World Water Day: PETA volunteers promote vegan diet, raise awareness on water conservation

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Amritsar, March 21

A man taking shower in broad daylight, on the busiest routes in the city and in front of a major shopping mall, raised eyebrows, catching attention of the passersby. But trust People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals (PETA) India to add some shock value to their messaging. In a recent campaign to raise awareness on water conservation, and asking people to go vegan, PETA volunteers set up an open shower area, with one of their volunteers taking bath behind a curtain that read, “1 kg of meat = 1 year of showers. Clean your conscience: Go vegan.” The campaign was carried out to mark World Water Day (March 22). But what was the point? The best thing that people can do to save water and the environment is to go vegan.

“It’s impossible to be truly eco-friendly without going vegan,” explained PETA India Campaigns Coordinator Utkarsh Garg. “Just by changing the way we eat, concerned people can save precious water resources and help protect the earth, our own health, and countless animals.”

He added that the meat, egg and dairy industries put a serious strain on the world’s water supply, explained through a cycle – by watering crops that farmed animals eat, providing billions of animals with drinking water each year, and cleaning the filth from farms, trucks and slaughterhouses. According to the statistics provided by Water Footprint Network, it takes 322 litres of water to produce 1 kilogram of vegetables. In contrast, the production of animal-derived food uses much more water: 1 kilogram of milk requires 1,020 litres, 1 kilogram of eggs requires 3,265 litres, 1 kilogram of poultry requires 4,325 litres, 1 kilogram of pork requires 5,988 litres, 1 kilogram of mutton requires 8,763 litres, and 1 kilogram of beef requires a staggering 15,415 litres.

According to PETA statistics, the meat and dairy industries are also incredibly polluting: the world’s top five meat and dairy corporations alone are responsible for more greenhouse gas emissions that exacerbate climate change – particularly through the methane emitted from cattle and other ruminant animals used for food – than major oil and gas companies. And while 224.3 million people are undernourished in India and 91 million people in the country lack suitable access to water, the production of meat, eggs and dairy uses a third of the world’s freshwater resources and a third of the world’s cropland – which could be used to feed humans instead of farmed animals.