Five Reasons To Be Vegan

Five Reasons to be Vegan

Some people choose to be vegan in order to support animal rights, others do it to save money, and others just because they don’t like the taste of meat or dairy products. Whatever your reason may be, here are five reasons why you should choose veganism and start eating a vegan diet right away! You might find that you don’t miss meat at all!

Animals

What do animals have to do with being vegan? Many people believe that going vegan means you hate animals, but they couldn't be more wrong. Vegans love animals so much that they simply don't want to contribute to a system in which animals are abused and killed for profit. In other words, when you choose not to eat meat, eggs, or dairy products, you're making it easier for farmers to stop treating farm animals like things instead of living creatures. Put another way: Choosing not to eat animal products is a vote for compassion.

Health

Adopting a vegan diet can have significant health benefits. Studies have shown that vegans are less likely to develop cancer, heart disease, diabetes, and obesity than meat-eaters. Meat contains cholesterol and other factors that can increase the risk of these illnesses, whereas a plant-based diet offers high levels of antioxidants and essential nutrients like fiber. If you’re trying to decide whether veganism is for you or not, take a look at some reasons below to get a sense of why being vegan may be right for you. A healthy heart. Cardiovascular diseases (CVDs) affect millions of people worldwide every year; although much progress has been made in cardiology treatments, a number of people still die from CVDs annually, while many more suffer from various degrees of cardiovascular damage over their lifetimes. High blood pressure, one common indicator of CVDs, is linked with a high saturated fat intake—which is found in most animal products. Further research indicates an inverse correlation between eating plants and the chance of suffering from any sort of CVD: those who follow a vegan diet typically experience lower risks.

Environment

People think that eating meat is good for the environment, and maybe it is -- if you only look at the short term. But looking at the long-term effects, being vegan is far better for the environment. It's been estimated that being vegan saves five times more water than eating a plant-based diet with meat. Cows produce a lot of methane which has been called the gateway gas because of its position in the greenhouse effect.

Economy

Being vegan helps the economy in several ways. First of all, eating a vegan diet is cheaper than eating an omnivorous one. The USDA notes that Americans spend around $700 billion on food every year; nearly all of that money goes toward animal products, and it’s fair to assume that if everyone went vegan, grocery bills would shrink considerably. On top of saving consumers cash, ditching meat, dairy and eggs can have a real impact on the economy. Currently less than 1 percent of American cropland is used for growing vegetables—the rest is reserved for animals or crops destined for animal feed like corn and soybeans.

Waste

As mentioned above, one of the biggest problems with factory farming is waste. In some ways, animal agriculture creates more waste than anything else humans do. One estimate suggests that 51% of human-generated methane comes from livestock operations (which also contribute one-third of all nitrous oxide emissions). And most forms of meat and dairy create much more food waste than a vegan diet. Even if you aren’t concerned about animal welfare or our carbon footprint, there are plenty of reasons to reduce your consumption of animal products – even if it’s only for environmental reasons. If you eat less meat and dairy, there will be less food going into landfills.