Be Vegan

Humans create unspeakable misery when we consider animals our food. In short, you can’t be
a climate activist if you eat meat and other animal products.

If you’re devoted to sharply reducing greenhouse gas emissions, do know that livestock
methane is a major greenhouse gas. Livestock supply chains account for 14.5 percent of all human-
induced greenhouse emissions each year. That’s about the same amount of emissions from all
airplanes, ships, trucks and cars combined.

In addition, each year in the United States, eating animals results in the breeding and horrific
slaughter of 8 billion chickens, 1.3 billion pigs, 33 million cows, and millions of other animals
such as sheep, lambs, ducks and turkeys. Veganism is simply a moral imperative that
challenges us for clarity and for the radical change in our relations with animals. The meat
industry not only capitalizes on misery and the ruination of 30 percent of the earth’s land, but
also pollutes water and sucks up an increasing amount of corn, soy and other grains that could
be fed to humans directly.  According to the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization,
three-quarters of all water-quality problems in our nation’s streams and rivers results from
agriculture.

Being vegan not only spares animals from hellish, tragic lives that are ultimately betrayed, it also
benefits the environment.
● Be Vegan. Make animal-free protein the norm
Friends of Animals | Be Vegan. Make animal-free protein the norm in 2024 – Friends of Animals
● Get inspired by these vegan recipes
Friends of Animals | VeganRecipes

Kick Plastic to the Curb

For years, FoA has been educating people about helping the earth and the animals who
live here by eliminating plastic as much as possible from our lives. That’s why we’re
happy to see the 2024 Earth Day theme is “Planet vs. Plastics”—a call to advocate for
widespread awareness on the health risk of plastics, rapidly phase out all single-use
plastics, push for a strong UN Treaty on Plastic Pollution, and demand an end to fast
fashion.
● Friends of Animals | Join the movement to kick plastic to the curb – Friends of Animals
● Friends of Animals | Dress to kill…without killing the planet

Compost
Even the most conscientious vegan can do more to reduce the amount of food that goes
uneaten or to make sure that the food scraps and leftovers are put to a beneficial end use. Here
are some practical, easy-to-follow practices to “waste not, want not.”
● Friends of Animals | There is a simple solution to the food-waste crisis – Friends of Animals

Garden organically
Just because you see an insect in your garden doesn’t mean you have to reach for the bottle of
toxic insecticide. Besides making a shift to entirely organic practices, nature-minded
homeowners need to shift their mindset about bugs. Let them do their job and help your organic
garden flourish. What’s more, bugs are a critical source of food for all kinds of wildlife, especially
for birds at this time of year, as fledglings have hatched and need enormous amounts of food. 
● Friends of Animals | How organic gardeners keep the ‘bad’ bugs at bay – Friends of Animals
● Friends of Animals | Go organic & avoid big box stores that have a poison problem – Friends of Animals