Why be vegan?
· Compassion for other animals
What gives one animal more of a right to live than another? Does a dog feel more pain than a pig? Humans, dogs, pigs, horses, cows, chickens, fish, and all other animals have a lot in common. We all feel pain and suffering and are born with a desire to live. Each animal values its own life just as much as you and I value ours. I will not go into the details of the suffering that animals raised for food have to endure, there are plenty of websites out there that do that if you need convincing. I just want to share a few of the reasons I used to eat animal products and what changed my mind:
̃ I just did not think about what I was eating.
There are a lot of people who would not kill an animal themselves but they have no problem paying someone else to do it! Because essentially that is what they do when they buy meat at the grocery store or restaurant. It is easy to not think about what effect our choices have on the lives of others, but that does not change the fact that eating animal products does cause suffering and the only way to stop it is to stop eating animal products.
̃ I thought that is just the way things were meant to be.
Just because something is socially acceptable at the time, does not mean it is morally right. For example, not too long ago slavery was considered acceptable, as well as women not having the same rights that men did. Now most people realize how wrong those things were. I believe that one day civilization will look upon the slaughter of other animals with the same disdain as we have for slavery and inequality.
· Concern for our environment
Going vegan does more to help the environment than you could do if you stopped driving your car! According the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization, the livestock industry is responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions.
www.fao.org/newsroom/en/news/2006/1000448/index.html
· Improved health
“It is the position of the American Dietetic Association and Dietitians of Canada that appropriately planned vegetarian diets are healthful, nutritionally adequate, and provide health benefits in the prevention and treatment of certain diseases. Well-planned vegan and other types of vegetarian diets are appropriate for all stages of the life cycle, including during pregnancy, lactation, infancy, childhood, and adolescence.
Vegetarian diets offer a number of nutritional benefits, including lower levels of saturated fat, cholesterol, and animal protein as well as higher levels of carbohydrates, fiber, magnesium, potassium, folate, and antioxidants such as vitamins C and E and phytochemicals. Vegetarians have been reported to have lower body mass indices than nonvegetarians, as well as lower rates of death from ischemic heart disease; vegetarians also show lower blood cholesterol levels; lower blood pressure; and lower rates of hypertension, type 2 diabetes, and prostate and colon cancer.”
—Journal of the American Dietetic Association - June 2003, Volume 103, Number 6
Read more at TryVeg.org
