Ever since I was a kid, Meatless Monday was something that we were all encouraged to participate in. Going vegan was a good thing, they said. It wasn’t just about the animals; it would also help save the planet. Over time as I learned more about sustainability and learned where my beliefs lied, I realized something. There was one big myth in sustainability that I didn’t believe in. I don’t believe you have to go vegan to save the planet.
Yes, going vegan can have a massive impact on climate change. However, it is NOT the only solution and this proposition overlooks how some people actually CANNOT go vegan for health reasons or because of a lack of access. Here are three key reasons why we can’t save the planet simply by going vegan.
Vegan alternatives can be worse for the environment.
Sometimes, people go vegan because they are staunch animal rights activists. Other times, the primary reason for going vegan is to save the environment. What I’d like to argue is that you will be surprised how many vegan alternatives are actually unsustainable themselves. There’s always the argument that the resources and energy saved from the vegan alternatives are more than enough to offset its downsides. I’d like to argue that it’d be better to view your diet with your eyes wide open and make the choice that best suits your lifestyle.
To better illustrate the point that vegan alternatives are not as sustainable as we may think, let’s use vegan butter as an example.
Popular vegan butter brands such as I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter and Earth Balance lists palm oil as an ingredient. Palm oil is one of the biggest contributors to deforestation. In the Amazon rain forest, companies are cutting down trees in order to make space for palm oil plantations. This destroys the habitats of many critically endangered species such as orangutans.
In the instance of Earth Balance, its parent company (Boulder Brands) is not listed as a certified sustainable palm oil company by RSPO. Unilever, which owns I Can’t Believe It’s Not Butter, is listed by RSPO. HOWEVER, Unilever has NOT achieved 100% sustainable palm oil, despite its earlier promises in 2015.
What does this mean? It means that these massive brands either don’t care or are smart enough to trick you as the consumer into thinking you’re consuming a sustainable alternative. In fact, you’re not.
The usage of palm oil and incorrectly confusing vegan butter with being a sustainable alternative to traditional butter is something I have been vocal about in the past.
Because have gotten very smart and know that consumers have been taught to avoid palm oil, here are some other names for palm oil that you may not have known:
- Elaeis guineensis
- Etyl palmitate
- Glyceryl
- Hydrogenated palm glycerides
- Octyl palmitate
- Palm fruit oil
- Palm kernel
- Palm kernel oil
- Palm stearine
- Palmate
- Palmitate
- Palmitic acid
- Palmitoyl oxostearamide
- Palmitoyl tetrapeptide-3
- Palmityl alcohol
- Palmolein
- Sodium kernelate
- Sodium laureth sulfate
- Sodium lauryl lactylate/sulphate
- Sodium lauryl sulfate
- Sodium palm kernelate
- Stearate
- Stearic acid
- Vegetable fat
- Vegetable oil
Yes, the carbon emissions from dairy are offset by vegan dairy. However, that does not necessarily mean that other areas environmentally are not suffering. One of the biggest criticisms against Beyond Meats is its lack of transparency in the supply chain.
In the end, it’s about balance and transparency. When I do eat dairy, I typically choose Organic Valley because they are committed to having a green footprint. I love that their facilities use renewable energy, and they are actively seeking ways to reduce emissions and supplement with carbon credits.
Not everyone’s health permits being vegan.
Ever since social media started to take off, there’s been an influx of people making medical claims that they can’t back up. One of the claims that irk me beyond belief is the idea that everyone can safely eat a vegan diet.
I am not a health professional or a registered dietician. However, we cannot deal with absolutes when discussing health; everyone’s needs are so personalized.
A vegan blog lists out 13 reasons why it may become harder to be vegan. Some reasons might include anemia, kidney issues, allergies, or intolerances (soy allergy, celiac disease, nut allergy, etc.). Does that mean it’s impossible to become vegan if you have one of these health limitations? No. However, does that mean that you should have to restrict yourself to vegan food if you might be putting your health at risk? No.
The problem with the internet age is that we all deal in absolutes, and the cry for everyone to go vegan often forgets to consider people’s own health limitations, or perhaps even more importantly, access to vegan options.
Having access to vegan alternatives is an option that not everyone can afford.
One of my biggest pet peeves when discussing veganism is forgetting that many people around the world rely on fish and meat as their primary source of food and for economic stability. For example, in a research paper written in 2020, it was concluded that the Philippines is incredibly vulnerable to changes in the fishing industry, including the impacts of climate change.
Eco-xenophobia is a very real phenomenon in which those of us in Western countries think that BIPOC immigrants or non-Western countries are the reason for negatively harming the environment. This type of thinking is xenophobic, racist, and forgets to consider the history of what many formerly colonized countries have gone through.
That is why I am so vocal against Seaspiracy. Pointing the finger at Asian countries as being “the problem” is xenophobic, racist, and unproductive towards the sustainability discussion.
What about those of us in Western countries?
Even in Western countries where we have so many available opportunities, veganism takes a lot of trial and error to ensure that you are getting the right nutrition. Many people might become carb-heavy and/or protein-deficient until they figure out the right balance.
I know firsthand that this has happened to my family. For my sister who was a staunch vegan advocate, it was incredibly difficult for her to eat the necessary nutrients she needed. She suffered from health issues resulting from her vegan diet because she did not have access to all the vegan options, she needed to maintain her health.
There are those who say that going vegan is actually more affordable than a traditional diet, but what they are forgetting is that this requires education into what nutrition you need, access to dieticians and doctors who can help you formulate a vegan diet, and access to plant-based alternatives.
To say that everyone in the U.S. should have access to all of these resources is simply overlooking a major fact: we have a massive public health issue in the U.S. Some people in the U.S. don’t even have access to clean drinking water, let alone vegan options at the grocery store.
So, what does balance look like?
Luckily for me, I have plenty of vegan alternatives available to me. I don’t need to sacrifice my health or financial stability to seek out vegan options. Vegan options are right there in my grocery store aisles. To give a sense of what balance looks like for me, I typically eat butter, cheese, beef, and shellfish. However, none of these are things that I eat 3 times a day for 7 days a week.
Typically, my lunch is always vegan when I work from home (I love Daily Harvest bowls). My dinner is meatless 3 times a week. Other days when I eat beef or shellfish, I always purchase sustainable options that are certified humane or certified sustainable. Also, I only eat dairy from Organic Valley. Organic Valley is one of the very few dairy brands that I trust to produce humane dairy.
True, some people might say balance is not subjective. I say differently. So long as you are constantly trying to better yourself each day and genuinely trying your best, I believe that that is enough. Balance is whatever you make it.
In the end, only you can decide what is the best for you.
The problem with the current sustainability movement is that I believe that it’s too easy to start shaming people for their beliefs. My experience with posting about why I think the documentary, Seaspiracy, is racist is proof. It seems as though we no longer can have discussions. That’s why I don’t believe going vegan will help us save the environment. At least, going vegan is not the only option out there.
Leave a comment down below if you have any thoughts on how you feel about going vegan!
