello cap as a meat replacement for a burger!) and ample protein are two of the highlights. Add them to your stir-fry, tacos, or even instead of meat in a faux Bolognese sauce.

2. Lentils

1/2 cup = 3 mg iron (17% DV)You don’t need to eat a huge serving of lentils to get a hearty dose of iron. Just a half-cup provides close to 20% of the iron you need in a day. Just like mushrooms, lentils have a meaty texture that works well in burgers, tacos, or grain bowls.

3. Potatoes

1 medium potato = 2 mg iron (11% DV)The poor potato has gotten such a bad rap. Fear of this carb-rich spud is unwarranted because it’s actually an affordable and delicious source of iron and potassium. So go ahead and have that hash, baked potato, or potato soup and leave the skin on for some added fiber.

4. Cashews

1 ounce = 2 mg iron (11% DV)Most nuts contain iron, but cashews are a standout because they have less fat than some of the other nuts. One ounce of cashews (about 16 to 18 nuts) has 160 calories, 5 grams of protein, and 13 grams of fat. Add a handful of cashews to smoothies, soups, or sauces for some extra creaminess.

5. Tofu

½ cup = 3 mg (15% DV)Not only does tofu have plenty of protein and calcium, but it’s also a good source of iron. It’s very versatile and takes on the flavor of any sauce or marinade, making it a great meat substitute.Keep in mind that you can easily get the iron you need from a plant-based diet.

The post Could This Everyday Crop Be the Key to Combatting Climate Change? appeared first on The Beet.

“The emissions are at the higher end of what we expected, it was a little bit of a surprise,” Climate Scientist at the University of Illinois and co-author Atul Jain wrote in the report published in Nature Food. “This study shows the entire cycle of the food production system, and policymakers may want to use the results to think about how to control greenhouse gas emissions.”

The research uncovered that the production of beef, pork, poultry, and other animal categories alongside the food used to upkeep production is responsible for most of the planet’s harmful greenhouse gas emissions. The report highlights the large volume of food that is needed to feed animals involved in animal agriculture, adding the overall toll to the environment.

“All of these things combined means that the emissions are very high,” University of Illinois researcher and the study’s lead author Xiaoming Xu told media outlet The Guardian. “To produce more meat, you need to feed the animals more, which then generates more emissions. You need more biomass to feed animals in order to get the same amount of calories. It isn’t very efficient.”

To conduct the study, the researchers used a consistent unified model-data integration framework to record the greenhouse gas emissions from the animal- and plant-based food consumption and production. By using a grid-scale, the research initiative could analyze the relative impact on the planet. The database consisted of a profile containing 171 crops and 16 animal products across more than 200 countries. Beyond the overall percentages, the report found that South America is the region with the highest level of greenhouse gas emissions link to animal agriculture. The region is followed closely behind by south and southeast Asia and then China.

Alongside greenhouse gas emissions, the study reports the dangerous level of land use that animal agriculture requires. The study highlights how to acquire enough land to raise livestock as well as grow the feed often leads to deforestation and waste.

A documentary film entitled #ForNature released in partnership with Mercy For Animals found that removing animal agriculture could save 76 percent of the world’s landmass from unnecessary use. Hosted by Greta Thunberg, the documentary details how nearly 33 percent of all cropland is used for animal feed rather than food for humans. Thunberg mirrors Nature Food’s call for plant-based eating, claiming that the dietary change alone could significantly cut down dangerous emissions.

“I’m a strict vegetarian and part of the motivation for this study was to find out my own carbon footprint, but it’s not our intention to force people to change their diets,” said Jain. “A lot of this comes down to personal choice. You can’t just impose your views on others. But if people are concerned about climate change, they should seriously consider changing their dietary habits.”

Last month, the UN released its annual IPCC climate report, issuing a “code red” that warned of an accelerating climate crisis. The report claimed that human activity is inextricably tied to the climate crisis, specifically from the food production sector. The report found that human beings are responsible for the sporadic fluctuation in global temperature that’s linked to the rising frequency of floods, droughts, fires, and heatwaves, as well as the rising sea levels caused by melting ice caps.

An Oxford University study from 2018 examined approximately 40,000 farms across 119 counties to determine the impact of animal agriculture on the environment. The study found a similar 60 percent figure regarding animal production’s greenhouse gas emissions. Alongside the figure, the report claimed that removing meat and dairy production and replacing it with plant-based food production would reduce global farmland by nearly 75 percent, curbing the dangerous greenhouse gas emissions and reducing deforestation.

Fast-food restaurants have finally got the memo that their customer base isn’t just coming through for a burger, fried chicken, or a beef taco. Many now have plant-based foods and are coming up with creative, delicious ways to get more greens on the menu. Here are the 6 best fast-food chains with plant-based options on the menu.

1. Burger King

Turns out there’s a lot more to rely on than a salad if you’re eating plant-based. Burger King has the Impossible Whopper featuring a meatless patty as well as a few secretly vegan options such as the French Toast Sticks and Hashbrowns.

