A plant based diet is a key to the counteraction of climate change

In reaction to the movie A Life on our Planet by Sir David Attenborough, journalist Jaap Tielbeke writes that Attenborough is (a bit) wrong. The movie shows us how in one lifetime, the world around us can change so much. Forests are being burned down, wildlife is disappearing and our globe is heating up. He shows us how beautiful this planet can be and how destructive mankind is treating it. The main reason for this, according to Attenbrough, is the growing population. He adjusts the fact that when people get a better education, they are less likely to get a lot of children. Education is something that we at Nightwatch value quite highly and make sure to invest in. Along with education, Attenborough addresses the importance of recycling and plant based food; both key points to our company. But Attenborough sticks to his point about overpopulation being the main reason for climate change and Tielbeke doesn't agree. It's not overpopulation; it's overconsumption. 

This might give you some comfort, being that it is something that gives you the feeling you yourself can actively counteract. And indeed, today RTL released a report drawn up by the English think-thank Chatham House, saying that changing your diet to a plant based and therefore a reduced one, can help us conquer global warming. 

The report gives us a few solutions, so let's start with number one. The reason plant based foods are better than others is because of the ground they need. Meat processing companies need 80 percent of all agricultural land whilst only producing 18% of the calories you need. While we were producing our Nightwatch drink, we found out that our plant based ingredients provide you with so many more nutrients than you know. Let alone the fact that they use up less water for production and that the emissions are so much lower than the immense deal paired with meat. But quitting non-vegan food also makes room for solution number 2. 

When less of the agricultural grounds are being used up for meat processing and the feed for cows, room will be made for the restoration of ecosystems, all around the globe. At Nightwatch, this is something we actively participate in. We find it so important to not exhaust the very soil, we get our energy from. The guayusa plant is the main ingredient of our extreme energy drink but we wouldn't want to encroach on the forest. This is why we join reforestation projects and educate, in Ecuador, on the importance of healthy replanting.

The report goes on and tells us about the other effects that having a plant based diet can have. Not only on you personally, but on the whole world. With awareness for food comes awareness for health and when you start eating healthier, healthcare costs in the whole world can go down with hundreds of billions of euros. 

We at Nightwatch already recognize the importance of plant based food let alone the extreme positive effects it can have on your body. The power and focus you gain from plant based ingredients is only one effect out of many. A healthy body will make for a healthy planet.