William Radinson An Environmental Article by William Radinson from All-Creatures.org

In this article, William Radinson discusses the urgency with which we should all adopt plant-based diets to help mitigate the climate emergency. He provides a wealth of data from a variety of sources to illustrate the impact of animal agriculture on the climate and reminds us of the importance of hope and love as we face this daunting challenge.


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Why Should I Adopt a Plant Based Diet?

I was recently reviewing a Project Drawdown webinar on Rethinking Food and Farming. Project Drawdown is an independent nonprofit organization that believes in rigorous science to guide climate action.

As I listened and viewed the webinar what struck me was the statistics that illustrate the challenge that consuming animal protein poses for those of us interested in advocating for the need to adopt a plant based diet in order to avoid a climate catastrophe.

"We slaughter 30-35 million cattle annually for meat; that amounts to one-half ton animals slaughtered each year for every ten Americans fueling our incredible levels of beef consumption.”

“We use around 16 million square kilometers of land-comparable to the entire South American continent to grow crops and 34 million square kilometers of land-about two-thirds of Africa to graze animals-primarily cattle. Together crop land and grazing lands cover 38% of Earth’s land surface.”

What is it about statistics that do not persuade people that we need to make drastic changes to the way we consume, travel and live in order to leave a better world for subsequent generations? Here is a sampling of findings that I have compiled to paint a picture of the need to adopt a vegan diet.

  • An April 30, 2019 article in the New York Times, Your Questions about Food and Climate Change Answered noted that beef, lamb, and cheese generate an average greenhouse emissions (in kilograms of CO2) of 17.7, 9.9 and 5.4 respectively compared to tofu, beans and nuts which generate emissions of 1.0, 0.4 and 0.1.

  • In Autumn 2017 the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine journal, Good Medicine included a finding from the journal Climate Change researchers compared simulated net emissions of legume production, subtracted those from average beef production rates, and based on the results legume production could account for 46% to 74% of greenhouse reductions.

  • Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine-Eating more plants and fewer animal products could prevent 10.9 to 11.6 million deaths from liver disease, diabetes, and other chronic conditions every year. A global shift to a plant based diet could reduce mortality and greenhouse gases caused by food production by 10% and 70% respectively by 2050.

  • People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals-It takes more than 2,400 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of flesh, whereas it takes 180 gallons of water to make 1 pound of whole wheat flour.

  • Animal Legal Defense Fund-There is an estimated 9 billion land animals raised and killed for food every year in the United States. Many of these animals are subjected to unimaginable cruelty.

  • Farm Sanctuary-70% of the deforestation in the Brazilian Amazon rainforest has been done to raise animals for food. “Ultimately when you look at animal products, they’re very inefficient,” Gene Bauer, co-founder of Farm Sanctuary said, “They use enormous amounts of land and resources. It’s a lot more efficient to grow plants based on the season than dairy.”

  • The New Yorker August 24, 2020, Belly of the Beast, Amia Srinivasan What have we done to the whale? An estimated 230,000 sperm whales were killed in the 19th century; in the 20th century the number killed grew to 700,000; in total 3,000,000 whales of all species were killed in the 20th century. Whales are enormous carbon sinks and according to one estimate, a century of whaling equates to the burning of 70,000,000 acres of forest.

  • Saving Us, Katherine Hayhoe, A Climate Scientist’s Case for Hope and Healing in a Divided World “On Earth today we are raising more than 30 billion land animals to consume; livestock emissions from deforestation, feed, fertilizer, cow burps and farts account for 14 percent of total global heat trapping emissions each year.” “And as the world’s demand for meat and animal products increases, we’re seeing more slashing and burning of virgin forests to create space for grazing, which creates even more carbon emissions.”

  • United States Department of Agriculture Counts Birds in Research for the First Time- 88,872 birds were used in research, testing and education and 56,601 animals subjected to unrelieved pain in 2024 compared to 64,348 in 2023; 851,898 animals were used in total across all facilities; this total does not include mice, rats, and purpose bred birds–the vast majority of animals used in research and their addition raises the total number of animals used to 100 million; Only species covered by Animal Welfare Act are included in federal reports; also not included in the 851,898 total are facilities that breed animals for future research.

  • Counting The Cost Of Eating Fish-World’s Fish Population Down 35% Pacific Blue Fin Tuna Population Down 96%; Swordfish Population Down 90%; Shifting diets from meat and other animal products to plant-based diets has a high potential for reducing carbon footprints and mitigating climate change, as well as improving human health according to, Climate Change 2022: Mitigation of Climate Change, a report from the United Nations’ Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

  • In an April 2024 Animal Agriculture webinar Dr. Sailesh Rao noted that due to animal agriculture we have already transgressed 6 of the 9 planetary boundaries that make the Earth livable. In September 2023 a team of scientists quantified for the first time, the nine processes that regulate the stability and resilience of the Earth system. This latest update also found that six of the nine boundaries have been transgressed. The boundaries in bold are the only ones that are in a safe operating space. An October 2, 2025 article in the European Commission Directorate-General for Environment titled Ocean acidification: seventh planetary boundary now crossed notes that a recent study has concluded that plastic pollution and climate change have added ocean acidification as the seventh of the nine critical planetary boundaries that keep life on Earth stable and healthy.

    • Climate Change

    • Change in biosphere integrity (biodiversity loss and species extinction)

    • Stratospheric Ozone Depletion

    • Ocean Acidification

    • Biogeochemical flows ( phosphorus and nitrogen cycles)

    • Land System Change (deforestation)

    • Fresh Water Use

    • Atmospheric aerosol loading (microscopic particles in the atmosphere that affect climate and living organisms)

    • Introduction of novel entities (includes synthetic fertilizers, pesticides, genetically modified organisms

This small sample of findings demonstrates that we need to take action now and that we need a Christian message that despite these challenges we must cultivate and sustain hope through ongoing faith. In preparing for a webinar on Care for Creation Commandments in August 11, 2025 sponsored by Fordham University and Catholic Care for Animals based in the United Kingdom I came across two cornerstones of the Catholic faith, which ignite the flame of hope and I pray that it does for others.

These exhortations of hope can be readily appreciated when one reads Care for Creation, by Ilia Delio, O.S.F., Keith Douglas Warner, O.F.M. and Pamela Wood 2008 articulates a Franciscan spirituality of Creation.

“St. Francis of Assisi’s life included birds, rabbits, earthworms, bees, flowers, trees and many other living creatures and his ecological self was totally integrated into the web of life created by God.”

“Live in solidarity with creation: do not pollute the air, because someone will have to breathe it; do not kill all the species in the ocean because future generations will need them to enjoy living in harmony with the sea and its creatures.”

The question that I asked myself in August after the Care for Creation Commandments webinar and that I keep asking myself now is, despite the damage we humans are doing to the Earth now, can we collectively adopt and sustain plant based diets and not harm animals which will result in the death of the current climate crisis and greenhouse gas world and give birth to a new kingdom that can sustain creation for all creatures indefinitely?

In Saving Us several citations from the New Testament that help me to keep the faith.

The apostle Paul says that, “the only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.”

In his epistle to the Romans, Paul lays it out, “We know that troubles help us learn not to give up.”

“When we have learned not to give up, it shows we have stood the test, it gives us hope.” “Hope never makes us ashamed because the love of God has come into our hearts.” “Love casts out fear…”

Posted on All-Creatures.org: December 10, 2025
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