Vegan calculator
Use our Vegan Calculator now
Have you always wanted to know the exact impact your diet has on the environment and on animals? Try our Vegan Calculator! In seconds you will see how many animals you have saved by avoiding animal products and how much water, grain, CO₂ and forest area you have conserved so far. Simply enter the length of time you have been eating vegan and our Vegan Calculator will clearly display your personal contribution to the planet and the lives of animals.
How much do you save as a vegan?
Enter how long you have been vegan to calculate your impact:
Your savings:
How does the Vegan Calculator evaluate your impact?
The Vegan Calculator bases its figures on a range of scientific studies and datasets that examine the relationship between the consumption and production of animal products. It focuses primarily on the slaughter and death of animals resulting from animal agriculture. This metric is derived from the global average meat consumption per capita. Water use is another factor directly linked to animal farming—especially cattle and pig husbandry require enormous amounts of water. Producing both primary and secondary animal products also consumes vast quantities of grain.
Cultivating this grain demands valuable resources and land. If the grain were used directly for human nutrition, far more people could be fed. Land use and the associated consumption of timber are equally important: huge forest areas are cleared worldwide for pasture and feed crops, with the deforestation of the Amazon rainforest being one of the most prominent examples.
If you would like to create your own vegan meal plan, make use of our Meal-Plan Tool .
Matching studies to the vegan calculator
- Pimentel, David, et al. "Water Resources: Agricultural and Environmental Issues". BioScience (2004) 54 (10): 909-918.
- "Livestock's Long Shadow: environmental issues and options". Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. Rome 2006
- Goodland, Robert & Anhang, Jeff. "Livestock and Climate Change: What if the key actors in climate change are...cows, pigs and chickens?". WorldWatch. November/December 2009
- Hyner, Christopher. "A Leading Cause of Everything: One Industry That Is Destroying Our Planet and Our Ability to Thrive on It". Georgetown Environmental Law Review. October 23, 2015.
- "How Important is Irrigation to U.S. Agriculture?" USDA: Economic Research Service. 12 October, 2016
- Mekonnen, Mesfin M. & Hoekstra, Arjen Y. "A Global Assessment of the Water Footprint of Farm Animal Products". Ecosystems (2012) 15: 401-415
- Jacobson, Michael F. “Six Arguments For a Greener Diet: How a More Plant-based Diet Could Save Your Health and the Environment. Chapter 4: More and Cleaner Water”. Washington, DC: Center for Science in the Public Interest, 2006.
- Walsh, Bryan. "The Triple Whopper Environmental Impact of Global Meat Production". Time. Dec. 16, 2013
- Gerbens-Leenes, P.W. et al. "The water footprint of poultry, pork and beef: A comparitive study in different countries and production systems". Water Resources and Industry. Vol. 1-2, March-June 2013, Pages 25-36
Environment & Veganism
Veganism is the one dietary choice through which we, as individuals, can directly have a positive impact on nature and the environment. By avoiding all animal products, vegan eating primarily prevents the suffering and killing of animals in industrial as well as organic agriculture. However, this avoidance has far-reaching consequences.
Above all, heavy metals, medication residues, and pesticides enter the soil, groundwater, and oceans through factory farming. Even secondary animal products like milk, eggs, and cheese significantly contribute to environmental damage. High water usage, deforestation, and methane emissions from raising livestock are some of the major factors that severely harm our environment. With our Vegan Calculator, you can see the substantial influence you have as an individual on your environment, and how many animal lives you directly save through your dietary choices.