“The Pinky Promise,” by Dr. Sailesh Rao (vegan), Part 2 of 2

As we continue our interview, Dr. Rao emphasizes that the animal-people-raising industry contributes 87% of annual greenhouse gas emissions. “Because for both ecosystem collapse and biodiversity loss, animal agriculture is the leading cause. The biggest chunk, 37% of the land area on the planet, is used to just graze animals. So, what is the number one reason for us to raise animals? For food. So, only 15% of the food comes from animal sources. 85% of the food we eat is already plant-based. So if we just take that 85% and turn it into 100%, we can reverse biodiversity loss, we can reverse ecosystem collapse. And I also claim that we can reverse climate change.”

Dr. Sailesh Rao explains why it isn’t common knowledge that a vegan lifestyle can reverse climate change. “I say that if the world goes vegan, not only will we reduce it by at least 87%. It means if the world goes vegan, and we continue using fossil fuels for driving cars, flying around in planes, and so on, you will see the CO2 level in the atmosphere come down year by year. If we all get together and start restoring forests, bringing back the wild animals that we have killed, it can come down even faster. We can heal the climate. So the right order in which you have to do this is first help everyone go vegan and get healthy. And then change the energy infrastructure to clean energy sources.” “Go vegan in everything you do, not just food. Stop using animals for any purpose whatsoever. It’s an ethical stance saying that animals are here with us, and we need them to thrive on this planet.”