I used to presume vegetarians clung to their cause out of sympathy for the fuzzy animals martyred by meat-eaters. For me, any such sympathy was curbed by the tedious prospect of searching for meat substitutes.

I learned recently that my best friend considers her vegetarianism a moral issue. I asked her why, and was astonished at the logic of her answers – and at my own ignorance about the issues we discussed. Walking with me to an aerobics class from her dorm at UBC, Holly explained what she has learned about the meat industry’s effects on the environment.

The amount of natural resources used to raise animals for food is enormous. A UN report from November 2006 says the livestock industry generates more greenhouse gases than all transportation combined. Excrement from farmed animals pollutes rivers and also creates methane, which traps heat in the atmosphere. Growing crops to feed livestock requires forest-clearing, causes soil erosion, and uses land inefficiently; the same amount of farmland could produce more food for humans if we ate crops directly instead of eating the animals that feed on them.

Restoring Eden, a Christian environmental organization, offers suggestions at their website for celebrating a creation-friendly Lent. Instead of giving up candy or television, the article suggests, consider giving up meat – even just on weekdays.

Ever since Peter Illyn came to speak at TWU on behalf of Restoring Eden, stickers have appeared on bumpers and Nalgenes around campus saying that naked vegetarianism was God’s original plan. Illyn’s urgent message in chapel about caring for God’s creation was received favourably, yet the witty stickers are rarely taken seriously.

Vegetarianism can be dismissed as a utopian ideal of Eden, but practicing it is a significant way to help care for God’s gift of creation. Dropping meat entirely is a major lifestyle change – one that I’m not ready to make – but choosing vegetarian options some of the time is a step that I now realize can make a positive contribution to the environment.

With thanks to Holly Parmley.

Statistics from goveg.com

• Nearly 80% of all agricultural land in the U.S. is used to raise animals.
• 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to create cropland to grow grain to feed farmed animals.
• It takes up to 16 pounds of grain to produce just one pound of meat.
• It takes 5,000 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of meat, while growing 1 pound of wheat only requires 25 gallons.
• A totally vegetarian diet requires only 300 gallons of water per day, while a meat-eating diet requires more than 4,000 gallons of water per day.