What we eat can impact the planet

Walk down any dorm hall at Vassar College and you’ll see manila envelopes taped to doorways stuffed with “Endangered Species” condoms and posters announcing that “What you eat matters!” This is all part of the Center for Biological Diversity’s inaugural “Wildlife Week,” which encourages students to think differently about food and reproductive health.

Reducing meat consumption is one of the most important things students (and anyone for that matter) can do to protect the environment. That’s why, during Wildlife Week, students at more than 100 college campuses will host meat-free events, urge restaurants to provide discounts for Earth-friendly meatless meals and distribute informational materials. All of this is facilitated and supported by the center’s online resources and free kits for making sustainable eating simple and affordable.

Many students don’t know that our daily diets are pushing hundreds of wild species toward extinction, or that greenhouse gases from livestock account for a greater percentage of global emissions than from cars, trains and airplanes combined, or that a global population hurtling towards 10 billion is driving up meat production and land consumption at an unprecedented rate. When you look at the impact of meat production on wildlife, some really startling facts stand out. Americans eat more meat per capita than almost any other country, at a whopping 203 pounds per person per year. In the process of satisfying these insatiable carnivorous cravings, wildlife habit has been destroyed, threatened species have been targeted for killing by the meat industry and precious water resources have been permanently polluted and destroyed.

All of these were facts I didn’t know before I started working as an intern on the Take Extinction Off Your Plate campaign for the center’s Population and Sustainability program. But the more I learned, the more I wanted other students to know how their choices directly impact wildlife. Over the summer, I helped design the Wildlife Week program with the goal of making students around the country aware of the connection between meat consumption, population growth and environmental degradation. Now, as a junior at Vassar, I have the opportunity to see some of the Wildlife Week programs put in place here and at campuses across the country, from Rutgers University to the University of California-Davis.

My hope is that by the end of Wildlife Week students won’t just look at food and condoms as free perks of college student life, but instead as important choices they can make for the sake of the environment and the planet. And, hey, adults are always wishing they could have their college days back — so why don’t you join in this Wildlife Week to change your own meat-eating habits?

Saskia Comess is a junior at Vassar College, studying science, technology & society and mathematics. She works for the Center for Biological Diversity as the Population and Sustainability intern on its Take Extinction Off Your Plate campaign. Contact her at sacomess@vassar.edu