Handy new guide explains why vegan diets are best for wildlife and the environment

A compact but comprehensive new guide has been launched to highlight the devastating impact farming animals is having on the environment. Called Vegan for the Planet, the guide outlines the many ways animal agriculture harms the climate, from global heating and land use to deforestation and water use.

The guide also covers how major issues such as world hunger and wildlife loss could be combated if we all switched to a vegan diet.

Vegan for the Planet has been published by Viva! – the UK’s leading vegan charity – and written by the charity’s head of research, Dr Justine Butler. The guide references over a hundred studies that have been carried out by scientists and research teams, all of which agree that farming at current levels is animals is unsustainable. We would use less resources, feed more people, stop deforestation and could achieve zero carbon if there was a huge shift towards a plant-based diet.

The guide follows a myriad of environmental campaigns that Viva! has conducted over the past few years, including 2022’s Eating the Earth campaign which dominated headlines after a Bristol-based restaurant became the first to add carbon labelling to its menu, in partnership with Viva!. While Viva! originated as a charity for the animals, the climate emergency is an increasingly pressing issue, and the organisation is committed to educating people on how diets containing meat, fish, eggs and dairy impact the planet. A fact almost completely ignored by the Government.

Speaking about Vegan for the Planet, Viva!’s head of research Dr Justine Butler said: “Many people are looking for ways to reduce their carbon footprint, but surprisingly few people are aware that the best place to start is with their diet. Hundreds of scientific studies show that the demand for meat, fish, dairy and eggs is destroying the planet, causing deforestation and the extinction of many species, among other atrocities. Vegan for the Planet explains how this is happening in an easily digestible format, providing readers with advice on how they can play their part to save the planet. Our message is clear: go vegan now, or risk causing irreversible climate breakdown.”

Tanith Carey, author and journalist, said: “A hard-hitting, well-researched analysis of the climate change crisis and the steps we need to take to address it, with lots of helpful graphics. This essential handbook is a timely reminder that changing the way we eat is the single biggest and most rapid way for each of us to lower our impact on the environment.”