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Why Veganism Sounds Like a Bad Idea

A Guide to Right and Wrong Foods

By Kenya CarpenterPublished 6 years ago 3 min read
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I will always be an interested advocate for the well-being of animals. Today in this world there is an unnecessary slaughtering of animals which, upon inspection, is overwhelmingly unethical when you look into it. Farm animals such as chickens, pigs, and cows to name a few are bred for slaughter; from being beaten and tortured to injections of hormones and in a dairy cow’s case, forced pregnancy. These are only but few of my many concerns of helpless animals. Every year, over 56 billion land animals alone are subject to slaughter. This is not just an animal welfare issue, this is also an environmental and world hunger issue. California is currently in a drought, yet somehow, they find a way to feed all livestock. Kip Anderson Howard, director and producer of the movie Cowspiracy, states that “you can produce 37,000 lbs. of vegetables on 1.5 acres of land but only 375 lbs. of beef on the same [amount] of land.” The main point of his film was based on the theory that we can solve world hunger if all farmers across the world use that plot of land used for farm animals and instead apply it to producing foods that we can feed to the hungry From the environmental perspective, our precious rainforest which statistics conclude, "If we continue on this path, as much as 55 percent of the amazon rainforest could disappear by the year 2030” (Bennet).

There is a problem with the people who believe that veganism does not matter. Here are some common beliefs held by non-vegans that I have heard over the past four years: “They don’t kill animals like that in America. It’s more humane here,” “The animals are going to die either way if you don’t eat them other people will eat them,” “Okay but where do you get your protein from?” “If we don’t kill the animals, they’re going to overpopulate the world,” “I’m too lazy,” and my favorite, “Veganism is expensive.”

“If we don’t kill the animals, they’re going to overpopulate the world.” This is the belief that animals like cows and pigs produce offspring on their own at this fast rate.

Farm animals are becoming more sought after every year, and to make up for the hunger of almost seven billion people, you need to make room for more animals to be farmed. This not only effects the animals by moving them to places unknown to them, it also affects the forest that is cleared out at such a fast rate that the forest cannot replenish itself. We need the forests to live uncut by man or else it contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. “Stored carbon is released in the form of carbon dioxide and methane. On top of that, the capacity of forests to pull greenhouse gases from the atmosphere is lost as forests are cut. Forest loss contributes about 15 to 20 percent of all annual greenhouse gas emissions” (Greenpeace). We risk putting amazing cultural groups and animals out of their home if we continue this path to self-destruction. Resources asking the earth to produce more than it possibly can. Deforestation applies to having to move herds of animals to a larger plot of land to be farmed on. More people on this earth means more people demanding meat and dairy and eggs. The second problem is that animals are forced to be reproduced and it’s not by shoving a male and female cow into a stall overnight. It’s done manually at a faster rate by a farmer shoving a bull’s sperm into female cows’ vaginas. In the wild, cows and pigs do not reproduce that quickly. We could perform the same procedure on lions and rhinos if we wanted to, but we don’t because we don’t consume them for meat.

“I’m too lazy,” “Okay but where do you get your protein from?” "Veganism is expensive.” Some people believe that it’s completely okay to eat unhealthy just because their body “has low metabolism” or “I have a disease,” and those people are the people who make excuses—excuses for everything. For the people who make excuses that they need their vitamins and protein and that veganism does not supply that for them: there are plenty of vitamins and protein in foods other than meat, milk, and eggs. To the people who make the excuses like “I just can’t live without…” I don't buy it.

agriculture
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About the Creator

Kenya Carpenter

To be sexual is to be filled with art.

I also write about other things.

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