2. White Castle

Known for its mini square-shaped sliders, this hamburger chain jumped on the plant-based bandwagon at some participating locations. You can find an Impossible Slider on some White Castle menus.

3. Del Taco

This was the first national Mexican fast-food chain to offer Beyond Meat at the company’s 580 restaurants across the country. Del Taco has the Beyond Avocado Taco on the menu along with the Epic Beyond Original Mex Burrito and Avocado Veggie Bowl.

4. Carl’s Jr.

Another brand synonymous with beef burgers, Carl’s Jr. offers several plant-based options for veggie and plant lover such as Beyond Famous Star Burger and Guacamole Thickburger.

5. Taco Bell

This fast-food restaurant may have been one of the first you frequented while transitioning to plant-based eating. That’s because Taco Bell has eight million vegetarian combinations and sells 350 million vegetarian items a year through menu substitutions or ordering off their vegetarian menu. In fact, they were the first quick-service restaurant to offer American Vegetarian Association (AVA) certified food options.

6. Starbucks

From the time it started offering breakfast sandwiches in 2006, the coffee conglomerate became a competitor in the fast-food space. You can get your favorite hot and cold beverages made with almond, coconut or oat milk but there are also plant-based food options available such as the Baja Black Bean Veggie Wrap, bagel with vegan cream cheese and Impossible Breakfast Sandwich.

The post Meat Farming Responsible for 57 Percent of Food-Related Greenhouse Gas Emissions appeared first on The Beet.

“Industrial meat farming is fanning the flames of climate crisis and biodiversity collapse while threatening the health of farmers, workers, and consumers – the evidence is resounding,” Food and Agriculture Campaigner at Friend of the Earth Europe Stanka Becheva said. “The EU needs to curb this insatiable industry, but right now its leaders are just eating out of Big Agribusiness’ hand. Europe must act to clamp down on deforestation and human rights violations in supply chains, facilitate the switch to more plant-based diets, and redirect billions of euros of subsidies and finance to small sustainable farmers.”

The Meat Atlas 2021 is a 76-page report detailing the direct impact that livestock companies have on the environment. The study compares the greenhouse gas emissions to several companies, attempting to portray the severity of the emission and waste levels. Alongside the 20 livestock companies, the report found that the five largest meat and milk producers generate greenhouse emissions equivalent to gas and oil giant Exxon.

The environmental report also reviewed the negative consequences regarding land use and public health stemming from mass livestock operations. The report revealed that three-quarters of agricultural land worldwide is dedicated to livestock between the actual animals or the crops that feed them. The report highlights that the land could be better used producing sustainable food options with far fewer emissions, stating that “in Brazil alone, 175m hectares is dedicated to raising cattle,” equating to the entirety of the EU’s agricultural area.

The Meat Atlas also explains that animal agriculture and massive livestock operation can present a massive public health risk. The report details how heavy antibiotic doses to farm animals can rapidly increase virus and microbial resistance. The resistance can mutate into viruses that present harmful effects to humans.

“This threatens the effectiveness of antibiotics, one of the most important types of treatment in human medicine,” the report explains.

Beyond just recording the carbon emissions and waste levels, the report analyzed the financial implications of the livestock industry. The study found that meat and dairy companies received a collective $478 billion between 2015 and 2020. The immense funds came from a pension from nearly 2,500 pension funds, investment firms, and banks worldwide. The Meat Atlas explains that the financial backing could push meat production to nearly 366 million tonnes a year by 2029, increasing 40 million tonnes from its current output.

The report emphasizes that governments worldwide are failing to take appropriate action as the climate crisis worsens and the level of greenhouse gases increases exponentially. While the plant-based sector is rising rapidly, the report suggests that governments must take more action in order to undercut the dangers and risks presented by the livestock companies and the entire animal agriculture sector.

“Despite the global impact of meat, no country in the world has a strategy to reduce consumption or transform production,”  the report reads.

Multiple campaigns and initiatives have explained that a plant-based diet is a key to curbing carbon emissions from the animal agriculture industry. Organizations such as the Plant Based Treaty have worked to put plant-based foods and food systems into the forefront of the climate discussions, holding the meat and dairy industry accountable for the negative environmental impacts. The Plant Based Treaty aims to demand action from governments across the planet, advocating that the first step in climate action is the problems in the current food system.

20 Athletes Who Went Vegan to Get Stronger

1. Novak Djokovic: Number one tennis champion in the world

The number one tennis player in the world, Novak Djokovic, went plant-based more than twelve years ago to enhance his athletic performance and win more matches. In recent interviews, he has credited going vegan with helping him rise from third place in the world to first in the world because it helped clear his allergies. Before changing his diet, Djokovic had searched for cures to the breathing issues that cost him matches and focus which caused him to struggled during his most intense matches. The allergies used to make him feel like he couldn’t breathe and would be forced to retire from competitive matches as he did in Australia. “Eating meat was hard on my digestion and that took a lot of essential energy that I need for my focus, for recovery, for the next training session, and for the next match,” he said. Djokovic emphasized he does not eat foods that require a lot of digestion, especially in the morning, when he needs all of his energy for training. Instead, he starts the day with hot water and lemon, then celery juice, and some superfood supplements.

