When living an eco-friendly lifestyle, there are several tips and tricks to reduce your carbon footprint such as using natural cleaning products and carpooling. One of the most common suggestions is to eat locally grown produce. But which is best for the environment: becoming a locavore or a vegan?

A locavore is a person who purchases local products such as vegetables and fruits from farmers within his/her community. While this method is beneficial for reducing your carbon footprint because of fewer food miles, going vegan has an even greater positive impact.

If you’re not interested in becoming vegan, being a locavore is the next best way to help the planet. Not only are you supporting your community, but you are also reducing the mileage and gas for food transportation.

On the flip side, by becoming vegan you reduce the demand for factory farms, which emit harmful gases such as methane and carbon dioxide. According to a 2008 research study by Christopher Weber and H. Scott Matthews published in Environmental Science & Technology, “We find that although food is transported long distances in general (1640 km delivery and 6760 km life-cycle supply chain on average) the GHG [greenhouse gas] emissions associated with food are dominated by the production phase, contributing 83% of the average U.S. household’s 8.1 t CO2e/yr footprint for food consumption.”

Just imagine the world if everyone were to go vegan…of course, this is an unrealistic situation, but it would have a significant impact with regards to our GHG emissions and the way we treat animals.

Becoming a vegan can be an adventurous process, and it’s probably not as difficult as you think. Recently, a webisode on Planet Verge documented drummer Dylan Mandel from The Lives of Famous Men on his challenge to go vegan for 30 days. Mandel was able to successfully complete the month even while on the road with his band and that says a lot. Could it be that the vegan lifestyle isn’t as difficult as one may think?

In the larger view, veganism trumps eating locally. However, being a locavore shouldn’t be discredited either, because this is one step you can take if you’re not wanting to go vegan.

Visit the folks over at AboutMyPlanet for some more great reads!