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Chapter 15
Vegetarianism and its Role in Environmental
Preservation
D.C. JAIN
Vegetarianism is the greatest tool in the preservation of environment. Water pollution, soil erosion, shortage of energy resources and the rapid destruction of forests are some of the problems which are part of environmental aspects of our diet. The availability of food depends upon the plant resources and the livestock. The livestock agriculture requires a greater investment of natural resources than the plant food agricultural resources. Land, energy and water requirement for livestock agriculture is about 10 to 1000 times greater than those necessary to produce an equivalent amount of plant food. United States and the other advanced countries of the world can sustain the population on meat-based diet but the under-developed countries and the developing countries cannot afford such luxuries. This is because of the wasteful use of environmental resources for the production of animal food. In terms of land use, forest preservation and water resources, vegetarian economy plays a very important role in the preservation of our environment.
Land Use
Plant agriculture is much more efficient in the use of
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