2. Tia Blanco: Professional Surfer and Beyond Meat Ambassador Read More: 20 Who Athletes Swear by a Plant-Based Diet to Boost Performance

Tia Blanco won gold at the International Surfing Association Open in 2015 and credits her success to her vegan diet. Blanco reports that a vegan diet helps her stay strong and she enjoys eating different forms of vegan protein like nuts, seeds, beans, and legumes. The professional surfer was influenced by her mother, who is a vegetarian and grew up in a veggie-forward household, Blanco has never eaten meat in her life, which made the plant-based switch much easier. And speaking of making things easier, Blanco has an Instagram cooking page called @tiasvegankitchen where she shares her favorite simple vegan recipes so all of her fans can eat like their favorite professional vegan athlete. In addition to her home-cooked meals, Blanco recently became an ambassador for vegan company Beyond Meat and now she posts Instagram stories and highlights of her favorite meatless meat recipes.

3. Steph Davis: World Leading Professional Rock Climber

Steph Davis has been vegan for 18 years now and says, “there’s nothing in my life that hasn’t become better as a result, from climbing and athletics to mental and spiritual well being.” Davis has competed on some of the most challenging verticle routes on the planet –like Concepcion (5.13), which is known to be one of the hardest pure climbs anywhere. Davis holds the third overall ascent and is the first female to ever make the ascent of the route. Davis described it as her “most technically demanding climb ever.” Davis explained why she went vegan eight years ago when she partnered with PETA. “What can we do to start making changes in a positive way? And if it just so happens that changing our lifestyle leads to environmental benefits, health benefits, economic benefits, and positive social change, then all the better. One thing I’ve learned is you don’t have to do or be anything you don’t want to be, and you can change anything in your life just by starting to do it. It’s you who chooses who and what you are, by the things you think and the things you do.” She goes on to add, “no one says you have to become a “perfect” vegan overnight. But why not start making small changes and see how it feels? I believe it’s the small choices people make that have the biggest power to change, and nothing is more simple yet also more far-reaching than changing how and what you choose to eat. We’re all here for a short time, in the end, and living a well-intentioned and compassionate life seems like what ultimately matters the most, the only real goal that I aspire to.”

4. Venus Williams: Tennis Great

Tennis champion Venus Williams swears that making the switch to veganism was one of the factors that helped to improve her performance and get over an auto-immune disease. The tennis star went vegan back in 2011 when she was diagnosed with Sjögren’s syndrome, a debilitating autoimmune disease with a range of symptoms from joint pain to swelling, numbness, burning eyes, digestive problems, and fatigue. She chose to eat plant-based to recover to her formerly healthy self, and it worked so she stuck to it. The seven-time Grand Slam singles champion recovers faster on a plant-based diet now, compared to how she felt back when she ate animal protein. When you have an auto-immune disease you often feel extreme fatigue and random body aches and for Venus, a plant-based diet provides energy and helps her reduce inflammation. The Beet reported on Willaim’s diet and what she normally eats in a day to stay healthy, fit, and win more matches. Talking about her favorite dinner meal, Williams adds, “sometimes a girl just needs a donut!”

5. Mike Tyson: The First Heavyweight Boxer to Hold the WBA, WBC, and IBF Titles

Mike Tyson recently said he is “in the best shape ever” thanks to his vegan diet. The boxing legend then announced he’s getting back into the rings after 15 years, to fight against Roy Jones, Jr. in California later this fall. Tyson went vegan ten years ago after dealing with health complications and in the wake of having cleaned up his life: “I was so congested from all the drugs and bad cocaine, I could hardly breathe.” Tyson said, “I had high blood pressure, was almost dying, and had arthritis.” Now, the 53-year-old powerhouse is sober, healthy, and fit. “Turning vegan helped me eliminate all those problems in my life,” and “I’m in the best shape ever.” His new trainer agrees: Watching Iron Mike’s speed during recent training sessions, observed: “He has the same power as a guy who is 21, 22-years old.”

6. Chris Paul: The NBA’s Newest Vegan Who Was Influenced by The Game Changers

Oklahoma City’s point guard Chris Paul decided to ditch meat and dairy and was asked join on as a co-executive producer for the popular documentary, The Game Changers. For breakfast, Paul enjoys oatmeal with plant-based milk and nut butter. For lunch, he fuels up with pasta or brown rice with Beyond Meat sausage, grilled vegetables, and a curry sauce. His chef told USA Today, “The main thing is, we try to keep it as light and clean as possible for his normal routine, with organic ingredients. Anything that can minimize body inflammation. Chris is always worrying about what he can and can’t eat.” So far it appears he’s getting it right. In an exclusive interview with The Beet’s Awesome Vegans columnist Elysabeth Alfano, Paul said eating a plant-based diet helps him keep up with players half his age.

