Plant-based food starts with simple ingredients and should end with simple ingredients, nothing hidden or hard to pronounce.  Knowledge can be a powerful tool in helping usher in large scale change. When we know what we’re eating and where it comes from, we can make smarter, more thoughtful choices about what we put into our bodies.

For example, we all know beef, pork, and mutton are industry terms to hide the fact that we’re eating cows, pigs, and sheep. If they’re trying to hide the whole animal, imagine what else they’re trying to hide. Livestock are routinely pumped full of antibiotics and parasiticides to keep them “healthy” and hormones to fatten them up quickly. The end result is meat filled with who knows what. What is a hotdog, really? Plants are simple, and ours are organic so you always know what you’re getting.

It may feel like there’s a great big world out there, but we live on a shrinking planet and that means we’ve got to conserve our resources. Did you know that 26% of the world’s land is used for livestock and 33% of all crops go to feed that livestock?

An estimated 23% of greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, livestock and the land needed to raise them.  The increase in the production of livestock is also a key factor in deforestation, especially in Latin America where the greatest amount of deforestation is occurring – 70 percent of previously forested land in the Amazon is occupied by pastures, and feed crops for farmed animals cover a large part of the remainder. That means that the soy and grains grown in these areas are not for human consumption, but to feed farmed animals who are then killed for human consumption.

In America, a whopping 41% of the continental U.S. is used to graze livestock. It takes 1,799 gallons of water to produce one pound of beef. 576 gallons for a pound of pork. In fact, nearly half of all water used in the U.S. goes to raising animals for food. With the global population expected to pass 10 billion by 2050, wasting land and water is simply not sustainable. It’s this simple: going plant-based saves our resources.

What we put into our bodies matters and knowing what’s in what we put into our bodies is important in maintaining overall health.

Your body needs fuel to function, but as the old saying goes, “Junk in, junk out.” If your fuel is full of protein, but also bad fats and cholesterols, you’re off to a bad start. This is why many athletes need to bulk and shred, packing on muscle (and fat) for a time, then shredding off the fat with a crash diet. However, this isn’t ideal for most of us.

Luckily, plants are packed with lean protein, loads of fiber and good carbs, allowing you to consistently gain muscle while maintaining a healthy weight. In addition, plant-based diets reduce your risk of cancer, heart disease, stroke, and diabetes. Carbs are your friend!

Whether you had a family dog growing up, still keep a fuzzy friend at home, or just love watching silly animal videos online, you know the joy animals can bring. Keeping animals can help lower our stress levels and anxiety. They’re also smart, have feelings and can serve as lifelong companions for us.

The point is, you know that the line between friends and food is arbitrary at best and nonsense at worst. We won’t get into the horrors of factory farming or the disease vectors that slaughterhouses are. We’ll just say that ALL animals, no matter the species, are living beings that deserve to be loved, not eaten. It’s time to evolve your plate!

A huge part of saving our resources means combating climate change. An estimated 23% of greenhouse gas emissions come from agriculture, livestock, and the land needed to raise them. With 6.7 million acres of tropical forest lost annually to cattle production alone, that number is only going to rise unless we embrace the plant life. In fact, experts at the U.N. recently published a study showing that plant-based diets provide “major opportunities” to address the climate crisis. Even substituting one meal a day can help and if we can get everyone to do that, we can make a huge impact!

Happy bodies help create happy moods.  It’s been shown in study after study that those who follow a plant-based diet have lower tension, anxiety, depression, and fatigue. In addition, a large, nationwide study conducted in 2015 found that participants who stuck to a plant-based diet not only improved their mood, but their job performance as well!

You don’t have to wait around to feel the effects yourself — these benefits can kick in just two weeks after adopting the plant life.