Here's how to help the environment by not being a vegan

Many people associate veganism with sustainability, and whilst it's true and there are facts backing it up, it's not always the case. Another sad thing is that people think that veganism is a 'boring' diet and that meat is the best food source in the world. But on the other end of the spectrum, extreme vegan activists can be unfair towards meat-eaters by judging them for not converting. This topic can be debated by many people and the truth is, there will always be a division. But that's the way this world works: everyone is entitled to their own opinion.

So how can we save the environment and still eat meat?

Having a healthy diet is important and even though many can survive without eating meat, it can actually be a problem for some. That could be because they need to eat fish or meat in order to absorb certain nutrients, or because people cannot imagine a world without eating meat.

So it's all about balance and cutting down on meat. This is an ongoing trend, with 'Meatless Mondays' being a thing and it most certainly works. There is always a high demand for meat and with that it can be a major issue in the agriculture industry, thus waiting for the inevitable to happen.

But if you cut down on meat and you eat it 2 to 3 times a week, you're helping towards saving the environment. Plus, it is something that you would actually look forward to as a meal and will save you money.

Eating vegetables doesn't have to be boring and now that there is a wide range of vegan and vegetarian options, you can enjoy meat-free comfort foods.

What's also important is to eat less fish. The fishing industry has become a notorious one and fishing rods are actually a major issue regarding harming the ocean. That 'dolphin friendly' label on your cans of tuna may not be as innocent as it looks and fishing companies are actually doing more harm than good.

Try to get into gardening

Believe it or not, we need to have an equal balance with the other species that live on this planet with us. So how do we do that? It's simple, help be the food source for the other species such as insects.

In order to help save the environment, it's good to grow plants and flowers in your garden or on your balcony that are actually beneficial to insects such as bees and butterflies.

Here are examples of plants and flowers that you can grow:

• Lavender
• Cornflower
• Thyme
• Echinops
• Aster
• Hebe
• Foxglove
• Catmint
• Buddleja
• Bluebell
• Cardoon

Help clean up beaches

Sometimes it's not about what we consume, but rather how we live. Unfortunately, it's very common for beaches to be covered in garbage which is a major problem, especially when turtles want to lay their eggs on certain beaches and let nature do its work. In order to have a clean environment for humans and other species, we need to be responsible for our actions and clean up after ourselves.

It's not exactly seagulls that are leaving cigarette buds and beer bottles on the sand, is it now? Even though it might not be something that you'd want to do on your day off, it most certainly is rewarding. On top of that, you have peace of mind knowing that you've helped lessen the chances of sea creatures and land creatures swallowing another cigarette bud, thinking that it's food.

Cut down on the electricity

When we had our first global lockdown last year for the ongoing pandemic, we all noticed one thing: the skies were clearing up and there was less pollution. Now that countries are slowly easing back to normality, the air pollution will rise again, thus still contributing to the increase of CO2 and global warming.

So, in order to try and save the environment, it's best to try to cut down on electricity as much as you can. This means that you need to stop the bad habit of leaving light switches on and consuming a high amount of electricity when it's not needed.

As hard as it is now since nearly everything has become digitalized, it's crucial to try and consume less, by using alternative devices such as portable power banks, rather than power sockets.

Can one person save the world?

The truth is, one person cannot save the world, but our actions do count. We are always held accountable for our actions when we make mistakes, so why don't prevent the inevitable consequences by acting right for once?