EARTH overshoot day was last July 29, 2019.
What is Earth overshoot day?
It marks when people’s consumption of resources exceeds the capacity of the Earth to regenerate for the next year. It’s like the resources are “sold out” and we have even finished the extra stocks. Sustainable development is something that is being promoted, and one way to help is by eating less meat.
I thought of joining the less meat movement as my New Year’s resolution.
If you think about how much resources like land, feed and manufacturing are used up to make a single adobo cut you’ll realize how much of an impact human needs have on the environment.
When I did some deeper digging, I found out how much human consumption can really use up the planet’s resources. Not only does eating the animal itself wasting resources but even the products like eggs and milk.
Being a full vegetarian or vegan is out of the question for most people. Our body needs protein and meat substitutes are very expensive. Not all people can practice the “urban farming” trend too with limited space and unsanitary surroundings.
We can lessen our consumption, it will take a smaller toll on the environment, but the existence of humans really is the main detriment to the environment. The factories we use to manufacture food, the space taken up to sustain it, they are all products of human needs.
Now that the population is getting bigger, you can see why we use up our planet’s resources halfway through the year.
It’s as if mankind’s inevitable destiny is to wring the Earth dry. Both our consumption and our waste take a toll on the environment. Yes, people are more conscious now, but the fact still remains that we are too much for the Earth to handle.
Mankind, who were supposed to be the stewards of the Earth, have become its biggest curse. (angelica.panaynews@gmail.com/PN)
