I wrote this as part of my upcoming veganuary tips post, but got a tiny bit too excited and wrote rather a lot… so here it is as a separate post instead! Hope it helps you understand; many people are incredibly curious as I have been asked this SO MANY TIMES, so finally- the big secret!
It sounds all fancy, but why would people go to the effort of avoiding their favourite foods for a whole month? Veganism has so many benefits on many areas; it helps animals, the environment, your health, and even humans that live in countries that are in poverty. How, I hear you ask?
Well, it’s pretty obvious to us that giving up eating meat and fish will help animals because they won’t be killed. But the hard truth is that even going vegetarian, although helpful, doesn’t completely put an end to cruelty. Many farms keep chickens and cows caged for their whole life, separate the baby cows from the mother cows, and kill males, which they deem “unuseful”. Of course, the UK is much stricter about animal cruelty than other countries like the USA, and you can always trust free range in the UK which is a real privilege.
Personally, my biggest reason for being vegan is for the environment, which surprises quite a few people. Did you know that animal “agriculture is responsible for 80-90% of US water consumption(“How Important is Irrigation to U.S. Agriculture?” USDA: Economic Research Service. 12 October, 2016)? To put it into perspective, to produce 1 pound of beef, 2,500 gallons of water is utilised. Almost 900 gallons of water are necessary to produce 1 lb of cheese, and A THOUSAND gallons of water are used to produce ONE gallon of milk. In addition to this, the UN have found that “Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction.” 2-5 acres of land are used per cow. The animal industry has been confirmed to be responsible for NINETY-ONE% of rainforest deforestation. Furthermore, “130 times more animal waste than human waste is produced in the US”. Not only are we destroying our land, we are also destroying our oceans, “As many as 2.7 trillion animals are pulled from the ocean each year”!! And for every one pound of fish caught, up to 5 pounds of UNINTENDED MARINE SPECIES are CAUGHT AND DISCARDED AS BY-KILL. To me, that is absolutely horrifying. Looking at these statistics really puts into perspective how much being vegan DOES have a positive affect on the planet, and it’s not just a trendy white girl thing.
It can also help humans. A really shocking statistic is “82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals, and the animals are eaten by western countries.” Worldwide, 50% of grain is fed to livestock, which we could be feeding to humans and resolving famine.
And in addition to saving the planet, you get some benefits to yourself too! The”WORLD HEALTH ORGANISATION REPORT HAS CLASSIFIED BACON & SAUSAGE AS CARCINOGENIC TO HUMANS, and red meat has also been found to be closely linked to cardiovascular diseases and cancer. Furthermore, eating 1 egg a day has been found to be as bad as smoking 5 cigarettes per day for the rest of your life expectancy, and the number one source of saturated fat is known to be dairy(Greger, M.D, Michael “Eggs vs. Cigarettes in Artherosclerosis”. video. Volume 12. March 11th, 2013 < a href=”https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC3105270/pdf/kwq368.pdf”>Baer, Heather J, et al “Risk Factors for Mortality in the Nurses’ Health Study: A Competing Risks Analysis”. American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 173, No. 3 Spence, J. David, et al “Egg yolk consumption and carotid plaque”. Artheroslcerosis xxx (2012) 1-5 “Time: Eat Butter. Scientists Labeled Fat The Enemy. Why They Were Wrong”. Diet Doctor) Also, a plant based diet will force you to eat more, well plants… and as many junk food is vegan, you will find yourself looking to healthier options as well!
Well, that’s my rant over… you can tell I’m passionate, can’t you! All my statistics have been taken from https://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ and https://www.whatthehealthfilm.com , so feel free to check them out for more.
Hope you enjoyed this and don’t feel to bored/guilty!
Have a wonderful week xxx
