In the climate change debate, carbon dioxide is the best-known culprit. We blame the compound for an increasing global temperature and rising sea levels, as scientist have documented.

And that’s just the beginning. If temperatures continue to rise, our rain forests will be replaced by dry savannahs, we will experience increased flooding in some regions and increased drought in others, and  some experts say that by 2020, yields from rain-fed agriculture could be reduced by up to 50 percent in some regions.

But carbon dioxide is just one greenhouse gas. Increasingly, scientists are implicating methane in climate change.

According to a study by the World Preservation Foundation:

Methane has been identified as one of the most important emissions to reduce quickly because it is more potent than CO₂ and dissipates out of the atmosphere much more quickly… Methane’s atmospheric lifetime … is only 12 years. In other words, after just 12 years, most of the methane is gone, with the remainder gradually dissipating over a longer time period.

The foundation study names animal agriculture — the production of meat, eggs, and dairy — as the single largest contributor of methane. How? The animals themselves produce methane through digestive processes. Methane is also produced industrially, and chemical processes that produce methane also produce ozone, another greenhouse gas.

To compound matters, a study published by the American Society for Nutrition outlines the enormous energy costs of producing and transporting animal feed, which requires the burning of fossil fuels and contributes to carbon dioxide and methane emissions. The farming of livestock also generates huge amounts of waste. According to the study, 7 billion livestock generate 130 times more waste than produced by 300 million humans. Livestock production also contributes to land degradation, deforestation, soil erosion, and desertification.

One solution

The World Preservation Foundation also offers a solution:

The fastest and least expensive way to begin reducing methane and ozone is to eat as close to a purely plant-based diet as possible

The same study asserts that a vegetarian diet would reduce the costs of fighting climate change by 50 percent; a vegan diet would reduce costs by 80 percent. The environmental benefits of vegetarian and vegan diets are also espoused by the United Nations Environment Programme, as well as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change and other scientific studies.

But even climate activists like Bill McKibben, founder of 350.org, are reluctant to promote the benefits of a plant-based diet. Why? Because of the stigma attached to the word “vegan.” Despite the growing number of vegans in Hollywood, veganism is still considered an extreme alternative lifestyle.

As recently as 2012, just 54 percent of Americans believe in climate change, according to a Yale University study. That means nearly half of all Americans do not believe in climate change, despite the overwhelming scientific evidence and agreement within the scientific community. Promoting veganism risks alienating not only climate skeptics but also the majority of omnivorous Americans.

What can we do?

To start, eat less meat. Going even one day a week without meat can help, says Dr. Rajendra Pachauri, chair of the United Nations Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change.

In terms of the immediacy of action and the feasibility of bringing about reductions in a short period of time, it clearly is the most attractive opportunity… Give up meat for one day [a week] initially, and decrease it from there.

“It doesn’t have to be all-or-nothing,” says Emily von Euw, vegan author and blogger. “Start by eating more fruit.” She also recommends integrating more rice and beans into your diet in place of meat because they are healthy, inexpensive, and easy to prepare. She emphasizes that a gradual change is more likely to be sustainable.

The Earth Policy urges an 80 percent reduction in greenhouse gas emissions by 2020 in order to prevent drastic changes in lives and livelihoods as well as to protect food security. Even small reductions in individual meat consumption can help us reach that goal.