7. Colin Kaepernick: Former (future?) NFL Player and Social Activist

In 2016, Kaepernick made the switch to veganism with his longtime girlfriend to recover from a series of injuries that had him down for the count. The Beet recently reported on how this dietary switch has allowed Kaepernick to stay strong and healthy. Now, he’s in the gym building muscle and looks fitter than ever. But will he be picked up? The professional football player claims that a vegan diet makes him feel “always ready” to perform his best on the field.

8. Cam Newton: New England Patriots’ Newest Quarterback is Vegan

Cam Newton just replaced Tom Brady, who also follows a mostly plant-based diet, as the New England Patriot’s QB, after having made the plant-based switch back in March 2019. The NFL Star first decided to ditch meat and dairy to recover quicker from injuries when he learned that a plant-based diet is proven to help reduce inflammation. “I’ve seen such a remarkable change in the way my body responds to the food that I eat,” Newton told PETA for his recent partnership for a new campaign called, “Built Like a Vegan,” proving that you don’t need to eat meat to be strong. Newton enjoys a meat-free burger on a pretzel bun, heavy on pickles and sauce. He adds: “People often ask, ‘How do you get your protein?’ I just say, ‘I get it in the same way you do, but it’s fresher and cleaner.’ ” Newton shares how to do it: “My advice to a person who wants to become vegan is to eat on schedule. If you can eat on a schedule, you won’t miss [a meal or crave meat] or think anything different, and you’ll be alright.”

9. Elijah Hall: American Sprinter Training for The 2021 Tokyo Olympics

Elijah Hall says about his vegan diet: “Going vegan was the best decision” he has ever made. Hall holds records in the indoor 200 meters and was training for the Tokyo this summer when it got postponed by a year due to the pandemic. Hall said “the effects that it’s having on my body are amazing. Becoming a plant-based athlete has opened many doors to my health and my training.” We predict he’ll only get faster in the next 11 months and break records, come home with golf and be the world champion in 12 months.

10. Morgan Mitchell: Omplyian Sprinter Who Won her First Title at 2014 Australian National Championships

Five-years ago, Morgan Mitchell went vegan and it made her faster, leaner and happier. Last year she was featured in the plant-based athletes documentary The Game Changers and said, “Being vegan has helped me immensely. I don’t feel sluggish like I did when I was eating meat, and my recovery from training really took off. It felt like an overall cleanse for my body, and I started seeing greater results on the track.” Now Michelle is committed for the planet as well. “Ultimately helping the environment and not contributing to animal cruelty was a big thing for me, too. That was my initial reason for going vegan, and the rest of the benefits were just added bonuses.” Mitchell describes what she eats in a day for enhanced performance and more energy to win sprints. “I like to make sure I have three different types of protein in there. I use tofu, beans, and mushrooms, along with spinach, vegan cheese, and hash browns,” she says. “I also love to add Beyond Meat for more flavor, which is a great source of plant protein as well. That usually keeps me full for the better part of the day,” she told Well + Good.

11. Lewis Hamilton: Formula One Driver Who Credits His Vegan Diet For Allowing Him to Be Victorious

“We were taught that eating animal products was good for us but we’ve been lied to for hundreds of years,” said Lewis Hamilton. The Beet reported on Hamiltion’s vegan diet quoting The New York Times that he credits his new plant-based diet with making the difference in his career. Hamilton gave up processed food and animal products for vegetables, fruit, nuts, grains, because of his strong compassion for animals, for the benefit of the environment, and his own health. Hamilton isn’t the only vegan in his family. His dog Rocco is fully vegan and Hamilton says he’s “super happy” on Rocco’s very own IG post. Earlier this year, Hamilton gave up his private jet because he said it’s a big pollutant and aims to live a sustainable lifestyle. Back in February, he started a line of sustainable clothing with Tommy Hilfiger at London Fashion Week.

12. Patrik Baboumian: Arguably The Strongest Man in The World

Featured in The Game Changers for his elite strength and his superhuman ability to lift a car, Patrik Baboumiam is one of the strongest men in the world and also happens to be vegan. Baboumian lifted 358 pounds in the 2009 German log lift nationals. Back in 2014, Baboumiam partnered with PETA in his campaign “Want to be Stronger” describing powering yourself with plants and how you can build muscle without eating meat. One of his 2019 PETA campaigns showed him posing with crossed arms and leaves in his mouths with the text: “The world’s strongest animals are plant-eaters: Gorillas, buffaloes, elephants and me.” Bahoumiam’s diet consists of a dairy-free shake for breakfast with 8 grams of protein and 0 carbohydrates. For lunch, he enjoys vegan sausage, falafel, low-fat oven fires, peppers, and more grilled veggies. He normally eats 250 grams of carbs and 90 grams of protein just for lunch. Dinner includes vegetables cooked potatoes, and tofu. If you want to eat like Boubanian, he reports his food diary on his blog BarBend.

