As part of its COP21 coverage, Newsweek published an op-ed by film director James Cameron asserting that a simple change in our diets could halt climate change. Simply meeting the emission reduction targets set by various countries still won’t be enough to reverse global warming, he says. “We need transportation, of course,” Cameron writes. “But we don’t need to eat animals.” Animal agriculture produces carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxides, which are all greenhouse gases. But, as Cameron explains, it’s not just the emissions, as animal agriculture is responsible for 85 percent of Amazon deforestation caused by the clearcutting for farmland or to grow feed for animals. The single biggest thing someone can do to reduce their environmental impact, Cameron says, is to go vegan. “Climate change isn’t some hypothetical thing that our children are going to face in the future. It’s happening now, with worsening droughts, agriculture crashes, and rising sea levels that will prompt the mass displacement of millions of people.”

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