8 Ways Vegetarian is Good for the Planet

Photo: Alex Vietti, Earth911

7. Minimize packaging waste

Going veg has many waste-saving benefits outside of your home, but dining on a plant-based meal can also help keep household garbage cans empty.

Unlike fresh produce, which creates no packaging waste if you bring your own bag, meats are often heavily packaged in polystyrene foam, plastic film and other non-recyclable or hard-to-recycle materials. Minimize packaging waste in your home by going vegetarian or vegan at least once each week.

Reduce your packaging waste even further by starting with a whole food when you go veg. Build your meals around fresh fruits and vegetables, and bring your own bag to the bulk foods section to stock up on grains like rice and quinoa. You may be surprised by how little trash you’re left with!

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8. Create more compostables

Reducing packaging waste is great, but what about all the food scraps created during your cooking project? Opting for a plant-based meal, especially vegan choices, ensures that all of these leftovers will be easily compostable.

All organic material is biodegradable, including meat, eggs and dairy. But tossing meat scraps and bones, eggs and dairy products like milk, butter and yogurt onto your household compost pile could yield less than pleasant results.

Such ingredients are known to create a foul smell around your pile and attract pests like rodents and flies. For this reason most experts, including the EPA, suggest that you shy away from tossing these leftovers onto your pile.

On the other hand, vegan ingredients like nut shells and fruit and vegetable scraps create no ill effects when tossed on household piles, ensuring your plant-based meal will be truly zero-waste.

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