I think the word vegan is no longer a strange word. There are people around us who are aiming for a vegetarian diet for various reasons, and people who announce that they are vegan are appearing one after another on TV.

In the past, only people who didn't eat meat were called vegetarians, but now it is widely known that there are various types of vegetarians. Pesco vegetarians, who only eat fish, ovo vegetarians, who don't eat fish and dairy products, are all included in the category of vegetarians. What we commonly call vegans are people who don't eat meat, fish, eggs, or dairy products.

Everyone knows that a vegetarian diet is good for your health. Vegetarian diets have the effect of preventing various adult diseases that are more likely to occur when meat is consumed frequently, and they also raise the level of good cholesterol in the body. In addition, it helps to improve blood circulation and protect our body from fatal diseases such as hypertension and stroke.

Humanity is consuming more and more meat. Global meat consumption, which was 71 million tons in the 1960s, has increased to 364 million tons in 2023. Simply increasing the population is one of the reasons for the increase in meat consumption, but the westernized diet centered on meat has become widespread around the world, which is also a reason for the sharp increase in global meat consumption. The problem is that meat consumption doesn't just make human health worse.

Surprisingly, one-third of greenhouse gas emissions, the culprit of global warming, are caused by food production. It is also surprising that beef and lamb account for half of the gas emissions from livestock farms. Eating meat naturally generates a lot of carbon because it goes through a processing process compared to eating vegetables.

Vegetarianism is more necessary in this trend. A study at Oxford University found that a vegetarian diet reduces the environmental impact, such as carbon emissions and water pollution, by 75% compared to a meat-based diet. In addition, water use can be reduced by half, and biodiversity destruction can be prevented. This means that a vegetarian diet reduces carbon emissions and also has various positive effects on the global environment.

Now that the climate crisis has become a global issue, there are more and more people acting to respond to the climate crisis. Some people avoid using plastic to reduce inconvenience to the earth. Usually, actions to save the earth are thought to involve some inconvenience, but vegetarianism is not only inconvenient but also good for our health. One obstacle is the common perception that vegetarianism is not tasty. However, these days, as vegans increase and technology advances, there are many foods that can produce the taste of meat with plants.

Of course, not everyone can eat all meals as a vegetarian. Meat also contains essential nutrients for humans, so meat consumption cannot be prevented. It is also almost impossible for people who enjoy eating meat to become vegan from the next meal. However, if we eat vegetarian food even once a week, there will definitely be a meaningful change for the earth. Vegetarianism is not a grand thing. It's a way to protect the earth with the smallest effort.