13. Arnold Schwarzenegger: Former Proessional BodyBuilder, Producer, The Game Changers, and former Governor of California

Here’s a guy who has worn many hats: Bodybuilder, Terminator, California Governor, and now vegan and advocate for the plant-based lifestyle. Arnold Schwarzenegger ditched meat and dairy and has proven that you don’t need to eat animal products to be strong, healthy and reverse symptoms of heart disease. Now 73, he had a pulmonary valve replacement 1997 due to a congenital defect and underwent emergency open-heart surgery in 2018 to replace the valve again. He then changed his eating and fitness habits and now extolls the virtues of plant-based eating for the environment as well as health reasons. He is a producer of The Game Changers (a movie with many masters) and an advocate for going vegan for health, the environment and the sake of animals (he posts on IG with his pet donkey and miniature pony, both household dwelling animals). Schwarzenegger said last year: “Right now, seven million people are dying every year. That is alarming and everyone in the government has the responsibility to protect the people…. 28 percent of the greenhouse gasses come from eating meat and from raising cattle, so we can do a much better job.”

14. Scott Jurek: Named One of The Greatest Ultra-Marathoner’s Of All Time Read More: 20 Who Athletes Swear by a Plant-Based Diet to Boost Performance

Jurek is an extreme ultra-marathon runner who has won the Hardrock Hundred, the Badwater Ultramarathon, the Spartathlon, and the Western States 100 Mile Endurance Run (you get the idea). Jurek has been vegan for almost two decades, after easing into it by cutting out meat in college, he slowly stopping seafood and finally giving up all animal products once he realized that eating this way made him feel healthier and happier. To run such an extreme amount of miles, you need to fuel your body with plant-based foods that will give you enough energy and carbohydrates to go the distance. The goal is to eat 5,000-6,000 calories of plant-based foods daily. Jurek outlined his plant-based diet in an interview with Bon Appetite. Instead of waking up to a hot cup of coffee to boost energy, he prefers to drink tea and a green smoothie with spirulina or chlorella and a host of other ingredients. He adds bananas, frozen pineapple slices, or mangoes, brown rice and pea protein, (for protein) to rebuild what’s lost in training. This is not just any smoothie.

15. Alex Morgan: USA Soccer Star, Plays for the Orlando Pride of the NWSL

Soccer star, Alex Morgan is one of the beloved members of the USA National Team that won the World Cup and has shown that the female players deserve to get equal pay as their male counterparts by the US Soccer Federation. She is also an animal rights advocate and longtime vegan, having given up meat when she decided that “it didn’t feel fair to have a dog, and yet eat meat all the time,” referring to her adorable pup Blue. Morgan aims to eat 90 grams of plant-based protein daily to stay fit and lean, especially for her workouts and on the field. Morgan admitted that breakfast was difficult because “a lot of the things I love like pancakes and French toast had dairy and eggs.” But now she enjoys oatmeal with nut butter and berries, smoothies, rice, quinoa, veggies, black beans, protein shakes, Mediterranean food, Impossible burgers, Mexican beans, and sauteed veggie burritos, she told USA Today.

16. Paul Rabil: Pro Lacrosse Player: A Vegan Diet Helped Alleviate His Sciatica

Paul Rabil who played for the Boston Cannons and the New York Lizards of Major League Lacrosse, ditched meat and dairy after his 2019 season ended and revealed he’s now “officially” vegan on YouTube. “At first [switching to a plant-based diet] was to help solve some pain and trauma that I was going through. Over the last two years, I’ve had two herniated discs…. and that has led to a ton of shooting pain down my legs, its called sciatica,” Rabil explains the purpose of his diet switch. He adds: “I’ve tried to a lot of things; I’ve had a number of cortisone shots; I’ve done physical therapy for two years. And I reached a place where I was thinking ‘okay maybe I can solve this with nutrition because a lot of our pain stems from inflammation. Within a few weeks, I started noticing a lot of alleviation so I started focusing and doubling down more on veganism”

17. Hannah Teter: 2006 Olympic Snowboard Gold Medalist

Hannah Teter won Olympic gold and silver in the halfpipe and is also a seven-time XGames medalist. She changed her diet after watching the documentary, Earthlings when she discovered how “horrible” factory farming is. After a strict vegetarian diet, Teter liked the way she performed and believes that her diet helped her win gold at the 2006 games. She now considers herself “plant-based” and in an interview with the Huffington Post, Teter said, “I feel stronger than I’ve ever been, mentally, physically, and emotionally. My plant-based diet has opened up more doors to being an athlete. It’s a whole other level that I’m elevating to. I stopped eating animals about a year ago, and it’s a new life. I feel like a new person, a new athlete.”

