People ask me why I’m vegan. Immediatly after being asked this my mind goes haywire and I want to ask them why they aren’t vegan. There are many reasons why one should go vegan. Back in the stone age humans hunted in order to survive. They ate whatever they could get their hands on whether it be plants or animals. But times have changed. We are no longer living in the Stone age. The consumption of animals is now just a habitual practice that should soon come to an end. Thus, this paper will argue about the environmental, health, and ethical benefits of following a vegan lifestyle.
The environment is one of the main reasons why one should choose to become vegan. You can not be an environmentalist and eat meat and dairy products. A study found that one pound of beef is equivalent to approximately two hundred square feet of rainforest (National Geographic). This means that hundreds of forest animals are forced to evacuate their homes and find new ones or die. In addition, factory farming contributes to 75% of Earth’s pollution, more than the combination of planes, trains, and cars (Factory Farming and the Environement). Cows take up a lot of water too. According to a recent study 150 gallons of water were used by a dairy operation simply to clean the blood from a single cow’s slaughter (One Green Planet). The same goes with plants. The majority of plants grown do not go to feeding the humans but feeding the animals.
Going vegan changes your health. Going vegan means having a longer lifespan than meat eaters. You have a lower chance of getting high blood pressure, cholesterol, type two diabetes, heart disease, and many other health diseases (The Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics). A recent study from the Journal of The American Medical Association examined the deaths of nearly 70,0000 people in 2012 from heart diseases, and diabetes and found that more than half of those deaths were due to poor nutritional habits, which were caused by the overconsumption of lean proteins (Micha et al., 2017).
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Eating more meats increases a person’s chance of getting type 2 diabetes by 19% (Radcliffe). Because of this the rates of diabetes have really gone up throughout the years. Right now there are about 25 million people living with diabetes in the USA (CDC). Researchers even say that in a few years from now 1 out of 3 Americans will suffer from type 2 diabetes (CDC). But if one turns to a plant based lifestyle, they decrease the chance of getting any of those diseases by 20%, and increase their life expectancy. Diabetes can’t be cured, but it can be treated with a healthy vegan diet.
And still one of the main questions I commonly get asked is “Where do you get your proteins?” Yes, protein is very important for the body’s processes but meat and dairy are not the only sources that you can find it in. This is only what the fitness media wants you to believe. People like to think that protein is the most important macronutrient, but this is wrong. People eat too much protein, more than they should be. Protein can be found in many plant based sources. Many of the protein we obtain comes from vegetables, legumes, grains, and nuts.
When I was a child my parents always told me that I needed to drink 2% cow’s milk to be strong and grow. This is what many Americans think. People believe that milk is needed for healthy strong bones and to prevent osteoporosis. But this is wrong. Studies have shown that the countries who consume the most dairy also have the most rates of osteoporosis. The United States is the number 1 country leading with the most dairy consumption and the most osteoporosis (National Osteoporosis Foundation). So why are so many people lactose intolerant? Most people of the U.S.A. are lactose intolerant. Drinking milk is not healthy nor necessary for survival. So why do people keep drinking milk?
Why take lives for our lives? Animals have the same right as we do and it’s not right that they have to suffer. As humans, we like to consider ourselves as good and caring beings, yet these beliefs are not reflecting our actions at all. We punish those who mistreat dogs, cats, or horses, yet at the same time we contribute to the brutal and disgusting treatment of sentient “farm” animals. Why is it that chickens are seen as food, while dogs are seen as our companions? Why do we continue to ignore the pain of these animals? These animals have feelings just like us humans. The facts are clear. Humans do not need to consume animal products to live a healthy life. Now, ask me again why I’m vegan.
