THE DAILY VEGAN

A BLOG FOR VEGANS

WHY GO VEGAN?

     Vegans don’t have it easy. Most obviously, they can’t eat meat, or any animal products for that matter (imagine: no ice cream sundaes!). Vegans cannot use animal products either (so no woolen scarves during wintertime!). The several myths about veganism do not help vegans’ images either. Vegans are commonly perceived to be weak and preachy about their diets, and some even believe that veganism is an eating disorder. And to top it off, vegans are just considered odd by many people - after all, what normal human being would give up that delicious cheeseburger or that rich, creamy ice cream sundae?!

     This leads many people to wonder, so why do vegans put up with all of these hardships? Why have they made this extreme life choice? Am I missing a trick? These questions are not so easy to answer, but their answers are fascinating, and they present vegans and veganism in a whole new light.

     But before we can answer these questions and discover the motivation behind being a vegan, we must address what veganism even is and track its growth up till now. A vegan is simply a person who does not eat or use any animal products. This includes dairy products and leather products, since they come directly from animals.

     The concept of veganism can be traced back to ancient Indian and Mediterranean civilizations, where people first avoided animal products for health, ethical, and religious reasons. The first vegan society was formed in 1847 in England, and the term ‘vegan’ was coined in 1944 by British woodworker and advocate for veganism Donald Watson ^[2]. The popularity of veganism has rapidly increased since Watson’s time. According to The Guardian, the number of vegans in Great Britain rose by 350% percent between 2006 and 2016, and there was a 185% increase in the production of vegan products, from McDonald’s introduction of the McVegan burger to the first vegan pizza. Veganism’s role in our society is greatly increasing, and understanding vegans’ life choices can change our perception of them and the world we live in ^{[1] [3]}.

     Now that we have at least some background about veganism, we can tackle that question - why go vegan? Well, there are several reasons that prompt vegans to make this seemingly unfathomable decision. First it’s the obvious one - vegans feel that eating animals and consuming their products is unethical. Vegans believe that we should not exploit animals for their resources. And vegans have a point here. Animals are treated appallingly by humans - there is no hiding from that fact. Male calves are taken from their mothers just 24 hours after their birth to be slaughtered for meat. In an industrial egg production setting, many male chicks are either killed or just abandoned. Poultry are often fattened up and confined to tight spaces in order to increase their body mass. According to the Economist Intelligence Unit, 50 billion farm animals are killed for meat every year ^[4]. Vegans believe that by boycotting meat and the atrocities committed during the production of it, meat producers would be forced to kill less animals and behave more humanely. Although this goal is a long way from being accomplished (worldwide meat consumption has actually been growing 3% annually), vegans are bringing attention to the horrendous treatment of farm animals ^[4] (to learn more about how farm animals are mistreated, click here).

     A common myth is that vegans are generally weak and do not receive their required amount of nutrients. This is true to some extent - after all, meat is the leading source of protein and Vitamin B12 (two essential nutrients), so vegans have to find other ways to get the nutrients that they are missing. However, recent research is proving that vegan diets may be even healthier than non-vegan ones! Eating lots of processed meat has been linked to cancer, and red meat has been linked to obesity, diabetes, and high blood pressure. Meat is also very energy rich, and any extra protein absorbed by the body is turned into fat. Too much fat, and the chances of obesity, diabetes, and other dietary diseases are also much higher. Vegans generally eat less calories and consume less fat and protein. So although vegans may consume less nutrients than meat eaters, this is actually good for vegans in the long run ^[3].

     Finally, being vegan helps the environment (believe it or not, there is a connection between not eating animals and saving our planet!). Growing plants requires less land than raising farm animals, which means that if a society turned vegan, less land would have to be cleared and transformed into pastures. Creating pastures causes greenhouse gases, which trap the Earth’s heat and cause global warming. Insects in cows’ intestinal tracts also produce methane, so when cows (who are to be slaughtered for meat eaters) regularly belch, all this methane is released into the atmosphere and contributes to global warming. In fact, the impact of livestock on global warming is so great that Marco Spingmann, of Oxford University, predicted that gas emissions in a vegan world would be 70% lower! Coupled with its environmental benefits, vegan farms are also economically viable since, as previously mentioned, growing plants requires less land than growing farm animals ^[4].

     So there you have it. Hopefully by the end of this blog post you now know more about those odd people who refuse to eat meat. You now know that they do not practice this strange way of life because it’s a fad, but because it is making both their lives and the community better. You now know that despite facing all the challenges that come with being a vegan, millions of vegans keep pushing on and striving to live life they feel it should be lived. You should now be aware of this phenomenon that is rapidly sweeping across continents and grocery stores and admire the great sacrifices that its followers make for the good of the world. And hey who knows - maybe you’ll join them too and make a DIFFERENCE in this world! (But remember - if you do, then NO ice cream sundaes!)

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