All human beings have a footprint on the environment. Food is only one factor and not the most important one. Non-vegetarians follow a traditional diet based on their culture. To change the culture takes the longest time and the most effort among all changes.

Some things contributes to your environmental footprint:

- Having children. More children, larger footprint.

- Travelling.

- Living in a house.

- Using clothes.

- Heating.

- Drinking, bathing or having a shower, washing, cleaning.

- Using air conditioner.

- Eating.

- Buying non-inevitable stuff.

- Buying inevitable stuff.

- Training, sports (more energy you need, more food you eat).

- Working, earning money.

- Developing infrastructure (road, telecommunication, drinking water, waste-water, etc.)

- Using or providing healthcare.

- Producing waste.

Maybe you realize from the non-comprehensive list above that decreasing environmental footprint is a complex problem. You cannot expect others to follow your priorities because you like them. Most of the enlisted factors have a higher impact than 75% of the impact of a non-vegetarian diet. Rigorously targeting one element and shaming those who do not follow you is not the effective way to move forward. We need to target all the important factors and educate people to make their own well-funded responsible choices.

You know the effect of greenhouse gases aiding in air pollution. The ruminants, while chewing cuds release methane. That is why, Scientists advice for the non-veg diets.

Yes, Robert.

You are right. We have many important parameters which effects environment.

But food diet is the one which effects on men manner and make the people more responsible for all parameters which you mentioned. Although we have some vegetarian who has created the IIW . but those people are exceptional.

These days people from everywhere have understood this important issue that being veg. is the only way to save our life (sustainable life). And it is not related to the culture/religion, even my culture follows non-Veg. food but I follow Veg. and all parameters you mentioned. If I am vegetarian it is not because of my culture. It is just about the feeling which alarms me inside that we are destroying everything.

As Albert Einstein says:” Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances for survival of life on Earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet. “

You know the next wars will be related to water. You know. How Much Water we need to Make One Pound of Beef? And of course you know Non-veg. food makes several times more wastes than veg food. As animal create Methane (CH4) which is many times worst than co2 .

Also, solid waste created by non-veg. which is the single largest man-made source of methane gas. Methane is a powerful greenhouse gas that is 23 times more effective at trapping heat in the atmosphere than the most prevalent carbon dioxide (CO2).

That’s why . Everyone believes scientists in the field of sustainability are all politicians and not scientists.

Global non-veg consumption has increased from under 50 million tons annually to over 200 million tons in the last 50 years. The amount of animal manure produced in the U.S. is 130 times greater than the amount of human waste. This is causing more environmental issues than ever seen before. Here are some good reasons to stop eating meat:

---Health Reasons:

Increased risk of breast cancer for women who eat meat daily compared to less than once a week: 3.8 times. For women who eat eggs daily compared to once a week: 2.8 times. Increased risk of fatal ovarian cancer for women who eat eggs 3 or more times a week vs. less than once a week: 3 times. Increased risk of fatal prostate cancer for men who consume meat, cheese, eggs and milk daily vs. sparingly or not at all: 3.6 times.

-Cholesterol

Most common cause of death in the U.S.: heart attack. How frequently a heart attack kills in the U.S.: every 45 seconds. Average U.S. man's risk of death from heart attack: 50 percent. Risk of average U.S. man who eats no meat, dairy or eggs: 4 percent. Amount you reduce risk if you eliminate meat, dairy and eggs from your diet: 90 percent Average cholesterol level of people eating meat-centered-diet: 210 mg/dl. Chance of dying from heart disease if you are male and your blood cholesterol level is 210 mg/dl: greater than 50 percent. -Antibiotic

Ingredients: Any one of our instant noodles, fresh vegetables (if you don't have fresh veggies handy, then our Just Corn and Just Veggies are just as good), Roasted Seaweed (optional), Wei-I Best Grade Laver Ro Su (bacon bits) (optional) and any of our frozen gourmet.

Percentage of U.S. antibiotics fed to livestock: 55. Percentage of staphylococci infections resistant to penicillin in 1960: 13. Percentage resistant in 1988: 91. Response of European Economic Community to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: ban. Response of U.S. meat and pharmaceutical industries to routine feeding of antibiotics to livestock: full and complete support.

