A vegan, as I understand it, is someone who does not consume animals or animal products. So, no beef and no honey, no fish and no leather. It seems innocent enough a life choice and even commendable, but vegans are not well loved by most. They are thought of as stupid and snobby. I am no vegan, though I wish I were. I haven't kicked the cheese yet and I still eat meat from time to time. I am eating pepperoni pizza as I write this very blog. Personally, I don't like meat outside of a few exceptions; BLTs, Burgers, and Pizza. I also eat animals when I'm somewhere that doesn't have other meatless options, such as family gatherings and certain restaurants. But, thankfully, vegetarianism is becoming more popular, so options are growing. To my surprise, even the legendary local burger joint, Lucky's, now has a veggie burger.
But despite what you might think of vegans there are some very good reasons to strive to become one...I say STRIVE because most people can't be 100% vegan or even vegetarian all the time, but that doesn't mean you give up. I ate a pizza slice tonight, that doesn't mean I throw my hands in the air and have bacon and eggs for breakfast. Everyone makes mistakes. Any dieter can tell you that much.
So here are the reasons in no order of importance. (all reasons have source links in their titles)
1. Because it's Fucked Up:
Animals are living thinking and feeling creatures who cry and feel pain as well as loneliness and love. Every aspect of the meat industry is hideous and inhumane. No part of it, from birth to death, is pleasant. They are treated with cruelty. They never breathe fresh air, never feel a loving hand and never know an ounce of mercy save for their deaths.
2. Unknown Drugs in Meat:
The conditions in which these animals are kept are disgusting breeding grounds for disease, and in order to keep these animals alive long enough to kill, the farmers dope them up on drugs not safe enough for humans, including massive amounts of antibiotics...And then we eat them.
3. Toxic Waste:
The POOP. Imagine 100 cows all shitting and pissing in one spot for 50 years, and every day or so that poop is hosed into a man-made lake which poisons the ground water around it for miles and miles, causing sicknesses like cancer in the people and animals that live within 50 miles of the cow farm. Now imagine the actual problem is 1,000 times scarier than what I just asked you to imagine.
4. Using Land to Feed the Food:
All the food has to be farmed; forests need to be cut down, plants need to be sown and watered to feed these animals for their meat...so we're destroying forests to feed these animals, all with the single goal of killing these animals and eating them...With all that grain we could save 800 million from starvation!
5. Waste of Energy:
Between running the factories that harbour the animals during their short miserable lives, to running the factories that slaughter the animals, and the gas that goes in the trucks that transport their carved meaty bits to every grocery store and eatery in the country, we spend a whole shit ton of energy on the meat we eat.
6. Killing Baby Chickens:
Probably counts as the first point, but I think it's a worthy reason by itself to eat fewer eggs and chicken. Farms only want the ladies. They lay eggs and unlike boys, they can be forced to grow large breasts...Problem is, they can't tell if a baby is a boy or girl until it hatches, so after they are born they are sorted out and the girls are sent away to their horrible fate while the boys are thrown into something like a wood chipper...Because of widespread disgust over videos leaked about the murders (on youtube), some egg companies are trying to find a way to tell the sex before hatching...should just take about 3 years or so.
7. Raping Cows and Stealing Babies:
I always found it funny that my husband refused to drink my breast milk, but he was just fine drinking a cow's breast milk, especially when you consider the differences between the two circumstances.
My breast milk is made for humans
My breast milk feeds our babies
My breast milk is freshly pumped
My breast milk has no medicine in it
My breast milk is literally a product of love
Cow breast milk is made for cows
Cow breast milk does not feed their babies...we stole them
Cow breast milk is pumped and stored for weeks
Cow breast milk has antibiotics and hormones
Cow breast milk is literally a product of RAPE
8. Toxic Gas:
Their farts release untold amounts of methane gas into the air, which is a green house gas, which is warming our planet...Hello, stormy weather, hello, rising sea levels, hello new found diseases that were buried in ancient sheets of ice but are now free to cause global pandemics. Fun times...
9. Meat Makes You Sick:
Bacon, hot dogs and lunch meat are listed as causing CANCER and everyone knows red meat is bad for your heart...also thought to cause cancer as well.
10. Water!
Thousands upon thousands of animals must be given drinking water and food every day just so we can slaughter them the next day. Drinkable water isn't something to waste, but we're using untold amounts of water on these animals.
11. Mercury Poisoning!
Totally forgot mercury. Fish, especially tuna is loaded with ever rising levels of mercury thanks to the massive amounts of pollution we are still dumping into our oceans. Mercury poisoning is series business and not safe for young children or women who are pregnant, breast feeding or might become pregnant within a year because that's how long it takes your body to dispose of all mercury. If you eat fish on a regular basis, stop.
As you can see, there are so many reasons to strive to eat less meat and dairy, or better yet, none at all. And, if you decided to make the change you wouldn't be alone.
