Professor Helen Hambly-Odame and Winifredo B. Dagli of the School of Environmental Design and Rural Development of the University of Guelph discuss capacity development and the levels of change at which it operates in their paper titled "Why Capacity Development?" 

Eating green is one of the most championed ways of saving the planet. After all, if we don’t consume as mauch meat, we all stand to benefit from quite a few upsides and one of those distinct upsides is the fact that food shortage wouldn’t be as much of an issue. We ought to ask ourselves if that’s is true.

There are many surveys to suggest that this is true. If you cut down on meat and dairy, you are effectively eliminating the need for breeding so much cattle in the first place. Of course, it would always be a good idea to get at least some meat fat and perhaps products such as milk and butter.

Then again, there is mounting evidence to suggest that the toxins carried through animal products are worse for humans than anything else we consume. Of course, there is the flipside – diary products give us a lot of raw energy we can use to pull through our daily lives.

Let’s see why going vegetarian/vegan would actually help the planet – and in fact, might just save it.

Why Cut Down on the Animal/Meat Product

Let’s get started and see how we can make it more understandable to everyone – education is certainly the way to go. Sustainability should be taught at schools and thanks to Greta Thunberg, the Swedish girl who started the extinction rebellions – or at least inspired them, is a good example of how we can be more conscientious about our choices.

Education – and eating patterns at home will be important. Of course, depriving babies of meat and fat is the single worst thing we can probably do – as parents and humans. Having a balanced diet is of the utmost importance.

Now, you might say – going vegan or vegetarian is not necessarily a better way to do anything, because you would still need to invest just so much in feeding people. After all, there’s a difference between how meat and rice, isn’t there? This is perhaps true, but there is also a big difference in feeding just humans and then again feeding animals so that we, as a species, can eat the animals.

There are many things you can do to be fully focused on being a conscientious buyer and consumer. While some things wouldn’t be accessible immediately, you can still give yourself a bit of leeway. Instead of consuming 2 kilograms of meat every week, you might try to cut this to one kilogram. This may not be quick enough to undo environment impact but will show willingness.

Ideally, reducing your meat intake to 200 grams a week is best. You can then use the meat to spread across different dishes – stews, soups, and rice or tofu delights. Once you spread it this way, you will have access to some tasty eating habits without consuming a lot of meat. Plus, let’s face it – eating vegan is cheaper.

You can live on a monthly meat budget of around $150 as a single male in your mid-20s as long as you have a normal body index and don’t weigh over 65-70 kilograms. For every 10 kilograms, you can add another $50 to arrive at how much money you would require weekly for buying meat. So, as you can imagine, we are not only staving off a catastrophe, we are pretty much helping our bottom line as well.

Reduced Consumerism, a Return to More Organic Existence

Without the need to continually exploit the world’s farmland and keeping livestock on a fair chunk of it, we will be able to restore a lot of green areas. It’s not just that, though. Once we learn about the downside of consuming specific products – such as those not locally sourced and products such as palm oil which is grown on deforested land, we can help reduce the negative impact on the global ecosystem and climate, by consuming less of these products.

Of course, everything has to be done smartly, because we don’t want economies collapsing. But think of sustainability the same way you would about unlocking your car after the lock gave in. you would want to be methodical about it – not just take remove the entire car's door, as it would cause you so much trouble, of course.

You can look up expert car locksmiths near you right away and see what prices they offer. Just like we want our car unlocked very quickly and professionally, so we want to save the world – and do so very quickly. However, it’s our obligation to also do so in a manner that is sustainable and promises to make it possible for everyone to benefit from making an informed choice and shift towards sustainable life and eating practices.