Veganism: Why?
The term "vegan" and "veganism" are hot and trendy this year. Let's talk about it.
Awareness
Before the last few years, people were mostly in the dark about what happens to their food before it hits their shopping carts or plates. That has changed drastically recently due to the exponential growth of the vegan community, documentaries, and under cover videos. Vegans are using social media to share images and videos of the horrors of factory farming, and it's working. The rising number of vegan food in supermarkets and restaurants are making it easier than ever to go vegan! So what are YOU waiting for?
Documentaries to watch:
Dominion Watch Here
What The Health - On Netlfix
Cowspiracy - On Netflix
Earthlings Watch Here
Health
Studies are consistently showing the health implications of consuming animal products. Our bodies function at their best in an alkaline state. Animal products are acidic and our bodies try to counteract the acidity by taking calcium from our bones. So, no, milk doesn't give you strong bones, it gives you osteoporosis. Acidity wreaks havoc in our bodies causing a perfect environment for cancer cell growth.
Plants provide all the essential nutrients we need to survive. Animal proteins are high in calories, high in fat, and full of cholesterol. By the way, our bodies make all the cholesterol we need, so anything consumed outside of that (cholesterol from food is only found in animal products) is extra... hence, cholesterol problems.
Some of the worlds best athletes are vegan. Celebrities, scientists, and scholars are seeing the benefits of going vegan. Let's follow suit, they seem to know what's up.
I mean, I could go on and on about the health benefits of being vegan, but these are just a few of the talking points. I've merely begun to scratch the surface.
Arguments Against Veganism
There are several arguments against veganism, so let's talk about them.
1. We need meat to survive:
This one's easy...at least that's what the estimated 1 million vegans and 7.5 million vegetarians would say. We are surviving, no, THRIVING, so the answer is easy. Humans don't need meat or dairy to survive.
2. Animals taste good:
Actually, they don't. I challenge you to grab a raw chicken breast or steak from your fridge and just take a bite out of it. Is it super yummy? Doubt it. Meat tastes good because you season it with... drum roll please... PLANTS! Herbs, sauces, and spices are what gives your meat most of it's actual flavor.
"BUT BACON!!"... Yes bacon tastes good, because it's so incredibly salted, smoked, seasoned, and mapled (wait, I don't think that's a word, but you get it).
3. Our ancestors ate meat, it's the way it's always been:
Animals reproduced and were born in their own natural ways and habitats way before the invention of factory farming. So people hunted in order to survive when it was their only option for food. In colder winter climates, fruit and vegetables were scarce, so people did what they had to. Fortunately for you, you are not a caveman (whoohoo!), and you have evolved! We now live in a time where food grows all over the world and then it is shipped to colder climates, so you can enjoy your fruits, vegetables, and grains ALL YEAR LONG! Isn't that amazing? I mean, advancement is a super cool thing.
So if you still want to use this argument, then you better put down your cell phone, and your fancy bright orange gym shoes and start wiping your butt with leaves, ya know because that's how our ancestors did it.
4. Animals don't have feelings:
Do you have a pet? Is it excited when you come home from work? Does it sit on your lap for cuddles? Does it lick your face when it's excited to see you? Does it protect you or warn you of danger? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then you already have your answer. Some people will argue that these behaviors are all learned, but think of the time you first picked up your puppy. It didn't try to eat you or claw at you, it licked your face and wagged its tail. And you didn't even teach it those things yet!
Animals mourn the death of a family member or friend (animals and humans), they show remorse when they've done something wrong (like chewing up a shoe or getting in the garbage). Pigs are actually more intelligent then dogs have shown an array of emotions, yet we treat dogs better (in the U.S.). It's easy to see that animals feel, so let's start treating them like they do.
5. I'm at the top of the food chain! I'm a carnivore!
Pfffft. This one, oh man. You may have the means to contribute to the mass murder of other species, but that doesn't mean you should, especially when it's unnecessary. This whole argument is so egotistical to me. You are not so special that you need to kill other species and eat them to just say that you're at the top of the food chain. Can we just get rid of this whole "food chain" notion? Like, who cares who can eat who? If you don't need to eat a living being to survive, don't. End of story.
You are not a obligate carnivore. You are an omnivore, meaning you have the ability to consume different food sources for survival. Luckily, you don't have to eat animals (see number 3). Your teeth do not resemble those of a lion, you do not stalk and rip into your prey with your giant K9 teeth and claws, so stop comparing yourself to these obligate carnivores
ANIMALS FOR ENTERTAINMENT
Zoos, Circuses, Aquariums, Animal Racing, and riding animals. It's all exploitation of the animal. In the case of zoos, and aquariums, animals are ripped from the natural habitat so you can "get a closer look". Whales and dolphins are taken from their pods (families) and stuck in tiny tanks where they are forced to perform. You pay money to see it, and they pay the ultimate price.
I will never understand why we, as humans, have this incredible need to understand everything. We don't need to know the exact migration pattern or mating ritual of every creature on earth. There's just no reason for it. Look how much we've learned about dinosaurs just by studying their bones! We don't need to enslave creatures by the millions to understand them, it's just not necessary.
Rodeos... Sounds like a super fun weekend of too much cheap beer, a sea of cowboy hats, and tight wrangler butts, right? Wrong. Baby cows are tied up, flipped over, drug around, and terrified. Bulls' genitals are pinched by coarse ropes to get them to buck a rider off, and horses are forced run while the audience cheers. Rodeos are basically public animal torture.