If you want to give it a try, say for a week, here are some resources. They're all vegan since Vegiterian just means you add cheese and eggs...
Remember, being vegan isn't about what you can't have anymore, it's about what you can't abide anymore.
The Vegan Woman: How to Go Vegan as a Family
Happy Herbivore: Vegan on $15 a Week
IVA: Vegan Starter Kit
Vice: How to Go Vegan When You're Broke
But despite what you might think of vegans there are some very good reasons to strive to become one...I say STRIVE because most people can't be 100% vegan or even vegetarian all the time, but that doesn't mean you give up. I ate a pizza slice tonight, that doesn't mean I throw my hands in the air and have bacon and eggs for breakfast. Everyone makes mistakes. Any dieter can tell you that much.
So here are the reasons in no order of importance. (all reasons have source links in their titles)
1. Because it's Fucked Up:
Animals are living thinking and feeling creatures who cry and feel pain as well as loneliness and love. Every aspect of the meat industry is hideous and inhumane. No part of it, from birth to death, is pleasant. They are treated with cruelty. They never breathe fresh air, never feel a loving hand and never know an ounce of mercy save for their deaths.
2. Unknown Drugs in Meat:
The conditions in which these animals are kept are disgusting breeding grounds for disease, and in order to keep these animals alive long enough to kill, the farmers dope them up on drugs not safe enough for humans, including massive amounts of antibiotics...And then we eat them.
3. Toxic Waste:
The POOP. Imagine 100 cows all shitting and pissing in one spot for 50 years, and every day or so that poop is hosed into a man-made lake which poisons the ground water around it for miles and miles, causing sicknesses like cancer in the people and animals that live within 50 miles of the cow farm. Now imagine the actual problem is 1,000 times scarier than what I just asked you to imagine.
4. Using Land to Feed the Food:
All the food has to be farmed; forests need to be cut down, plants need to be sown and watered to feed these animals for their meat...so we're destroying forests to feed these animals, all with the single goal of killing these animals and eating them...With all that grain we could save 800 million from starvation!
5. Waste of Energy:
Between running the factories that harbour the animals during their short miserable lives, to running the factories that slaughter the animals, and the gas that goes in the trucks that transport their carved meaty bits to every grocery store and eatery in the country, we spend a whole shit ton of energy on the meat we eat.
6. Killing Baby Chickens:
Probably counts as the first point, but I think it's a worthy reason by itself to eat fewer eggs and chicken. Farms only want the ladies. They lay eggs and unlike boys, they can be forced to grow large breasts...Problem is, they can't tell if a baby is a boy or girl until it hatches, so after they are born they are sorted out and the girls are sent away to their horrible fate while the boys are thrown into something like a wood chipper...Because of widespread disgust over videos leaked about the murders (on youtube), some egg companies are trying to find a way to tell the sex before hatching...should just take about 3 years or so.
7. Raping Cows and Stealing Babies:
I always found it funny that my husband refused to drink my breast milk, but he was just fine drinking a cow's breast milk, especially when you consider the differences between the two circumstances.
My breast milk is made for humans
My breast milk feeds our babies
My breast milk is freshly pumped
My breast milk has no medicine in it
My breast milk is literally a product of love
Cow breast milk is made for cows
Cow breast milk does not feed their babies...we stole them
Cow breast milk is pumped and stored for weeks
Cow breast milk has antibiotics and hormones
Cow breast milk is literally a product of RAPE
8. Toxic Gas:
Their farts release untold amounts of methane gas into the air, which is a green house gas, which is warming our planet...Hello, stormy weather, hello, rising sea levels, hello new found diseases that were buried in ancient sheets of ice but are now free to cause global pandemics. Fun times...
9. Meat Makes You Sick:
Bacon, hot dogs and lunch meat are listed as causing CANCER and everyone knows red meat is bad for your heart...also thought to cause cancer as well.
10. Water!
Thousands upon thousands of animals must be given drinking water and food every day just so we can slaughter them the next day. Drinkable water isn't something to waste, but we're using untold amounts of water on these animals.
11. Mercury Poisoning!
Totally forgot mercury. Fish, especially tuna is loaded with ever rising levels of mercury thanks to the massive amounts of pollution we are still dumping into our oceans. Mercury poisoning is series business and not safe for young children or women who are pregnant, breast feeding or might become pregnant within a year because that's how long it takes your body to dispose of all mercury. If you eat fish on a regular basis, stop.
As you can see, there are so many reasons to strive to eat less meat and dairy, or better yet, none at all. And, if you decided to make the change you wouldn't be alone.
If you want to give it a try, say for a week, here are some resources. They're all vegan since Vegiterian just means you add cheese and eggs...
Remember, being vegan isn't about what you can't have anymore, it's about what you can't abide anymore.
The Vegan Woman: How to Go Vegan as a Family
Happy Herbivore: Vegan on $15 a Week
IVA: Vegan Starter Kit
Vice: How to Go Vegan When You're Broke
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