Vegans believe in a humane and caring world due to their beliefs of acting selfless by choosing to withhold from the use of animal products. People usually choose to become vegan for health reasons, environmental reasons, or ethical reasons. One purpose for shifting over to a vegan diet is to monitor health such as choosing plant-based food to decrease the risk of disease which can be heightened by the consumption of animal products. Another basis for becoming vegan is for the care of the environment such as the amount of land and resources used for regular diets versus plant-based diets. The final purpose for a person to turn to a vegan diet is for pure ethical reasons such as the love and care for animals and their well-being. All of these reasons contribute to more benefits than harm when it comes to becoming aware of plant-based dieting. Switching over to a vegan diet is a much more healthful lifestyle than any other diet because of the many benefits.
People who transition from regularly consuming animal products to eating plant-based food become more aware of their health. For instance, one major difference of choosing to go vegan is the amount of weight being lost as plant-based diets contain fewer calories while still providing people with the needed nutrients. “People on a vegan diet often take in fewer calories than those on a standard western diet. This can lead to a lower body mass index (BMI) and a reduced risk of obesity,” (Nordqvist). Obesity is a major issue in America but can be reduced by dieting with a healthful consumption of natural foods rather than processed food; one way to get in those natural and beneficial foods is to switch over to a vegan diet. A major contradicting argument people bring up regarding plant-based diets is the nutrients. Many people assume certain nourishment will not be consumed if diet is completely plant-based; for instance, protein is a popular topic that comes up with the idea of cutting out meat. However, in the article, “What to Know About Eating Vegan, Christian Nordqvist states, “Soy, fruit, and some vegetables contain appropriate amounts of these nutrients without the health risks of animal fats.” While most people assume not all nutrients will be taken in when switching to a plant-based diet, the food that gets substituted appears to be much more beneficial without the use of animal products.
Consuming animals as well as their by-products produces a lot of harm towards the human body such as an increased risk of disease. According to the article, “What to Know about Eating Vegan,” the author, Christian Nordqvist, states, “Animal sources are likely to account for 13 of the top 15 sources of cholesterol-raising fats in the U.S.” Having high cholesterol has to do with the over-consumption of fatty foods such as red meat; eventually, the long-term effect of having high cholesterol is heart disease and stroke. Nevertheless, dieting can counteract that issue which is when switching over to a plant-based diet appears to be ideal due to the abundant amount of natural and heart-healthy food that fits in that category. Not only does becoming vegan fight against high cholesterol, it also lessens the impact of other bodily issues. “The adaptation of a low-fat vegan diet can substantially mitigate the impacts of type 2 diabetes, rheumatoid arthritis, and Parkinson’s disease,” (McWilliams). While a vegan diet does lessen the risk of disease, it also creates an overall healthy environment. Essentially, the health benefits of a vegan diet completely outweigh all the negative impacts of a typical diet.
Veganism truly does benefit the health of people, but it also affects the environment’s health as a whole. Anything revolving around animal agriculture, such as farming, slaughtering, etc., creates harm on the planet in more ways than one. “It is estimated that 1 lb of beef is equivalent to 200 square feet of destroyed rainforest. And overall, it is estimated that eating meat requires three times more land than is needed for a vegan diet,” (3 Environmental Benefits). The land that is used to raise animals as well as the land in which the slaughtering happens takes up a great more amount of space that would be needed if there were just plant-based foods being grown such as vegetables, fruits, and grains. While the land is being wasted, more resources are also needed to keep up with the process of turning animals and their by-products into human consumption. “Did you know that each day, a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1,100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft. of forested land, and one animal’s life?” (Alena). Switching over to a vegan diet saves so many necessities needed on this planet which, nowadays, is completely wasted on factory farming, slaughtering, animal agriculture.
While the land and resources around people are constantly wasted due to people not eating plant-based, the air among them is also being more contaminated due to the significant increase of animal by-products being made. “In fact, livestock and their by-products account for 51% of annual worldwide greenhouse gas emissions,” (3 Environmental Benefits). Many people believe it is the idea of factories emitting harmful gasses and chemicals into the air, but the reality of all the emissions revolves around the life cycle of an animal. Land is needed to grow food that is given to animals to fatten them up which then causes those animals to leave much more feces on the planet. Eventually, that circulation stops, and those animals are sent to factories where they are kept until the slaughtering process begins. However, this process is a constant cycle that repeats not only every day, but with a variety amount of different animals each day. Yet, simply choosing to eat a vegan diet completely changes the environment’s health even for a simple swap of an animal product to a plant one. “In fact, a study comparing the water footprint of different foods found that whilst a soy burger has a water footprint of 158 litres, a beef burger has a water footprint of 2,350 litres which is over 14 times as big,” (3 Environmental Benefits). Small changes can go a long way when it comes to helping the environment grow in a more healthy fashion rather than bringing it down until it is completely damaged. Those who go vegan for environmental reasons are selfless as they care for the area around them.
Ethical reasons is the final purpose for a person switching over to a vegan diet due to their love and care for animal welfare. Nowadays, animals are not treated fairly as companies merely focus on producing products and meat to sell rather than caring for the lives of animals; they do not get to experience life because they are only used for products. “Nearly all animals raised for food in America today spend their lives on factory farms. These animals, who feel pain and fear just as dogs and cats who share our homes do, are separated from their families and crammed by the thousands into filthy warehouses,” (Healthy and Humane). The welfare of animals is completely forgotten as they are stripped of all the good in their lives just to make companies profit. Money is a huge motivator to the point that companies will do basically anything to continue on producing products with animals and their by-products just to make extra cash; they go above and beyond to undergo extreme measures that completely damage the lives of animals. “The situation in a modern dairy farm is no less grim. Most newborn calves are forcibly removed from their mothers within 12 hours, so that milking can begin,” (Veganism and Animal Rights). The animal agriculture process is utterly unnatural and simply inhumane.
Many people do not understand the true process of farming animals before the slaughtering process. It may seem as though animals live a fun and fulfilled life before they are taken to get slaughtered to turn into human consumption; however, that is not the case at all. “Hens in Industrial Farms are forced to lay up to 30 times more eggs than they would naturally,” (Veganism and Animal Rights). Animals are forced to undergo unnatural processes due to companies wanting overproduction of goods such as hens laying more eggs than they could genuinely handle. Also, animals are fed to the point they could hardly stand up due to companies wanting more product, such as thicker animals, to sell for more money. After all the growing and inhumane processes are done, the slaughtering begins. “They are mutilated without the use of painkillers and deprived of everything that is natural and important to them,” (Healthy and Humane). Animals are treated as though they cannot feel what is happening to them when they are the same as typical house pets without the love and care.
