carly&art's flickr photostream (creative commons)

If everyone in the United States ate as a vegetarian for just one day, the momentary change would have a monumental effect on reducing waste and pollution.  Many of us, including omnivores like myself,  realize the impact meat production has on the environment, but when Kathy Freston of the Huffington Post and Alternet breaks down the statistics, the results are astounding. I’ll let you check out the statistics on her post, but I will point out the U.N. study that Kathy cites, which shows how interconnected the meat industry is to many of the problems facing us today:

The meat industry should be a main focus in every discussion of land degradation, climate change and air pollution, water shortages and pollution, and loss of biodiversity.

So, if you’re concerned about even one of those issues, reconsidering your meat consumption is clearly important.  I became vegetarian for three years after a friend pointed out the environmental impact meat production has.  I began eating meat again as I was concerned that I wasn’t getting enough protein in my diet, but as any vegetarian or vegan will tell you, it is possible to recieve sufficient amounts of proteins and other nutrients without eating meat.  The change does does demand that you do your homework to be sure that your body gets everything it needs, but trust me, your body and the planet will be much happier with you if you do refrain from eating meat, even if for just a few days a week.  Having been a vegetarian taught me to be much more aware of where my food comes from, so now the few occasions when I do eat meat, I try to make sure it’s coming from a environmentally responsible and humane local farm.

http://www.eatwellguide.org/i.php?id=Home by taking a day off from eating meat and find plenty of delicious, locally produced vegetarian fare by using the Eat Well Guide.  You never know, it may become your favorite habit.  And while you’re at it check out Gina’s post on creative pro-vegetarian videos.