ENVIRONMENTAL IMPACT OF NON-VEGETARIAN DIET: AN OVERVIEW

The food production and consumption pattern is very diverse and significantly changing due to the change in economic status, population pressures, urbanization, and lifestyle of people worldwide. The food system adopted by modern society has very serious environmental impacts. The main objective of this paper is to highlight the impacts of consuming non-vegetarian diet on the environment. The production of animal-based (livestock) foods is associated with high carbon footprint which contributes significantly to the acceleration of global climate change. Environmental issues such as global warming and climate change can be minimized by adopting vegetarianism or by lowering the consumption of meat and other animal based products.