I have a vague understanding about why the meat industry is bad for the environment, however I feel like the same could be said for plant agriculture too.

I just don’t understand the point of going vegan or vegetarian due to climate concerns if America’s food industry as a whole is environmentally damaging.

What information am I missing?

EDIT - Thank you everyone for all the helpful information!

Expanding on my question : Why is vegetarianism / veganism such a pushed solution to mitigate the environmental impact of agriculture?
Is there truly no other solution than stop eating meat?
Is vegetarianism and veganism a worthy solution to put energy into advocating for?

The environment is the silent victim of conflict. The immediate human crisis will and should always be the priority, but looking at it from an environmental angle doesn’t mean caring any less about the people, because for those who care, they’ll care, and those who pretend to sleep will never wake up to care one day. Destruction of homes, toxic pollution, and massive GHG emissions directly harm human health, climate health, and climate injustice. This oversight isn’t an accident, it’s just easy to ignore when there are no exact numbers or responsible parties to account for it. Politics gives a million reasons to avoid this topic, but there’s really just one main reason to talk about it, that the toxicity left in war zones directly affects human health and survival long after.

Raising this topic is just another perspective to build awareness and get more communities talking about what happens to people and land during wars. Pushing for more social content, scientific data, and ecological sampling from war zones gives us real supporting evidence. And just a wild thought, if we actually held entities accountable for their environmental impacts, could it actually make them think twice before attacking? The environment doesn't just recover when the conflict stops, so raising awareness here is a tactic worth using.

This is on track to be an all time favorite book!

Plastic Free July, just like its name suggests, is the global movement of reducing or cutting the use of plastics throughout July. What started with just 40 people in 2011, now has over 170 million participants across 190 countries.

Anyone can participate, no matter where you are. No grand gestures needed. Just avoid using single-use plastics for the month. It sounds small, but the results are there.

A 2024 Report says that Plastic Free July participants have collectively avoided 12.8 billion kilograms of waste over six years; that's more than the world's largest cleanup efforts combined.

Side note: There's another plastic-free initiative in July. July 3 is International Plastic Bag Free Day, which further reinforces the attention on the whole plastic problem.

Plastic really affects us, whether you like it or not

And the environmental case for it is even harder to ignore. Plastic doesn't biodegrade; instead, it breaks down into smaller and smaller pieces we call microplastics. These microplastics end up in oceans, soil, and, eventually, in the food chain from animals that eat it. 

So much so that these microplastics have been found in human blood and lung tissue at this point. So in a way, it’s affecting us more than you know.

Plastic heavily impacts climate change as well, as it’s made from fossil fuels. In 2023, plastic production accounted for just over 3% of global greenhouse gas emissions, which may rise if left unchecked.

"Choose to refuse" and "small steps, big difference"

These aren't just taglines to share on social media. These are the reasons why Plastic Free July works.

"Choose to refuse" every time you're about to grab a plastic bag, a straw, or a disposable cup. When it happens, you pause and say no. You bring your own bag to the grocery. You skip the straw. That is choosing to refuse. Simple but works.

"Small steps, big difference" is the idea that no matter how small your action is, it still contributes to something bigger. When many people make small changes, it adds up to a significant difference in communities. The results don’t just happen overnight.

Less than 10% of all plastics are recycled globally, and production doesn’t seem to stop. It's going to be a tough hill to climb, but with enough collective action, it's possible. Plastic Free July is proof that behavior change at scale is possible. 

6 ways to cut single-use plastics in the workplace

As a manager or office worker, it's easy to think your plastic use doesn't add up to much. But it does. Small workplace habits, multiplied across an entire team or building, contribute more than most people realize.

Here are some ways to practice being plastic free this July:

• Gift free reusable tote bags for your employees.
• Ditch the plastic cups and cutlery in the pantry, and opt for reusable ones instead. 
• Stop using plastic bags or single-use packaging for office giveaways.
• Set up proper and clearly labeled waste management containers. 
• Review your suppliers and choose ones that use minimal or recyclable packaging.
• Grab the free Plastic Free July social media kit and share it across your channels.

Plastic Free July runs from July 1 to July 31, 2026. Use this month as a starting point to reduce your waste, even if the goal is to keep going after.

I spoke with France 24’s Paris Direct, about the wildfires in Canada, for Nature Canada.

The situation is dire.

If a fire exceeds 10 MW/m, conventional firefighting techniques fail: water dropped by water bombers will vaporise before it reaches the ground.

The Jasper fire reached 386 MW/m, comparable to the detonation of nuclear weapons.

Every feasible solution begins with us acting against climate change, which is making the wildfires more intense, more widespread, and more frequent.

I have been trying to be more optimistic about both environmentalism and things like climate change/the future in general, but also, god what the hell can we even do against the meat industry, it's not that it's just deforesting the planet, warming the world with methane emissions pushing us past 2C even if we went net 0 globally this exact second you're reading this post, using alfalfa/soy we could feed 10+ billion people with and have megatons left over to make us no longer have water across the globe, I just cannot understand how something this ingrained into society because of capitalism and profits first mindsets can even be well, de-established, it's honestly quite bleak looking at how we can basically do so much but because a few million people want to eat steak and cake and eggs and pork all day we are, basically what feels like, well. fucked.

I myself am a pescatarian, only eating sustainable fish occasionally and usually just trying to be purely vegan (holy crap seitan tastes so good btw) but m family are all so obsessed with red meat, everyone we know is obsessed with red meat, hell it feels like red meat itself is politicized, think about all the people talking about "carnivore diets" and "beef tallow" and I try talking to them about that but they just close their ears when it is literally destroying the planet, it will kill us all and I just, cannot understand how we can stop the meat industry from being well, our end lol

thanks for reading!

Oppose this development to protect our freshwater ecosystem

I'm trying to do more research and find some environmental rabbit holes to fall through. So what is a niche environmental topic/ situation you're specifically interested in? For me, it's Alannah Acaq Hurley campaign against the Pebble Mind Megaproject. https://www.goldmanprize.org/recipient/alannah-acaq-hurley/

I am trying to find (online) volunteers for my nonprofit organization. It is a outreach campaign to schools. Anyone know where I can find people willing to give some of their time for the environment?

Art by Stephanie McMillan

Emphasising that development and environmental conservation must go hand in hand, the Chief Minister said no decision would be taken by overlooking public sentiment, ecological concerns, or the interests of local residents.

.

He reiterated that the state government is committed to pursuing infrastructure development without compromising Uttarakhand's rich natural heritage.