Why Go Vegan? 3 Reasons to Transform Your Diet and Lifestyle
Let me guide you through this post…
- Going Vegan for the Animals
- Going Vegan for Health Benefits
- Going Vegan for the Environment
- Don’t know HOW or WHERE to start?
- We want to help you!
More and more people are embracing the plant-based lifestyle for the animals, for better health, and a more sustainable future. Let’s learn more about it!
- For the animals.
Choosing to be more compassionate toward animals is one of the main reasons why people become vegan.
The Food & Agriculture Organization of the United Nations reported that humans slaughter more than 80 billion animals for meat annually.
This number exclude fishes captured and killed for their flesh, along with additional deaths that occur during the production process. In these processes, male baby chicks are killed through large, high-speed grinders in the egg industry, among many others.
Learning about the horrors that animals experience in these industries, I started seeing them as unique and sentient creatures. Animals have their own voice and the right to live life free from abuse and exploitation.
However, most individuals are not aware of these practices. Farmers and industry workers confine animals in stressful, unsanitary, and crowded quarters where they can barely move.
They subject them to physical alterations such as painful mutilations/amputations, tail docking, beak trimming, teeth clipping, branding, tagging, and castration. These practices cause prolonged pain that lasts for weeks up to months.
(Read more here: 9 Cruel Yet Legal Farming Practices and Inhumane Practices on Factory Farms)
Veganism extends beyond the animal agriculture industry.
The fashion industry routinely exploits animals for their fur, skin, and feathers. They use mice, rats, dogs, cats, rabbits, primates, and others for testing beauty and other consumer products, too. In these laboratories, they lock the animals inside cages for experiments where they suffer from pain, stress, frustration, and loneliness.
(Read more here: We Animals Org.’s Top 10 Images of Animal Testing Victims and Their Stories)
Animals cannot speak up for themselves. Their only hope is for us to speak up for them. We must take a stand against animal cruelty, and advocate for their liberation and well-being.
- For its benefits to your health.
Vegan diets that are well-planned and properly researched can be highly beneficial for your health. It is even recognized by the British Dietetic Association and the American Academy of Nutrition and Dietetics as a suitable diet for every age and stage of life.
A study published in the American Journal of Lifestyle Medicine stated that plant-based diets are typically low in saturated fats and dietary cholesterol. Minimally processed vegetables, fruits, whole grains, legumes, nuts and seeds are also great for you! They are rich in antioxidants, fiber, and other nutrients needed in order to live a healthy life.
In fact, plant-based diets have resulted in positive health attributes in both randomized controlled interventions and observational studies. It is linked to a reduced risk of incidence for cardiovascular disease and diabetes and various types of cancer. YAY plant-powered bodies!
- For a more sustainable future and its positive impact on the environment and communities.
In the animal agriculture and fashion industries, large numbers of animals are bred and slaughtered in a concentrated area. This means that a large amount of waste are produced and dumped onto our environment and communities. These practices severely endanger the health and well-being of nearby residents, disproportionately affecting marginalized Black, Brown, and Indigenous communities.
It is unsurprising that these industries are major contributors to our environmental problems due to their massive global scale. They cause greenhouse gas emissions, toxic waste pollution, deforestation, water pollution, habitat loss, species extinction, among many others.
For instance, livestock farming requires vast areas for grazing and growing crops. Rather than growing food for themselves, impoverished populations are instead driven to grow cash crops for livestock feed. In Brazil alone, over 100 million acres of land is used to grow soya beans for other countries’ livestock feed. This only contributes to worsen food insecurity, malnutrition, and poverty.
How does choosing a vegan lifestyle help the environment?
Shifting to plant-based diets frees the lands for reforestation and carbon sequestration. It also reduces our reliance on animal products, and cuts down water usage as well as methane and nitrous oxide emissions. This makes it one of the most effective solutions for reducing our impact on the environment.
What are the small & big changes you can make this week to move closer to a kinder, healthier, and more sustainable way of living?
We want to be a reliable companion on your journey toward a healthier and happier you! Feel free to contact us for any questions or advice.
Don’t know HOW or WHERE to start? Check out our “Going Vegan Made Easy Guide: Simple Tips for Beginners”. Here, you’ll find practical tips, balanced lifestyle guides, and nutrition info to help you feel your best every day.
