When I was a child, my family and I loved going to petting zoos. We would go to the animals stuck in their 1 meter by 1 meter cages and pet them for hours. So naturally, we would all come home just to see one of their loved ones on my plate that night. Plant-based lifestyles are constantly in the spotlight and are a growing trend in the media. Personally, following internal debates on the morality of meat consumption, I decided a year and a half ago to change my lifestyle and become vegetarian. Although this decision started out because of my personal morals, it turned into something much more than that. As time passed and I learned more about this lifestyle, I realized how much of an impact everyone can make by being vegetarian. In fact, by adopting a plant-based lifestyle, people have the ability to reduce climate change, improve animal welfare, and even improve their own health; proving that just a small lifestyle change can produce substantial results. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on “Why Violent Video Games Should Not Be Banned”? Get an original essay The biggest thing we can do in our lives to stop climate change is to stop eating animals immediately. In fact, the use of animals for food is one of the most destructive technologies on Earth. The main reason for this is that the livestock industry is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions. It's a well-known fact that global warming is a major problem that affects us all, and with demand for meat expected to double by 2050, we need to do something quickly. The meat industry's impacts on the environment are so great that if we stay on current course until 2050, feeding the factory will involve clearing more of the world's remaining forests, wiping out thousands of species and release GHG emissions exceeding 1.5. C and 2C warming targets enshrined in the Paris Agreement, even if emissions from all other human activities were entirely eliminated. But not only does the meat industry play a major role in climate change, it also contributes to large amounts of pollution and excessive water consumption. As the demand for meat increases, so does the demand for fresh water. In a 2013 study, it was found that agriculture used up to 92% of our fresh water, almost a third of which was linked to animal products. The meat industry not only uses up all of our fresh water, but it also pollutes the precious amount we have left with various fertilizers, pesticides, organic matter, pathogens, and emerging pollutants. With meat consumption having such a negative impact on the environment, humans must decide if their next burger is really worth it. Not only does the meat industry have significant effects on the environment, but it can also have significant negative health effects. It is more or less known that meat consumption not only increases the risk of cardiovascular disease and colorectal cancer, but it can also have much greater effects on your health. In fact, eating meat can become very dangerous. Due to the use of antibiotics which are regularly mixed into pig and cattle feed to protect and fatten them, this.?”