18. Nick Kyrgios: Professional Tennis Champion Ranked 40 in The World

Djokovic is not the only tour player to go plant-based. Nick Kyrgios shared that he does not eat meat anymore because of his strong compassion for animals. During the time of the Australian wildfires, the Aussie native explained: “I’ve been passionate about animal welfare for some time now. I don’t eat meat or dairy anymore. That’s not for my health, I just don’t believe in eating animals.” “I tried a vegan diet a couple of years ago but with all the travel I do, it was hard to stick to it. Since then I’ve managed to make it work, and I’ve been vegetarian for quite a while. “Seeing the footage of these animals suffering from the fires only reinforces why I’ve chosen this diet. When I see these terrible photos, I can’t comprehend eating meat.”

19. Matt Frazier: Ultra-Marathoner Credits Vegan Diet For Breaking Personal Records

Matt Frazier has run 27 ultra-marathons in his career so far and continues to write about the endurance strength of being a vegan athlete in his personal blog, which he started 11 years ago: No Meat Athlete. The Beet recently interviewed Frazier about his vegan journey and how to be a successful athlete on a plant-based diet. When asked about the first time he ditched meat Frazier replied, “I had already cut 90 minutes off my first marathon time. I was still 10 minutes away from the Boston Marathon qualifying time. I had plateaued, and I was not sure how I was going to find 10 minutes. [Plant-based eating] was what I was missing. That’s what it took. The other big noticeable difference to me [after going vegan] was I stopped getting injured. Injuries had always been a big part of my running journey. When I became vegan, it was around the time I ran three 50-milers and a 100-miler. I didn’t have any injuries. If it’s done right, [plant-based diets] can really help you recover faster.”

20. Michaela Copenhaver: Professional Rower, World Record Holder, 10,000m Indoor

Rowing is grueling. It’s known as the toughest endurance sport in the world. The world record-breaking female rower, Michaela Copenhaver went vegan in 2012 for ethical reasons, she told Great Vegan Athletes. “Initially, I just wanted to eat more vegetables. Those things are super good for you, and they’re delicious. Being vegetarian and vegan made me more conscious of how many servings I was getting a day (or not).” When she switched from vegetarian to vegan it was almost accidental: “I was traveling for a regatta in the fall of 2012. I had been vegetarian for 1.5 years already but relied pretty heavily on dairy and eggs. While I was traveling, I was bouncing from couch to couch and had no way to safely store dairy or eggs—so I decided to try a week without them. I felt great, and it wasn’t nearly as scary as I thought. I’ve been vegan ever since.” Now it’s a value system: “Once I stopped eating and using animals, I felt I could finally address a question that had been bothering me for a long time—what right do we have to exploit other creatures? Now, I understand that we have no right, and my motivations are primarily ethical.”

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​​“Our beautiful planet has passed some major tipping points and we’re rapidly heading towards a world that may soon become inhospitable for human life,” Otto Brockway said discussing the importance of the documentary. “The research now shows that the main driver of environmental destruction and biodiversity loss is our insatiable demand for meat and dairy.”

The animal agriculture documentary is both narrated and executive produced by Winslet. The actress is joined by motivational speaker Anthony Robbins, Sir Richard Branson, and marine biologist Sylvia Earle. The documentary enlists an impressive roster of speakers to advance its plant-based message to a wide population.

“Our Earth. Ever in flow and motion. A dynamic symphony of forces all working together,” Winslet says in the trailer. “But in recent years, it’s beginning to become clear that our world is poorly prepared to cope and time is running out.”

Eating Our Way To Extinction presents an entertaining and critical perspective on the environment, the animal agriculture industry, and the solutions to solving the climate crisis. The documentary advocates for its EATING FOR TOMORROW campaign that encourages people to consider their diets when participating in the effort combatting climate change. The EATING FOR TOMORROW initiative aims to plant 10 million trees in Madagascar and help the local communities that have been disrupted by the current food systems.

Leonardo DiCaprio – Winslet’s Titanic co-star – said that Eating Our Way To Extinction “is the films future generations will be wishing everyone watched today.” The film will arrive immediately following the UN’s “code red” regarding the climate crisis. The UN’s IPCC report revealed that humans have less time to reverse climate change than previously expected.

“[The report] is a Code Red for humanity, UN Secretary-General António Guterres said. “The alarm bells are deafening, and the evidence is irrefutable: greenhouse gas emissions from fossil fuel burning and deforestation are choking our planet and putting billions of people at immediate risk.”

The IPCC report definitively connects the growing frequency of floods, droughts, fires, heatwaves, and other climate events to animal agriculture and the excessive level of emissions stemming from the industry. Within the report, the UN claims that the current animal agriculture industry is unsustainable, pushing the greenhouse gas emission to an irreversible high and fringing on the 1.5°C thresholds for the atmosphere.

“Nobody is safe and it’s getting worse faster. We must treat climate change as an immediate threat,” Executive Director of the UN Environmental Program Inger Andersen said “It’s time to get serious because every tonne of CO2 adds to global warming.”

