Why I Chose Vegan...

I became a vegan January 28, 2018. I had been a vegetarian for six months before that and thought I should learn more about veganism. So, I went on Netflix and watched Cowspiracy. What I learned changed my life. 

Now, I LOVE food!! I enjoy it so much that the first thing I think about when I wake up is “ What are we having for dinner?”  But, I never realized how my eating choices not only affected myself but the environment and even others around me! Livestock is responsible for 65% of all human-related emissions of Nitrous Oxide, a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of Carbon Dioxide and which stays in the atmosphere for 150 years.  When you buy meat and animal byproducts, companies have to produce more and more of what you want to meet supply and demand.  You are probably wondering what is wrong with some livestock animals like cows? Well methane production from cows and other livestock flatulence(aka farts) is a major contributor of unsafe gases being released into the air.  Livestock also produce 130 times more waste than the entire human population.  (That’s a lot of crap!)  Even without fossil fuels, we will exceed our 565 gigatonnes CO2E limit by 2030 all from raising animals. That is just so sad to me.

But livestock doesn’t just pollute the air. Animal agriculture is the leading cause of species extinction, ocean dead zones, water pollution, and habitat destruction. All these sad, but true, facts are bringing to light just how important our eating choices are. It is not just about the environment, but your health is a factor as well. A few years ago, the World Health Organization classified bacon and sausage as carcinogenic to humans. A carcinogen is a substance capable of causing cancer in living tissue. The World Health Organization officially classified bacon and other processed meat as carcinogenic alongside other hurtful substances such as tobacco, arsenic, and pesticides. Even more horrifying is the fact that the American Cancer Society encourages eating processed turkey and canned meats. Why? Because their sponsors are companies who produce and sell meat and animal by-products. We don’t have our priorities straight. We are putting ourselves in front of the needs of others around us. For example, we are growing enough food to feed ten billion people. 82% of starving children live in countries where food is fed to animals and the animals are eaten by western countries. So what can we do to help the world around us with our diet?  Well, when you consume less meat and animal by-products such as: eggs, milk, butter, honey, etc… the results are amazing!  Doctors took 174 patients with high blood pressure. And 174 patients were able to lower their blood pressure enough to eliminate the need for medication through plant-based diet. Studies show that with every sequential reduction in consuming animal products people live longer, they have less heart disease, they have less cancer, and less diabetes. 

If following a vegan diet helps your health that much, imagine what it could do to help the environment. Each day a person who eats a vegan diet saves 1100 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 sq ft of forested land, 20 pounds CO2 equivalent, and one animal’s life. That is incredible! Just cutting a few things out of our diet can help our world so much. And just doing a little can help so much, too! For example, maybe buy the almond milk or eat the veggie burger instead of dairy milk or a beef burger.  Do what you can do.  Don’t freak out if you eat a donut with eggs in it once in a while-- just remember to always make the next best choice. When you change your diet completely, it can be a little tricky. Just taking little breaks once in a while is fine! Take little steps to help our world however you can! So as you can see being  vegan is so rewarding! You can take care of the environment, help your health, and protect the people and animals around you all by changing your diet. If you are a person that wants to change the world for the better then this is something you can do that is so easy but has a huge,significant, and awesome impact on our world. And if you ever have any questions or comments feel free to contact me! Thanks for reading!

*Sources for statistics and facts presented here were found at http://www.cowspiracy.com/facts/ and http://www.whatthehealthfilm.com/facts/.