22nd April marks Earth Day. Going vegan is probably the best thing you can do for the planet.
Animal agriculture is having a devastating effect on our environment, both here in the UK and globally; contributing to climate change, deforestation, water pollution and the depletion of natural resources.
On the contrary, a plant-based diet requires less land, water and fewer resources than a meat-based diet and produces far fewer greenhouse gas emissions. In fact, the carbon footprint of a vegan diet is as much as 60% smaller than a meat-based diet, and 24% smaller than a vegetarian diet.
![](https://www.animalaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/SVP-Graph-No-Subtitles-01-2-300x169.png)
Meat production is also one of the leading causes of deforestation of the Amazon rainforest, contributing to as much as 90%.
Animal farming is also a huge waste of water. It takes 1,000 litres of water to produce one beef burger, but just 167 litres to produce a tofu-based equivalent. Dairy has also been shown to be the most environmentally damaging milk, when compared to vegan alternatives, in terms of carbon emissions, water use and land use.
![](https://www.animalaid.org.uk/wp-content/uploads/2020/04/Screen-Shot-2020-04-20-at-16.46.07-300x178.png)
Click here for more information about the environmental impact of animal agriculture