Today is Earth Day. It’s an awareness day that aims to draw our attention to the damage we are doing to the Earth and point to solutions as to how we can all do our bit for our beautiful planet. The environmental problems of the world are many and complex, from pollution to biodiversity loss, leaving us as individuals wondering how one person could possibly make a difference. The good news is there is a really simple way of helping to save the planet. We just need to change the way we eat!

This year’s theme is End Plastic Pollution. Over 50% of plastic is used once and then thrown away, with eight million tonnes being dumped into our oceans every year. It is thought that by 2050, there will be more plastic in the oceans than fish. But plastic pollution is only one side of this particular coin; the other being the impact of decades of over-fishing which has ravaged our oceans of much of their sea life.

This is just scratching the surface of the impact our food choices have on the planet. The animal agriculture industry is responsible for 14.5% of global greenhouse gas emissions; it is the main driver of climate change, biodiversity loss, pollution, deforestation, fresh water wastage and many more environmental ills.

By cutting down on animal products and increasing our consumption of plants, we are making a huge contribution to the movement to save the planet and to keep global warming below 2°C.

Vegan diets have a much lighter footprint on the Earth. They use a quarter of the land, a fraction of the water and produce far less greenhouse gas emissions and pollution. Not only that, but plant-based diets have huge benefits for our health, as well as our planet’s, and are shown to prevent and even reverse disease. It’s a win-win situation and with the boom in delicious plant-based products it has never been easier to make the switch.

There is no better way to celebrate Earth Day than by trying vegan. Why not give it a go?