Why Follow a Vegan Diet?
The best reason for following a vegan diet is because it's good for every living thing on the planet. A vegan diet makes you feel alive and healthy. The essence of the human soul is peace and tranquility and following a vegan diet is the epitome of who we really are. We've all heard the horrible stories about crowded factory farms and the cruelty these animals are enduring until their inhumane deaths. And it's been said many times, "you are what you eat."
Most of the animals consumed these days come from factory farms where they never see the light of day all of their lives. They are confined to cages they can barely move around in. Their young are removed from them almost immediately, leaving them yearning for their babies and babies yelping for their mothers.
Considering the cruelty of enslavement and inhumane treatment of any animal should be enough of a reason to follow a vegan diet. But also consider that the feed of the factory farm animals is pesticide-laden crops and full of artificial hormones, which they are eating every single day of their lives.
Then, these wonderful animals are dipped and sprayed with dangerous chemicals to combat all the diseases from their inhumane living conditions. All of these toxins are held in the flesh and fat of the animal, which is then ingested by humans.
When we eat these animals or their milk products, we are consuming concentrated doses in uncontrolled combinations of many of the most deadly chemicals ever known.
Photo courtesy of Carol Moshier @ flickr.com
And we're not getting artificial hormones or the chemicals that the animals are dipped in. These pesticides are so much higher in animals than in plants and none in organic plants.
Factory farming has been linked to climate change, water pollution, land degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. An animal-based diet uses more land, water and energy than a plant-based diet.
Factory farming has been linked to climate change, water pollution, land degradation, and greenhouse gas emissions. An animal-based diet uses more land, water and energy than a plant-based diet.
Photo courtesy of celesth @ flickr.com
"Isn't man an amazing animal? He kills wildlife by the millions in order to protect his domestic animals and their feed. Then he kills domestic animals by the billions and eats them. This in turn kills man by the millions, because eating all those animals leads to degenerative and fatal health conditions like heart disease, kidney disease and cancer. So then man tortures and kills millions more animals to look for cures for these diseases.Elsewhere, millions of other human beings are being killed by hunger and malnutrition because food they could eat is being used to fatten domestic animals. Meanwhile, some people are dying of sad laughter at the absurdity of man, who kills so easily and so violently, and once a year sends out cards praying for 'Peace on Earth'."
As soon as we put food in our mouths, our saliva begins the digestion process. Our human saliva was never meant to break down animal flesh. Carnivores have acid saliva, humans have alkaline saliva. Our stomachs secrete a small amount of hydrochloric acid, carnivores' stomachs secrete a large amount of it to break down the carcass. Carnivores have a much shorter intestine than we do so the flesh passes through before it rots and ferments. Food which doesn't adequately process becomes clogged in our intestines.
Our organs, enzymes and digestive tracks are all different from carnivores and are not equipped to process animal flesh for very long. That's why studies are showing that vegans show much less kidney, colon and liver diseases and cancer than those who consume animals.
Certainly a perspective to ponder and question ourselves about. You may ask how one person becoming vegan could possibly help save animals, though. Well did you know that, what it takes to raise 10 billion animals in one year, could actually be used to grow food for all the starving people in the world? You are playing a big part in sparing animals lives each year, helping yourself to be healthy and at the same time, helping to end world hunger and save our planet by choosing to Go Vegan!Do Vegans Get Enough Nutrients?
Vegan Diet at-a-Glance
The Vegan Pantry
Vegan Substitutes and Replacements
Vegan Skin Care, Personal Care and Cosmetics