January is the perfect time to make improvements; the perfect time to improve your health, the planet, and the lives of animals. My resolution this upcoming year is to follow a plant-based diet, which is so easy to do with the many vegan restaurants and options in central Ohio!

A plant-based diets has many health benefits, including reducing the risk for diseases such as diabetes, heart disease, stroke, high cholesterol, high blood pressure, and many cancers, and helps to maintain a healthy weight (www.heart.org, www.mdanderson.org)

Animal agriculture is the largest contributing factor in habitat loss and extinction, with millions of acres of forest felled each year to make way for livestock production (https://veganuary.com). It is a significant drive of deforestation, and is responsible for about 60% of greenhouse gas emissions globally (www.greenpeace.org). And, over 9.5 billion land animals (not to mention the billions of fish and ocean-based animals) needlessly suffer and die in the meat, dairy and egg industries every single year, when cheaper plant-based foods are readily available. The vast majority of these animals live on factory farms where they are confined in large numbers and subject to many inhumane practices (www.aspca.org).

Finally, a plant based diet is the most environmentally friendly diet too. It has been calculated that if you stick to a vegan diet for one month, you’ll be responsible for saving 124,900 liters of water, 84 square meters of forest and 273 kilograms of carbon dioxide emissions (https://veganuary.com). According to studies, if everyone in the United States cut out meat and/or cheese even just once weekly, it would have the same impact as taking over 7 million cars off the roads! (news.stanford.edu)

With so many reasons to leave animals off our plates, it’s no wonder the vegan movement is growing more every day. Athletes, celebrities, doctors, and everyday people all over the world are choosing to embrace a plant-based diet, and they’re making a positive impact. You can too! There are many resources available to learn more about plant-based diets, including Veganuary (https://veganuary.com/en-us/), which is a free 30 day challenge that offers information, recipes, and other helpful resources. If you’re looking for a New Years resolution, I would recommend joining me in trying a plant-based diet in 2023.

----------------------------------

Erica Davidson is a young professional residing in Powell, Ohio. She is an animal advocate and a volunteer for the Humane League.