-Pesticide

Fewer than 1 out of every 250,000 slaughtered animals is tested for toxic chemical residues. Percentage of U.S. mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 99. Percentage of U.S. vegetarian mother's milk containing significant levels of DDT: 8. Contamination of breast milk, due to chlorinated hydrocarbon pesticides in animal products, found in meat-eating mothers vs. non-meat eating mothers: 35 times higher.

- Lower risk of cancer. The Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine has reported that vegetarians are less likely to get cancer by 25 to 50 percent.

- Lower risk of heart disease. Researchers Dr. Dean Ornish and Dr. Caldwell Esselstyn have a program that includes a vegetarian diet and is currently one of the few programs that has been proven to reverse heart disease. A vegetarian diet reduces cholesterol.

- Lower risk of osteoporosis. Studies have shown that too much protein in our diet causes loss of bone calcium. Meat eaters generally get far more protein than they need or can use.

- Lower risk of kidney and gallstones. The calcium leached from the bones by the body's efforts to neutralize the acids produce by too much protein intake can end up forming kidney stones and gall stones.

- Factory farmed animals carry disease. According to the FDA poultry is the number one source of food-borne illness. Despite the heavy use of pesticides and antibiotics, up to 60% percent of chickens sold at the supermarket are infected with live salmonella bacteria. Approximately 30% of all pork products are contaminated with toxoplasmosis. We are increasingly at risk from highly contagious diseases like Mad Cow Disease and Foot and Mouth disease in sheep and cattle.

- Factory-farmed animals contain toxic chemicals. Meat contains accumulations of pesticides and other chemicals up to 14 times more concentrated than those in plant foods. Half of all antibiotics used in the U.S. are used in farm animals and 90% of those are not used to treat infections but are instead used as growth promoters.

---Environmental Reasons:

Primary cause of greenhouse effect: carbon dioxide emissions from fossil fuels Fossil fuels needed to produce meat-centered diet vs. a meat-free diet: 3 times more . Percentage of U.S. topsoil lost to date: 75. Percentage of U.S. topsoil loss directly related to livestock raising: 85. Number of acres of U.S. forest cleared for cropland to produce meat-centered diet: 260 million. Area of tropical rainforest consumed in every quarter-pound of rainforest beef: 55 sq. feet. Current rate of species extinction due to destruction of tropical rainforests for meat grazing and other uses: 1,000 per year.

- Inefficient use of agriculture. 70% of U.S. grain production is used to feed farm animals. The grains and soybeans fed to animals to produce the amount of meat consumed by the average American in one year could feed seven people for the same period.

- Inefficient use of water. It takes 2640 gallons of water to produce one pound of edible beef. The water used to raise animals for food is more than half the water used in the United States.

- Inefficient use of energy. Calories of fossil fuel needed to produce 1 calorie of protein in beef: 28. Calories of fossil fuel needed to produce 1 calorie of protein in soybeans: 2.

- Environmental Pollution. Raising animals for food is the biggest polluter of our water and topsoil. Factory farm animal waste pollutes the ground and groundwater horribly.

- Destruction of natural habitat. It takes more land to raise animals for food than it does to produce the equivalent nutritional value by raising edible plants. Rain forests are being destroyed to make room for huge cattle ranches. Coyotes and other animals are poisoned and shot by western cattle ranchers who consider federal land to be their land for grazing.

---Animal Rights Reasons:

User of more than half of all water used for all purposes in the U.S.: livestock production. Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of wheat: 25. Gallons of water needed to produce a pound of California beef: 5,000. Years the world's known oil reserves would last if every human ate a meat-centered diet:13. Years they would last if human beings no longer ate meat: 260. Calories of fossil fuel expended to get 1 calory of protein from beef: 78. To get 1 calory of protein from soybeans: 2. -Ethics

Number of animals killed for meat per hour in the U.S.: 660,000. Occupation with the highest turnover rate in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker. Occupation with the highest rate of on-the-job-injury in U.S.: slaughterhouse worker.

-Spiritual Consciousness

Food is the source of the body's hemistry, and what we ingest affects our consciousness, emotions and experiential pattern. If we want to live in higher consciousness, in peace and happiness and love for all creatures, then we should consider not eating meat, fish, shellfish, fowl or eggs.