Plant-based eating is entering the forefront of the discussion, becoming one of the most accepted solutions to the climate crisis. Last month, the climate change initiative entitled The Plant Based Treaty launched to direct the Paris Agreement and all associated with plant-based solutions. The Plant-Based Treaty aims to enhance the food systems around the world to incorporate sustainable solutions and methods to save the environment. The campaign wants to reduce the overall human impact on the environment, claiming a sustainable food system is the integral first step.

“As a companion to the UNFCCC/Paris Agreement, The Plant Based Treaty initiative is a grassroots campaign designed to put food systems at the forefront of combating the climate crisis. Modeled on the popular Fossil Fuel Treaty, the Plant-Based Treaty aims to halt the widespread degradation of critical ecosystems caused by animal agriculture and to promote a shift to healthier, sustainable plant-based diets,” the campaign’s website states. “We are urging scientists, individuals, groups, businesses, and cities to endorse this call to action and put pressure on national governments to negotiate an international Plant Based Treaty.”

Eating Our Way To Extinction highlights the real damage that the current food system and animal agricultural practices have on the environment. The documentary will exhibit a contrast of the beauty and the damage in the hopes that the world will see the urgency. Check out the documentary trailer above to prepare for its September 16th premiere.

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“Addressing these urgent areas in the COP26 meeting would help propel governments around the world to take action. And, would provide world leaders with another high impact option to add to their toolbox for tackling climate change,” the letter states.

The UN’s IPCC report on the climate crisis propelled animal agriculture to the forefront of climate discussions. By recognizing the severe impact of animal-based food production, world leaders globally have been tasked with reducing carbon emissions and developing more sustainable solutions. The calls for the COP26 summit resound in the same manner, claiming that action should be taken at the UN event. Some of the organizations petitioning the summit leader include Animal Equality, ProVEG International, the RSPCA, Humane Society International, and World Animal Protection.

“Working with farmers to support and catalyze a shift towards more plant-centric food production and consumption is a proactive step. That must be taken to future-proof global food and agricultural industries,” the letter continues. “We call on the United Nations Framework Convention On Climate Change (UNFCCC) to formally and publicly recognize the role of animal agriculture as one of the largest contributors of climate change. And, to open a greater space for dialogue.”

When discussing climate change, plant-based diets and food alternatives have become one of the leading methods to combat emissions and waste. A Good Food Institute report from 2019 found that plant-based meat production causes a median savings of 88 percent less greenhouse gas emissions than the current animal agriculture industry. The same report went further to highlight that plant-based meat uses 93 percent less land and 95 percent less water than animal-based food production.

Another report from the United Nations’ Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) and Project Drawdown found that if 50 to 75 percent of the world’s population reduced meat consumption and retained a 2,250 calories per day diet, it would save between 43 to 68 gigatons of greenhouse gases. Plant-based diets will give humanity a chance to curb the rapidly worsening climate crisis.

“The science is clear that reducing global livestock numbers could contribute up to one-fifth of the mitigation needed to meet the Paris below 2°C target,” the letter states.

Other cosigners include Vegenuary, The Vegan Society, Farm Sanctuary, and Compassion in World Farming. The organizations together hope to highlight the dangers of animal-based food production, using the UN summit’s menu as a broadcasting point. In light of the worsening environmental conditions, the organizations believe the COP26 must remove animal products from its climate change event.

“If we are serious about avoiding climate catastrophe, world leaders must acknowledge the science,” Humane Society International Vice President for Farm Animal Welfare Julie Janovsky said to Plant Based News. “And, implement strategies to change our global food system to one that significantly reduces industrial animal agriculture. Reducing the number of animals raised and slaughtered is a legitimate and essential component of tackling climate change. Ignoring the immense climate impact of industrial animal farming is no longer an option. And, the COP26 climate change conference offers a vital opportunity for world leaders to take action.”

With human activity and more specifically animal agriculture found to be at the center of climate change, the organization believes it is necessary for a world leader to take responsibility. Other coalitions including the Plant Based Treaty–an extension of the Paris Agreement–believe sustainable food production and sourcing should be the leading topic in climate crisis solutions, building a healthier planet with a more sustainable food system.

You may think iron is synonymous with meat, and while animal protein certainly has it, that doesn’t mean you can’t get enough iron if you eat a mainly plant-based diet. In fact, you can, if you know the right foods to choose and how to pair them. The daily recommendation from the National Institutes of Health (NIH) for iron intake is 18 milligrams (mg), but not all iron sources are created equal. Here’s what plant-based eaters need to know about iron and which iron-rich foods are best to help reap the benefits.

1. White Mushrooms

1 cup cooked = 3 mg iron (17% daily value (DV))\There are many reasons to eat mushrooms on the regular, but their meaty texture (try a Portobello cap as a meat replacement for a burger!) and ample protein are two of the highlights. Add them to your stir-fry, tacos, or even instead of meat in a faux Bolognese sauce.

