The Last Thing You Need to Read to Finally Go Vegan

Loved ones are getting cancer; adults—as well as children—are dealing with obesity; heart disease has become the number one killer. America is struggling. These health issues, that are flourishing in many families today, can all be minimized or eliminated entirely by consuming plant-based foods, instead of animal-based foods. Although there are valid concerns about soy products and vitamin deficiencies associated with veganism, such a lifestyle promotes excellent health. Veganism also benefits the environment and shows compassion for animals, making it an admirable lifestyle.

Animal products are killing us. Meat is commonly served at every meal, and dairy is advertised as a “necessity” for calcium to make bones strong. Not only are these things abundant in the typical American's diet, but over-consumption of these foods is rampant. Meat is full of cholesterol, fats, and carbohydrates which build up in our arteries and restrict blood flow. This build-up leads to heart disease, which according to the American Heart Association, is “the leading cause of death for both men and women in the United States.” We could easily lessen the potential for heart disease just by simply cutting out meat from our diets. The potential for heart disease is further decreased by the consumption of plant products because they minimize fat, cholesterol, and provide nutrients. We can be sure of the benefits of veganism because many important studies have been completed by healthcare professionals. For example, Dr. T. Colin Campbell did a study titled The China Study. Over a period of 30 years, he investigated the nutritional habits of 6,500 Chinese people in 65 villages. During his research, he concluded, “people who ate the most animal-based foods got the most chronic disease. Even relatively small intakes of animal-based food were associated with adverse effects. People who ate the most plant-based foods were the healthiest and tended to have less chronic diseases... The health implications of consuming either animal or plant-based nutrients were remarkably different.” (Campbell, pg. 7) Another interesting “study” would be to look back to WWII. In the 1920s through the 1930s in Norway, heart disease was rapidly growing. During WWII, Hitler took away the livestock from Norway, because meat was considered a “luxury.” This left the Norwegian’s with a diet of almost entirely plant food. As a result, their heart disease went down quickly and dramatically. This type of action demonstrates the lack of awareness people have regarding the food they perceive as healthy and unhealthy. Another study was published in the British Journal of Cancer in 2007 regarding breast cancer. According to the PETA website, this study proved, “women who ate the most meat had the higher risk of breast cancer.”

Another very important rule of veganism is the consumption of dairy products is toxic to human beings. Cows milk is intended for a calf, not humans. There isn’t any “nutritional value” in milk. After looking into Dr. Colin Campbell’s study on milk it becomes clear that milk is bad for people’s health. The main protein in dairy products is casein, and Dr. Campbell fed two groups of rats casein for a duration of twelve weeks. One group of rats consumed 20 percent casein, while the other group was fed five percent. By the end of the study, the first group that was fed 20 percent of the dairy protein had cancerous tumor growths. Amazingly, the other group showed no signs of any problems. From there he decided to switch their diets back and forth between 20 percent of casein and five percent in only one group of rats this time. The results showed that whenever he fed 20 percent casein, the tumor growths escalated. Also, when he switched it back to five percent, the growths decreased. In the end of this experiment, Dr. Campbell concluded that “we [can] turn on and off cancer growth—just by adjusting the level of intake of that protein.” Another surprising study on milk is one done by Vivian Goldschmidt. She is the founder of Save Our Bones. She explains that milk is actually doing the opposite of strengthening our bones! Dairy products are high in saturated fat and vitamin A which in abundance can take calcium away from our bones. Another part of her studies shows that in the milk industry cows are now injected with a genetically engineered growth hormone (rBGH). This hormone is man-made and used to increase milk production. Those who drink milk from these cows can have increased blood levels of the “insulin growth factor” which can lead to a number of different cancers. The last argument against milk is from The Harvard Nurses Health Study. They found that those who got their calcium from dairy broke more bones than those who rarely drank milk. This study was based on 77,761 women who were between the ages of 34-59 years old. Amy Lanou, Ph. D and Nutrition Director for the P.C.R.M, sums this information up this way, “The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and bone health is almost nonexistent.” Although these studies and facts exist, there are still numerous advertisements promoting dairy, and there are people walking around with the misconception that they’re helping their body by having a glass of milk.

As well as being a healthy choice, choosing to eat vegan helps our earth become less polluted. When stepping back to really take a look at The Factory Farm industry it contributes a lot to global warming. The entire process of meat production consists of: Growing the corn and grain for the animals to eat, operating the feed mills, operating the factory farm, driving the animals to the slaughterhouse, operating the slaughterhouse, and then finally taking the meat to the processing plants. According to the PETA website, “it takes more than 11 times as much fossil fuel to make one calorie of animal protein as it does to make one calorie from plant protein.” Humans already hurt the environment an excessive amount, why are we still eating meat if it’s contributing to harming our earth so much? The entire production of meat could be cut out of the American system, and not only would it benefit our bodies, but it would benefit our earth? Why is meat still being produced? Jennifer Valentine, the Editorial Manager at One Green Planet states that the “meat, egg, and dairy industries produce 65 percent of worldwide nitrous oxide emissions. Nitrous oxide is 300 times more powerful at trapping heat in the earth’s atmosphere than carbon dioxide.” Veganism will improve the earth. This alone should be enough to convince us to accept a vegan diet.

