Veganism and Environmentalism

Do you think veganism and Environmentalism go hand in hand? Do you know any vegans that aren't concerned about the environment?

A big part of my reasons for being vegan is the effect meat has on the environment. To name just a few..

In Agricide by Dr. Michael W. Fox he states “An estimated eighty-five percent of all US agricultural land is used in production of animal foods, which in turn is linked with deforestation, destruction of wildlife species,extinction of species, loss of soil productivity though mineral depletion and erosion, water pollution and depletion, overgrazing, and desertification.”

The problem I see here is that we are so focused on global warming, that we don’t stop to notice the tool we are taking on our land and oceans. There is not only air pollution, but “water pollution, land contamination, soil erosion, wildlife loss, desertification, rain forest destruction” {Lyman, Howard. Mad Cowboy. New York, NY: Touchstone, 1998. 124-125. Print.}

You wouldn’t think cows cause all those horrible things right? But actually, a lot of land is burned and cleared just to make room for ranchers

It is a 16:1 ratio for pounds of grain to pounds of meat. There would be a lot more food in the world if no one ate meat. Also, think of all the extra energy (not clean energy either) and is needed to grow all that grain. There is the tractors, the planes and spray the pesticides, and all the harvesting and processing energy. The pesticides from the grain (because who grows grains for cattle organic? not many people) create pollution in our waterways and air. It causes algae blooms and red tides.

Check this out

http://www.madcowboy.com/01_FactsENV.000.html

If you can, check out Howard Lymans book Mad Cowboy. Its one of the most well written books ive ever written. If you think vegans are just animal lovers, he will point out the other impacts meat has on our planet and you can see for yourself. Again, I highly recommend this.

but anyway, back to my original question. Should vegans also be environmentalists? Are they environmentalists by nature?