In an effort to save our planet and limit our consumption of one of our most precious resources, news broadcasts, magazines, newspapers, and even local supermarkets are spreading the word. Save water, they say. Limit your consumption. Recycle. Drive gas-efficient vehicles or hybrids. Buy products that are eco-friendly and have been made from recycled ingredients.

Change your light bulbs to utilize solar energy. But there is one thing that every American can do that will greatly impact the amount of water that is saved every year. The only problem is, it's not a popular idea. Most feel threatened by this idea because it questions their habits and forces them to undergo changes in their lifestyle that they are very comfortable with. This idea and lifestyle has been around for centuries and is increasingly gaining popularity as more people become aware of its damaging environmental properties. What is it called? It's called vegetarianism.

Now, before you go off on a tangent and completely write off this idea as ludicrous, hear me out. This is not PETA (People for the Ethical Treatment of Animals) propaganda scheme to save the animals from wretched conditions, although treating these animals as humanely as possible is not necessarily a bad idea. After all, they ARE unwillingly giving up their lives to provide food for us.

No, a vegetarian diet has been proven to be the best way any person can go green. Environmentalists who preach about cleaning up littered beaches and planting trees are criticized for their hypocrisy. Even Al Gore, who made the critically acclaimed documentary 'An Inconvenient Truth', is criticized for riding around in a gas-guzzling SUV, using too much electricity in his big estate, and for not adopting a vegetarian diet.

How, you ask, is going vegetarian going to help save water? The answer is simple, and what I'm about to say is only tapping the surface of the benefits of vegetarianism.

It is estimated that a whopping 2,500 gallons of water are used to produce a single pound of beef. Think it's unbelievable? Think again. Water is fed to the animal from the time it is born up until the time it is sent to the slaughterhouse. A cow can consume about 50 gallons per day and more than 18,000 gallons per year. A cow raised for its meat is usually slaughtered anytime from 3 to 5 years of ago, amounting to more than 54,000 to 90,000 gallons of water annually. Even worse, a dairy cow is typically sent to slaughter when it is 7 to 9 years of age, amounting to over 126,000 to 162,000 gallons of water in its lifetime.

These numbers have been scientifically proven, and its evidence is backed by the trillions of gallons of water we lose in our underground aquifers every year. And this is just the beginning. Modern day factory farming has taken its toll on our planet. Imagine how much water can be saved by simply cutting down on meat consumption, going vegetarian, or eating a vegan diet, which is not eating any animal products, including meat and dairy products. We must do every thing we can in our power to combat water shortages. Think about saving the planet for our children and the future generations.