THEVOICE | 6 Justa little bit vegan liminating animal products E from your eating habits could be the single most effective way to reduce your environmental impact, a recent research said. Veganism is growing in popular- ity, according to a 2018 Dalhou- sie University research survey that showed 850,000 Canadians self- identify as vegan. Sixty-three per cent of those vegans are under 38-years-old. And that number is likely growing. Particularly for young people, we live and breath climate crisis, which will affect our lives moving forward. While we should be critical of the environmen- tal impact for which our food is responsible, how much sacri- fice is too much? Should everyone go vegan? Personally, no, but consuming less animal byproducts is a positive step moving forward. We need the vitamins and proteins we get from eating meats. Although vegans can get the protein necessary for human health, in some cases they have to almost double the amounts of their food intake to match the protein and nourishment you get in meat and its byproducts. That’s a lot of food, so why not still eat meat but just less? “Consuming less animal byproducts is a positive step moving forward.” OPINION AUSTIN EVERETT An Oxford University study done in 2019 uncovered that while only 18 per cent of our general caloric intake and 37 per cent of our protein consumption is provided by meats and dairy, its production alone uses 83 per cent of farmland. This farm- land produces 60 per cent of the agricultural industry greenhouse gas emissions. Huh. ‘The Brazilian president burning down parts of the Amazon certainly isn't looking so good. So vegans, you are the people who are taking a stand against this. You are activists who raise awareness to all of us meat eaters that we should be more critical about the food we put in our bodies. So for you non vegans out there, in the end, how hard do you want to work, and how much you love our planet are the questions you need to ask yourself before you bite into that 20 oz. rib steak. Just saying. THURSDAY, OCT. 17, 2019 | EDITOR AUSTIN EVERETT Viewpoints Federal party leaders are chosen younger and younger, as federal politicians have accepted that Millennial Canadians now represent the majority voting pool in this 2019 federal election. Wandy MOON ILLUSTRATION Boomers choking the Hill he under-representa- tion of youth among Canadian members of parliament remains a persistent prob- lem across federal politics. Elected in 2011 at age 19, Pierre-Luc Dusseault was the youngest MP to be elected to the house. He remains the youngest MP today at age 28 and is among OPINION RAY CHOPPING three in the House of Commons who are under 30-years-old. This lack of youth representation is troubling due to several factors. Over the - been indifferent to their needs and dismissive of their political concerns. ‘The results speak for themselves: — lower voter last five federal “Lower voter turnout turnout is a elections Baby . . reflection of Boomers repre- isa reflection of Millennial ted th . . +s disint t majority of | Millennialdisinterest | 51° politics voters, therefore o atime) Compare little consider- Z Im politics. | that with the ation was given to younger voters. These youth had neither the numbers nor taxable income to compete with the Boomer majority so the federal politicians largely ignored them. Millennials have grown up under a series of political systems that have 21 per cent difference between Boomer and Millennial voter turnout and the generation which cares speaks for itself. In 2015, Justin Trudeau’s Liberals were the first to take notice of the youth vote. Despite major criticism of his young age and lack of expe- rience, Trudeau attracted a 15 per cent increase of younger voters from the previous election. Political parties this time around recognize that Millennials make up the majority of the voting block. As a result we see that consider- ably younger politicians are set forth as party leaders. Andrew Scheer and Jagmeet Singh are both 40 and Trudeau is 47, some of the youngest leaders in Canadian history. Will putting more young faces forward intrigue Millennials enough to vote? With power to enact change, Millennials could shake up this country The Voice is pub- lished by Langara College’s joumalism department. Editorial opinions are those of the staff and are independent of views of the student government and administration. We welcome letters to the editor. They may be edited for brevity. Your letter must in- clude your name and phone number. HOW TO REACH US PHONE 604-323-5396 E-MAIL thevoice@langara. be.ca WEBSITE langaravoice.ca DROP-IN Room A226 Langara College SNAIL MAIL The Voice 100 West 49th Ave. Vancouver, B.C. V5Y 2Z6 INSTRUCTOR Erica Bulman MANAGING PAGE 4&5 EDITOR Mathilda de Villiers Austin Everett PAGE6 Austin Everett PAGE EDITORS PAGE 7 PAGE 1 Chelsea Liu Christina Dommer PAGE 8 PAGE 2 Maxim Fossey Adam Levi PAGE 3 MANAGING WEB Missy Johnson EDITOR Joe Ayres WEB EDITORS REPORTERS Liam Hill-Allan Anita Zhu Mandy Moon Henri Ngimbis Agazy Mengesha Kristen Holliday Tierney Grattan Gina Rogers Joshua Rey Lauren Gargiulo Lina Chung SOCIAL MEDIA Palak Klaire EDITOR Ray Chopping Nathan Gan Soubhik Chakrabarti Steven Chang WE WANT TO HEAR FROM YOU CONTACT Have a different point of view? Write us. US Online at langaravoice.ca Journalism instructor Erica Bulman oversees The Voice. Twitter Email: ebulman @langaraVoice @langara.ca