-Karmic Consequences

Major religions around the world such as Buddhism or Hinduism teach that all of our actions including our choice of food have karmic consequences. By involving oneself in the cycle of inflicting injury, pain and death, even indirectly by eating other creatures, one must in the future experience in equal measure the suffering caused.

-Hunger

Number of people worldwide who will die as a result of malnutrition this year: 20 million. Number of people who could be adequately fed using land freed if Americans reduced their intake of meat by 10%: 100 million. Percentage of corn grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 80. Percentage of oats grown in the U.S. eaten by livestock: 95. How frequently a child dies as a result of malnutrition: every 2.3 seconds. Pounds of potatoes that can be grown on an acre: 40,000. Pounds of beef produced on an acre: 250. Percentage of U.S. farmland devoted to beef production: 56. Pounds of grain and soybeans needed to produce a pound of beef: 16. - Animals on factory farms are over-crowded. They spend their brief lives in crowded and ammonia-filled conditions, many of them so cramped that they can't even turn around or spread a wing.

- Animals on factory farms are tortured. Within days of birth, for example, chickens have their beaks seared off with a hot blade. Animals are hung upside down and their throats are sliced open, often while they're fully conscious.

- Animals on factory farms are treated like machines. They are pumped up with drugs, fed their own waste and forced to grow or produce as fast as possible. They are subjected to 24-hour artificial lighting while being crammed into tiny cages one on top of the other to make it easier to harvest.

- We don't need to eat animals! Most of us in the U.S. don't eat animals because we must in order to survive. We eat them because we want to. We are subjecting animals to torture, damaging the environment unnecessarily and subjecting ourselves to greater risk of disease just to satisfy a desire, not a need.

You can get a totally balanced diet without eating meat. All vegetables contain protein and too much protein consumption is unhealthy. Grains, legumes and soybeans contain plenty of protein. Vegetarian foods do not have to be boring. Spice it up! For example, veggies and rice with some Teriyaki sauce is delicious and as filling as any meat dish you can think of while being far more healthy for you and easier on animals and the environment. Why not give a vegetarian diet a try and give our environment a break. Your body will thank you and so will the Earth!

Oh!! This is a quite interesting question. First of all I do not know from where this statistics was obtained that "all scientists are following non-vegetarian food".  There are many including me are "Pure" vegetarians (not even consume eggs). While partially agreeing to the above answers, I also appreciate Dr. Mohsen of her concern towards the environment and the idea that "Practice what you preach". I strongly & sincerely hope that Dr. Mohsen is not believing in "scientists in the field of sustainability are all politicians and not scientists".

Dear Professor N B Narasimha Prasad

Of course , not all.

But most of scientists in field of sustainability. Just talk and talk about environment in theory but not practically follow it and do many other things which are bad for environment.

Very many elaborate and convincing discourses have been presented. I wish to be brief. We can go vegetarian because, we can sustain producing what we eat. Veg foodstuff take very short to mature. But, for a while, just consider this! How much vegetation does a cow need to feed on before it is mature for beef production? Lets go veg.

Considering all those health related aspects mentioned by Dr.Mohsen , now a days, according to my observation, more importance and encouragement is given for consuming vegetarian food. Many awareness programmes are also being conducted among the public on the ill-effects of consuming non-vegetarian food and also promoting veg. food.

Thanks a lot to all of you Professor N B Narasimha Prasad ,Professor Saeed Mwaguni ,Professor Rakesh Prasad Bhagat ang Professor Robert Istvan Radics

I could lean a lot from you.

I hope one day everyone goes in this way

thanks,

We willingly share our knowledge with fellow researchers because the more you share the more you gain in knowledge. Knowledge therefore is the only thing that grows as you give. And you can give it out anyhow. without loss. Money? You can't keep-on giving it out in order for it to grow.

Vegetarianism alone cant make sustainable. Are the Scientists eligible to talk about sustainability (vegetarians) ready to skip milk , butter and dairy products?. Non vegetarians are consuming not only meat but also equal quantities of vegetables and pulses. Fisheries, poultry and dairy have very prominent role to play towards sustainability.

Vegetarians or non-vegetarians, whatever they eat, as far as the people can regenerate the same (by growing vegetables or enhancing the activity of poultry/dairy/fisheries, etc), I feel the sustainability can be maintained/achieved.