Change Your Plate, Save the Planet?
With plant-based options soaring into the mainstream, such as the Impossible Whopper at Burger King and soy or almond milk at nearly every coffee shop, it’s time to look at what all the hype is about. “A vegan diet is probably the single biggest way to reduce your impact on planet Earth,'' says University of Oxford professor Joseph Poore after conducting an analysis of 40,000 farms around the world.
Whereas something like an electric vehicle will make meaningful contributions to lowering your carbon emissions, drastically reducing meat and dairy help with greenhouse gases, deforestation, water and air pollution, water usage, endangered species, and ocean acidification. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of polluted water and ocean dead zones. It is responsible for using 50% of our fresh water supply and produces the same carbon emissions as the entire transportation sector.
These issues fall under the Sierra Club’s most prioritized goals: climate change and protecting our natural resources. To help leave your mark on these dire issues, start by considering things like meatless Mondays or an oat milk creamer in your morning coffee. Check out Wilmington Vegan’s Dining Guide to see which of your favorite restaurants around town already have delicious plant-based options available.
Each day following a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 40 lb of grain, 30 sq. ft of forest, 20 lb of CO2, and the life of one animal. With facts like these it’s easy to see why just the smallest of shifts can make the biggest of differences.

But how do I make the plant-based shift? Isn't being vegan expensive? Will I be getting the proper nutrients? But I like meat. Doesn't soy have too much estrogen? Where do I buy the ingredients?
Here are some answers to common vegan diet questions!