It takes 2,500 gallons of water to produce 1 pound of beef.

Close to half of the contiguous U.S. is devoted to animal agriculture.

Animal agriculture is responsible for up to 91% of the destruction of the Amazon rainforest.

— Facts via Cowspiracy.com

It’s week one of my Climate 52 challenge, and I’m starting with a big one: not eating meat for one week. While animal agriculture has been shown to disproportionately contribute to climate change, it is not talked about as much as fossil fuels, plastic or some of the other big contributors. Why? The documentary “Cowspiracy” is a good primer, and is free to stream for Netflix subscribers.

Changing your diet may also feel more daunting than, say, bringing your reusable bags to the grocery store. If you are used to eating meat as a regular part of your diet, you have to make a conscious choice to plan your meals differently. There are also dietary concerns about getting enough protein and other nutrients commonly found in meat.

My husband found some vegetarian dinner recipes that we will eat this week. For breakfast, I typically eat cereal, and I bring lunch to work, which is often a vegetarian Lean Cuisine. So those two meals are pretty easy.

Going into this, I think the hardest part will be remembering to avoid meat, since I’ve never consciously tried to do that before. And as my husband will tell you, I do not love vegetables, so our meat-free dinners could be a challenge.

I’ll check back in a few days with an update. In the meantime, check my Twitter and Instagram feeds for what I’m eating this week!