By eating less meat, YOU can save the planet and help out all our animal friends!

Meat is great, right? But did you know that you can do so much good for the world by choosing to eat less meat or cutting it out completely. It may taste great, but, unfortunately, there are many indicators that eating meat isn’t so great for the planet or the future of humanity, let alone the animals.

The good news is you don’t have to give up meat completely to make a difference. Would you consider giving up meat for one day a week?

Watch the video above to see why this young boy refuses to eat octopus. His reasons may be cute, but he also has an interesting point.

 3 BIG reasons to eat less meat

Animals are our friends!

According to ADAPTT, 140 billion animals are killed each year by the meat, egg and dairy industries. This is an absolutely staggering amount. The sad thing is that many of these animals live in terrible conditions for their entire lives.

 

We need to save our beautiful planet!

A UN report published in 2006 suggests that the meat industry is responsible for about 18% of the world’s climate change. This works out as more than cars, planes, trains and ships put together. It’s an astonishing and little known fact.

 

Eating veggie is good for you!

 

Meat Free Mondays

Have you heard of Meat Free Mondays? It is a great way to help the planet and be healthy. You don’t have to give up meat completely to make a difference. Just one day a week is a great way to start. Does your school do Meat Free Mondays? Why not ask your head teacher to start Meat Free Mondays at your school.

 

Source(s): TheVeganHere

The Worldwide Wildlife Foundation (WWF) keeps track of the most endangered species in the world.

They do their best to protect these creatures, but the task at hand is monumental.

Scientists say that we are currently living in a period of mass extinction. They claim that species of plants and animals are currently going extinct at least 1,000 times faster than they did before human beings were walking around on the earth.

Here are four species that are extremely close to disappearing for ever.

1. Amur Leopard

Poachers have driven this species of leopard to the brink of extinction. A new conservation area – the Land of the Leopard – has been set up in Russia to try to protect the last remaining few.

Estimated population: approx. 30

2. Javan Rhino

 

The most threatened of all 5 rhino species. The Ujung Kulon National Park in Indonesia is the only place in the world where the Javan Rhino still lives.

Estimated population: 35

3. Saola

Nicknamed the “Asian Unicorn”, Saola was only first discovered in 1992. Since then, sightings have been few and far between. The number of Saola alive in the wild is unknown, but thought to be less than 100.

Estimated population: between 25 and 100

4. South China Tiger

In the 1950s, it was thought that there were 4,000 of these tigers alive, but no one has spotted one in the wild for 25 years. It is categorised as “functionally extinct”.

Estimated population: ??

This is a link to the WWF’s list of the most endangered species on the planet. Find out what you can do to help.

Source(s): WWF, WWF-Canon/ David HULSE

YouTube street magician and society do-gooder, Magic of Rahat, gained internet stardom when he helped a homeless man, who was down on his luck, find hope.

It all started with him giving this man a ‘winning’ lottery ticket. Rahat had secretly set it all up, giving the store clerk $1,000 to use as the prize money.

Eric, the homeless man, was so overwhelmed that he tried to share the prize money.

This prompted a huge response from the internet reaching 15.8 million views in less than two months.  The awesome people of the internet were so touched by Eric’s selfless personality that they didn’t stop there. They raised $44,000 through a crowdfunding effort. Rahat used the money to put Eric up in a rented house for a whole year and set up a savings account for him. You go internet, you go.

Check out the videos below!

Eric ‘wins’ the lottery

Eric gets his own house

Source(s): MagicofRahat, Allrounder

Would you ever walk across a broken bridge? How about crossing a mountain face with no harness? Well, these fearless kids are doing that every morning just to get to school.

We tend to take it for granted that our journeys to school are relatively safe. We can choose to take the bus, train or walk. In lots of countries around the world, children don’t have this kind of choice. They risk their lives every single morning, because getting an education is so important to them.

Lebak, Indonesia

Students crossing a damaged suspension bridge

Riau, Indonesia

Students canoeing to school

Zanskar, Indian Himalayas

Students travelling to a boarding school through the Himalayas

India

Students travelling through the forst across a tree root bridge

Delhi, India

Students riding a horse cart back from school.

 

Cilangkap village, Indonesia

Students crossing Ciherang River on a makeshift bamboo raft.

Gulu, China

5-hour journey into the mountains on a 1ft wide path to one of the most remote schools in the world

Sichuan Province, China

Crossing a broken bridge in the snow to get to school in Dujiangyan

Zhang Jiawan Village, Southern China

Students climbing on unsecured wooden ladders,

Padang, Sumatra, Indonesia

Students walking on a tightrope 30ft above a river

Pili, China

125 mile journey to a boarding school through the mountains

 

Source(s): Imgur 

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It’s cool to be kind.

Kindness helps you make friends

Simple as it sounds, if you’re nice to people, they will be nice back. A sure-fire way to make loads of friends.

 

Kindness makes you feel good

If you do a kind deed, you will know you have made someone else happy, which, in return, will make you feel happy.

 

It’s cool to be kind

According to just about everyone who knows about these things, it’s not cool to be a horrible person. These days it’s cool to be kind.

 

Kindness is contagious

If you do a kind thing for someone,  they might be inspired to do a kind thing for someone else, and so on and so forth.

 

Kindness doesn’t cost a penny

It’s true that kindness doesn’t have to cost a penny. All it takes is a few kind words.

 

If there’s kindness, there’s less sadness

Sadness is mostly just the absence of happiness, which can be caused by kindness.