Everyone loves a few strips of bacon at breakfast or a burger at a backyard barbecue. But in the West, where our diets center around meat and cheese, could our reliance on factory farming and animal by-products be endangering not just our health, but the health of our planet?

That's the stance of a new documentary called Planeat, which seeks to expose the harm that a meat-based diet does to ourselves and the environment.

"Most people have no greater spatial effect than their dietary choices," explains Gideon Eshel of Bard College. In the olden days, meat was a rare delicacy, not the centerpiece of every meal. Now, according to Eshel, we expect to be able to eat meat whenever and wherever we please, which puts a huge strain on farmers to raise unhealthy numbers of lifestock. And the animals, who weren't meant to live in such close proximity, infect one another (and us) with diseases, pollute our rivers and soil and release dangerous greenhouse gasses into the environment.

A diet that's overly rich in meat and dairy can also lead to health complications like obesity, heart disease and possibly even cancer.

The documentary's message? If each of us could reduce our meat consumption - or cut out meat altogether - we'd have a much easier time feeding the world's growing population. We'd also be healthier, as would our planet.

Is it enough to make you go veggie?

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