2. Lentils

1/2 cup = 3 mg iron (17% DV)You don’t need to eat a huge serving of lentils to get a hearty dose of iron. Just a half-cup provides close to 20% of the iron you need in a day. Just like mushrooms, lentils have a meaty texture that works well in burgers, tacos, or grain bowls.

3. Potatoes

1 medium potato = 2 mg iron (11% DV)The poor potato has gotten such a bad rap. Fear of this carb-rich spud is unwarranted because it’s actually an affordable and delicious source of iron and potassium. So go ahead and have that hash, baked potato, or potato soup and leave the skin on for some added fiber.

4. Cashews

1 ounce = 2 mg iron (11% DV)Most nuts contain iron, but cashews are a standout because they have less fat than some of the other nuts. One ounce of cashews (about 16 to 18 nuts) has 160 calories, 5 grams of protein, and 13 grams of fat. Add a handful of cashews to smoothies, soups, or sauces for some extra creaminess.

5. Tofu

½ cup = 3 mg (15% DV)Not only does tofu have plenty of protein and calcium, but it’s also a good source of iron. It’s very versatile and takes on the flavor of any sauce or marinade, making it a great meat substitute.Keep in mind that you can easily get the iron you need from a plant-based diet.

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Our global food system currently accounts for 25 percent of man-made fossil fuel emissions, according to one recent study, and that number could rise even higher in the near future. Luckily, there is a way to stay ahead of the foodie curve while lowering your own carbon footprint and reducing the impact your diet has on the environment.

These 20 viral food trends are worth re-creating, not just for their delicious taste and visual impact, but also because they have among the lowest impact on the environment, which unfortunately cannot be said for most foods, some of which are terrible for the environment.

Eat Plant-Based For the Environment

First, the healthiest foods to eat for you and the planet are plant-based. Just by leaving meat off your plate, you are helping lower the environmental impact of your meals. When we look at the dishes that are worst for the planet, they include meat or dairy. A cheeseburger, for example, is the number one worst food to eat if you’re concerned about the planet, generating 5,768 total gCO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent), whereas spicy pickled garlic gives off 83 gCO2e (Carbon Dioxide Equivalent) which is completely vegan.

A cheeseburger versus garlic may not seem like an even match, but the point is that raising a cow requires much more energy, and shipping that food to you expends more resources than growing a plant. For example, a single cow will drink 50 gallons of water per day, twice that on a hot day, whereas garlic just needs 16 inches of total water during its growing season. In addition, animals raised on factory farms produce 500 million tons of manure each year, according to the EPA, often stored in waste “lagoons,” reports PETA. These waste-filled lagoons “emit toxic airborne chemicals that can cause inflammatory, immune, irritation and neurochemical problems in humans,” according to a report by the California State Senate. There’s no parallel to be made with garlic for this one. Add to that the carbon footprint of the feed it takes to raise the animal and you get into exponential numbers of greenhouse gases.

Be Aware Which Foods Are Climate Friendly

The second best way to ensure a healthier environment and reduce your carbon footprint is to choose climate-friendly foods. Therefore, Uswitch, a tech service company investigated which food trends contribute the most and the least greenhouse gas emissions. To check a favorite of your food choices, use the My Emissions Food Carbon Footprint Calculator.

The list is based on the top trending foods on TikTok, and the findings are meant to raise awareness about the consumer choices we make – and encourage more people to skip the cheeseburgers and choose the quinoa salad instead. Of the list of the 20, the top nine are totally planet-friendly foods, and after that, the list includes some dairy, shellfish, and meat.

Here are the top 20 food trends in order based on their impact on the climate. This list may make you re-think your next meal.

The top 20 trending foods with the lowest carbon emissions

1. Spicy Pickled Garlic, Total Emissions: 83
2. Corn Ribs, Total Emissions: 289
3. Acai Bowl, Total Emissions: 354
4. Beetroot Hummus, Total Emissions: 375
5. Smashed Brussels Sprouts, Total Emissions: 428
6. Tiktok Pasta Chips, Total Emissions: 468
7. Grazing Boards, Total Emissions: 476
8. Homemade Bread, Total Emissions: 484
9. Baked Oats, Total Emissions: 501
10. Chilli Garlic Scallops, Total Emissions: 522
11. Bruschetta, Total Emissions: 541
12. 3-Ingredient Creme Brulee*, Total Emissions:  564
13. Cloud Bread, Total Emissions:  582
14. Bacon and Pancakes, Total Emissions:  583
15. Vegan Buffalo Wings, Total Emissions: 642
16. Cream Tea, Total Emissions: 643
17. Potato Galette, Total Emissions:  647
18. Sunday Roast – Nut roast, Total Emissions:  702
19. Chilli Oil Eggs, Total Emissions: 713
20. Eggs Florentine, Total Emissions:  735

If you would like to eat begin eating plant-based or add more plant-based foods to your diet, sign up for The Beet‘s free 7 Day Beginner’s Guide for daily recipes and helpful tips to stay motivated.

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