By Paige Leigh Reist | Posted: August 28, 2019

By now, it’s no secret: eating meat is harmful to the environment. 

Even celebrities are catching on: recently, Leonardo DiCaprio reposted a photo on Instagram from the Rainforest Alliance, detailing how we can help with the fires ravaging the Amazon. In a list of ways we can individually work to recover and preserve the rainforest, the post includes the following: “Eliminate or reduce consumption of beef; cattle ranching is one of the primary drivers of Amazon deforestation.”

Queer Eye favorite Bobby Berk, in a post on Instagram, said “Reducing your meat consumption is one action you can take on a personal level to lessen the need for more open lands”. Other celebrities, from Madonna (“No economic development is more important than protecting this land.”) to Dan Rather (“If we have any hope averting the worst of the climate crisis we need a healthy Amazon rainforest.”), have also shared their support on social media. 

According to the BBC, The health of the Amazon rainforest is one of the most powerful weapons we have against climate change, as it acts as a stabilizing force in global water and carbon cycles. Not only does the rainforest provide something like 20% of the world’s oxygen, it’s also a host to around 10% of the wildlife species on earth. Additionally, cattle ranching and soy farming for cattle feed is responsible for up to 80% of deforestation in the Amazon.

The impact of the Amazon fires are not isolated to simply the ecological sphere, but the cultural one too: the rainforest is vitally important to the Indigenous peoples of Brazil, who’ve been resisting government efforts of displacement for generations. This struggle has prompted speculation as to whether or not these fires are being set deliberately by a government opposed to rainforest preservation in order to create more farmland for meat production. The global hunger for meat doesn’t only hurt the environment, but cultures and individuals as well. 

Luckily, according to the UN, switching to a plant-based diet can actually make a significant impact on climate change. The less often we consume meat, the less demand for meat there is within international, national, and local food markets, and one by one, slowly but surely, we can create a shift towards a more sustainable model of agriculture and begin to heal our rainforests.

Transitioning towards a plant-based diet doesn’t have to be difficult. Here are our 4 tips to get started with #MeatlessMonday. Start small, stay vigilant, and don’t be afraid to share what you know with your friends and family!

Together, we can make a difference. 

Paige Leigh Reist is a writer, editor, blogger, and creative writing instructor.