More importantly, animals in the food/milk industry are suffering a life of daily agony and living in conditions that are completely unnatural to them. The documentary Vegucated shows footage of animals that are crammed in small spaces, unable to move, stretch, or live normal lives. It shows baby chicks being tossed around like they don’t have a heartbeat, and male chicks are actually thrown in the trash because they’re considered “useless” since they cannot produce eggs. According to the PETA website, animals are not only shoved into cages, without the ability to even turn around, but they are forced to live in their own (and the other neighboring animals) feces and vomit. Because of these disgusting conditions, animals often get diseases and receive no help which causes their suffering to increase. Michael Specter of The New Yorker visited one of these factory farms and stated his experience this way, “I was almost knocked to the ground by the overpowering smell of feces and ammonia. My eyes burned and so did my lungs, and I could neither see nor breathe...[they] were living in nearly total darkness, and they would spend every minute of their six week lives that way.” If we needed animals to sustain our lives, the process of raising them in a healthy environment and then slaughtering them would be humane and justifiable. Not only do humans need to stop raising these animals in such a disgusting manner, but animals should not even be looked at as a food option any more because we don’t need it!” PETA describes on it’s website many different revolting actions that take place in these animals lives. One article describes the life of a pig on a typical factory farm, that gets its tail cut off, ears “mutilated” and teeth clipped all without painkillers. Next, the entirety of a female pig’s life consists of being [artificially] impregnated over and over until their bodies cannot handle that type of stress anymore and they die. The life of a cow is similar, unless you’re a cow that is being used for milk. These cows are usually drugged with BGH growth hormone, which is banned in Europe and Canada because of human health concerns. This enables them to produce more milk than they would naturally. Lastly, the life of a chicken is worst of all. Chickens are typically in a small room with thousands to other chickens. These conditions are so unnatural and uncomfortable for them that they end up not being able to handle it and plucking each other to death. Not only do they have the stress of being surrounded by so many other chickens, but they are forced to dwell in ammonia, giving them eye and respiratory diseases. A worker in the egg industry named Bernard Rollins states, “Chickens are cheap; cages are expensive.” This shows the lack of compassion these industries have towards animals. People are often deceived by the labels “Organic”, thinking choosing those products are better. According to PETA, the “organic” raised animals still go through body alterations without painkillers and experience the same conditions as the other animals. They are labeled as organic because the owners will give them organic feed. The only benefit of having organic milk/meat is it will be free of antibiotics and hormones. However, the animal is still treated brutally. In the factory Farm industry these animals are looked at as machines for profit. They’re genetically altered to produce more and they’re “deprived of exercise and movement, and their energy goes toward producing flesh, eggs, or milk for human consumption” (PETA), and they’re kept in tiny, foul places. There is no tenderness, these industries have put profit before compassion, money before life.

There are people that hear the word “vegan” and automatically think it’ll be too hard to make the switch or that soy products (a common go-to item for vegans) aren’t good. Many are also worried that there will be vitamin deficiency. Firstly, in almost any grocery store there is a section filled with vegetarian and vegan choices all of which are abundant with protein. The rest just requires picking up a few more vegetables and fruit, as well as some almond or soy milk for calcium. Even if at first those foods aren’t as tasty as bacon or cheese puffs, taste buds can and will change. There is much controversy over soy products, but what it comes down to is having awareness of how much soy you intake. According to the article titled “Health Dimensions” by Teya Skal, who is a holistic kinesiologist, soy, in abundance, can lead to thyroid disorder, as well as it may be harmful to men. Soy has something in it called “phytoestrogens” which can act like the hormone estrogen, which has the possibility of making a man's body do unnatural things. These issues are definitely something to be aware of, but not something to stress over, because soy is fine in moderation. When overconsumption starts to take place, is when these issues arise. Lastly, when going vegan, it’s crucial to take vitamin supplements. In meat, there is vitamin B-12 which is important for proper brain function, and it can be easily supplemented by taking vitamin tablets. When done right, veganism will only help your body.

Meat is not a necessity, yet people are eating it at every meal unaware or unconcerned about how it’s destroying their body. The environment is being further ruined form the production of animal products, and animals are being tortured. Colin Campbell (Ph.D.) summed it up as follows, “Not only can personal health be improved but also health care costs can be dramatically reduced, and various forms of violence to our environment and to other sentient beings can be minimized.”

Bibliography

Skae, Teya. “Health Dimensions.” Health Dimensions. N.P, 2004.

Peta. "Factory Farming: Cruelty To Animals." People For the Ethical Treatment of Animals. N.p., n.d.

Campbell, Colin T. “Google Books.” Google Books. T. Colin Campbell, June 2011.

Valentine, Jennifer. “Infographic” Veganism and the Environment/ One Green Planet. “One Green Planet” N.P, nd.