“Orange Is The New Black” actress Ruby Rose might be famous for her roles as Litchfield inmate and John Wick adversary, but in real life the bad-girl action star is going after her own villain: Donald Trump. In response to his executive order directing the Environmental Protection Agency to overhaul former POTUS Barack Obama’s Clean Power Plan (which regulates carbon emissions from fossil fuel-burning power plants), she urges her fans to stop eating animals.
Rose tweeted, “Trump changes to Climate change today have you feeling ill?? May I suggest turning vegan or at least vegetarian? We can be the change,” underscoring the devastating environmental impact of animal agriculture.
PETA promptly responded, “Yes. Together we CAN be the change & make a difference for the environment & animals with #VeganLife!”
Ruby Rose has a point. To start, here are some astounding statistics:
- According to the United States Department of Agriculture, global agriculture, which is dominated by livestock production, makes up 30% of greenhouse gas emissions.
- A 2006 study by the United Nation’s Food and Agriculture Organization found that livestock production directly attributes for 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions.
- Livestock and their byproducts account for at least 51% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions, according to a World Watch report.
- The demand for animal agriculture is expected to contribute to about an 80% increase in global greenhouse gas emissions from the agricultural sector, per authors at the Stanford Environmental Law Journal.
This means if we want to mitigate climate change, we need to do something about the sheer quantities of animals we’re raising and eating. In a brief yet poignant clip created by the filmmakers of documentary “Cowspiracy: The Sustainability Secret,” animal agriculture is more responsible for greenhouse gas emissions than exhaust from all transportation combined.
And yes, eating plants produces fewer emissions than eating animals—50% less.
If you need a stronger push to drop your meaty dinner plans tonight, watch “Cowspiracy’s” full clip below (it’s only a minute-and-a-half long, you can do it!).
Considering climate change might potentially ruin wine for us all or make us fat and malnourished, replacing your next rib eye with a portobello mushroom might not be the worst idea. And if you’re not confident you can go vegan or even vegetarian, you can reduce your consumption of meat a few days a week and still make a difference. Nobody is perfect. Even Ruby Rose, exactly one year ago, said, “I don’t do dairy but I’m not vegan because I wear leather. Something else I need to really reconsider.”
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