Veganist_ Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World - Kathy Freston [85]
We are not only at a tipping point but also at a critical turning point. Beyond reaffirming that animal agriculture is the chief contributor of greenhouse gases, the latest United Nations report on climate change concludes that there is simply no other way to prevent the potentially catastrophic impacts of climate change other than for the world to move in the direction of plant-based diets. The report explains, “A substantial reduction of impacts would only be possible with a substantial worldwide diet change.” This means that the choices we make today will be decisive ones in shaping the future. It means our choices matter.
Imagine
The possibility for change is immense. Consider the case of soy foods, which virtually always replace animal products in American diets. In 1992 the FDA made it legal for soy producers to indicate the link between consuming their product and reduction in heart disease risk. This modest move by the government and changing consumer demands led U.S. sales for soy foods to multiply by fourteen-fold in the next sixteen years—from $300 million to more than $4 billion. Soy milk, a relatively obscure beverage when I was born, is now present in more than one in ten American households, and some industry executives are expecting that number to triple in coming decades. The point is not that soy-based meat and dairy alternatives are the only or best ones but simply that there is enormous potential for positive change.
Imagine what’s possible. As more and more people choose veganism, economies of scale will further lower costs and increase the variety and quality of meat and dairy alternatives. A cycle will follow in which food innovations and the increasing number of people going vegan will mutually reinforce each other. Soon that long row of animal flesh at the back of the grocery store will be occupied by varieties of tofu, tempeh, seitan, and other meat alternatives. Entire new industries will be created: new micro “dairies” will produce regional faux cheeses; demand for a more diverse variety of fruits and vegetables will drive new, more sustainable, and fairer trade agreements between nations; free from the stench and pathogens that surround meat production, a new generation of farmers will produce their crops in closer proximity to their neighbors.
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Soy milk, a relatively obscure beverage when I was born, is now present in more than one in ten American households, and some industry executives are expecting that number to triple in coming decades.
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People’s quality of life and length of life will increase. Health insurance companies will start to give deep discounts to those who avoid meat and dairy and health-care costs will plummet, driving growth in businesses of all sizes. Animal agriculture will no longer have the political power to pollute waterways with near impunity. Deforestation will begin to reverse as less land is needed. Climate change will slow. Headlines once filled with news of emerging super-pathogens and oil spills will be replaced with reports on the decreasing number of foodborne illnesses and reduced reliance on fossil fuel. As people see the changes their generation helped create, a sense of empowerment will replace frustration. Healthier, safer, more ecologically balanced, and more inspired, future generations will take on new challenges with a confidence. We will learn to more fully realize our human potential.
If Only a Small Percentage…
Even if only a modest percentage of people move in the direction of a vegan diet, it will be a game changer. Consider the health-care costs directly attributable to meat. As we saw in Promise 5, the health-care costs of heart disease alone, which can be almost entirely eliminated through plant-based diets, are $500 billion annually. Even if the costs of this one disease were reduced by 30 percent it would amount