So in conclusion, elephants don't want to be ridden all day by starry-eyed tourists, tigers don't want to jump through rings of fire, gorillas don't want to spend a life in a cement "habitat", birds who have the ability to see the entire world don't want to be locked in cages, and mammals that swim hundreds of miles a day in the ocean don't want to spend their life in a bathtub while you gawk at them... I mean, would you?!
ANIMALS AS COMMODITIES
First, let's talk about leather. Leather shoes, belts, handbags, car upholstery, and much more. Leather is everywhere, the softest leather coming from fetal cows... yes, you read that right, fetal cows. If a dairy cow is slaughtered while she is pregnant, the unborn calf's skin is removed and sold as "premium leather". The dairy farmer gets more money for these cows, so a dairy cow is usually impregnated one last time before she is set to be slaughtered, so they can not only make money off of her body, but also the body of her unborn calf.
"Regular" leather mainly comes from cows overseas, though, and it's not a friendly process. Since cows in certain countries are considered sacred, they are transported long distances until they get to places where cow slaughter is allowed. The cows get exhausted from the long travel, and often fall down from fatigue. To get the animals back up on their feet, workers rub chili powder in their eyes. The cows are in so much pain, they get up and run. Once they reach their destination, they are hung upside down by their feet and shot with a bolt gun to their head. A lot of the time, this doesn't kill the animal, and its skin is cut from its body while still conscious.
A lot of other animals are used for their skins, like snakes, lambs, crocodiles, etc. and it's all just as terrible.
Second, let's talk about fur and feathers. This horrifying trade is slowly coming to an end with many designers banning the use of fur in their fashion designs.
Fur farms capture wild animals like rabbits, wolves, mink, fox, and coyotes, and keep them in cages until they fatten up, increasing the amount of fur that can be harvested from each animal. When the animal is the desired size, it's killed by electrocution and then its skin is removed, processed, and sold
In Canada there is a yearly seal hunt, where fisherman arrive by boat to seal colonies and kill hundreds of thousands of seals by striking them in the head with wooden clubs or shooting them. The majority of these seals are pups just under 3 months old.
Goose down is equally as cruel. Feathers are painfully ripped from their bodies by the handful. The birds are kept in deplorable conditions while their feathers grow back, all for them to be ripped out again.
When I say wool, you think fuzzy socks, warm sweaters, nice blankets, right? Well this is your wool. Workers have been filmed kicking, stomping, and punching these gentle creatures while shearing them. Left in a natural state (without genetically modifying their genes), sheep will grow the amount of wool they need for hot and cold temperatures. Lambs are separated from their mothers, castrated and tossed aside until they're big enough to produce a sizable coat of wool. This industry is bloody, it's inhumane, and it has to stop.
ANIMALS USED FOR SCIENCE
Whether it be for medicines, cosmetics, hygiene, or research, animals have been being exploited for many years.
Millions of primates (our closest animal relative) are experimented on every year. Living in aluminum cages their entire lives, awaiting the next painful procedure.
Rabbits have chemicals rubbed in their eyes and on their bodies for cosmetic testing.
Beagles are hooked to machines forcing them to breathe in chemicals...
THE ENVIRONMENT
Would you allow someone to come into your home with muddy shoes, contagious diseases, and start bashing everything with a hammer? Doubt it. But that's what we are doing by being consumers of the animal agriculture industry. We are literally funding the destruction of our only home, planet Earth. How, you ask? Here's some good 'ol factoids to get the wheels turning:
1. Animal Agriculture and it's products are responsible for 51% of greenhouse gas emissions, use 45% of Earth's land, and 55% of consumed water.
2. Livestock facilities on land have created more than 500 nitrogen flooded dead zones in our oceans.
3. POOP! Livestock produce 116,000 pounds of waste PER SECOND. Where does all that go? Into our oceans, our water, and in giant "pools" where it just sits and stinks.
4. An estimated 150 BILLION creatures (ocean and land) are killed every year for the sake of "food".
5. In the United States alone, 60% of corn and 47% of soy beans that are grown, are fed to livestock. In other countries, we grow these crops and ship it here to feed our livestock, as well. We do this as children in these countries starve to death. We are taking food from children to feed livestock so we can satisfy palate pleasure.
6. Animal Agriculture is responsible for 91% of the Amazon Rain forest destruction. It is the leading cause of species extinction and habitat destruction. Since 1970, humans have been responsible for the extinction of 60% of vertebrate animals..
"Every second, 1-2 acres of rain forest are cleared for grazing livestock or growing animal feed. Up to 137 plant, animal and insect species are lost every day because of the destruction of these biodiverse regions of our planet. Specifically within the Amazon rain forest— the home for at least 10 percent of the world’s known biodiversity— 91 percent of deforestation is caused by livestock."
Yes, you read that right, we are destroying our land by the second and killing hundreds of species while doing it. All so that our livestock can graze, and then we can feed on that livestock. How upside-down is that?!!?
It is up to us to fix this. We can't bring back the species we've killed, but we can help save the ones that still share this planet with us. The time to do something is NOW, and you have the power to make big changes for the future of our planet and future generations. Ignorance is NOT bliss. Stand up for our future and do what's right!
Let's have a conversation, let's take action, let's do better. Change a few things in your life for the better of the world. Live like you give a shit.
-Kristin
Some sources
https://www.humanesociety.org/resources/about-canadian-seal-hunt
https://www.peta.org/issues/animals-used-for-clothing/wool-industry/
https://blog.pachamama.org/how-animal-agriculture-affects-our-planet
