Why does a vegetarian leave a smaller ecological footprint than a person who eats meat?
A)Fewer farm animals are slaughtered for human consumption.
B)There is an excess of plant biomass in all terrestrial ecosystems.
C)Vegetarians need to ingest less chemical energy than omnivores.
D)Vegetarians require less protein to sustain life than do omnivores.
E)Eating meat is an inefficient way to utilize autotrophic productivity.

Question

Quizplus · Accepted Answer

Eating meat is an inefficient way to utilize autotrophic productivity, as it takes an average of 6-20 pounds of plant-based feed to produce just one pound of edible meat. This means that more resources, such as land and water, are required to produce meat-based diets compared to plant-based diets. Therefore, a vegetarian leaving a smaller ecological footprint than a person who eats meat is due to the fact that they consume less resources and require less land and water to produce their food.

Why Does a Vegetarian Leave a Smaller Ecological Footprint Than