First off, thank you for just visiting this page, whether you are vegan-curious, outright disagree with veganism, or have been vegan for years and years. I love that you are interested in one vegan girl's journey. I hope my words reach you in some place wherever you may be. Much love.
Being vegan is not just about what you eat. Plant-based refers to not consuming any animal products, and this is normally what people refer to when eating this way for health. "Vegan" goes further into the daily actions of life. It is a mindset, one of not contributing to the exploitation of animals. Yes, not consuming animals or their products is a large part of veganism, but it is also not buying leather, or clothing, or other products made from animals. It is not partaking in activities that involve the exploitation of animals, such as circuses or zoos. The decision behind not eating animal products is an ethical and mindful one with the rooted intent of not harming animals.
What about human intelligence and the food chain?
One of the most common comments I get from individuals when doing vegan outreach is, "What about the idea that humans are more intelligent than animals?" Put another way, I commonly hear, "Humans are at the top of the food chain, so that makes it okay to eat animals." I truly understand where people who make these comments are coming from. From a human perspective, we are more "powerful" and "intelligent", or at the top of the hierarchy of all beings. However, how do you suppose a human might compare to a blue whale or dolphin who not only have complex social structures and communicate to one another underwater in their own languages, but they can hold their breath underwater from 10 minutes to upwards of an hour. Humans have inhabited earth for 200 thousand years, while birds have roamed the earth for 60 million years! Not to mention, they can fly. My point here is that there are hundreds of thousands of amazingly diverse creatures on this planet. Humans are very special, as equally special as a whale, bird, pig, cow, dog, or cat. Just as each human has equal value in this world, so do animals.
Each one of the millions of animals that are slaughtered each year for human consumption feels pain. They have that ability. They have a central nervous system. Are our taste buds really a good enough excuse to cause a poor quality life that ends with inhumane slaughter for each of these animals? No, my taste buds are not an excuse. Even if the slaughtered animal had a wonderful life of grazing pastures before it was killed (which most don't), I personally don't agree with killing, quite likely causing pain, in a time when this is not necessary for survival or health. If you are one who thinks that harming other beings so you can experience pleasure is okay, well, I can only say that I genuinely disagree!
I care about the conservation of our planet.
It seems like our food and the environment would not have a lot to do with each other, but more and more research comes out each year with strong evidence that "avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet" (see a recent research study here). In fact, learning about the devastating and extreme environmental impacts of the meat and dairy industry are the first reason I became interested in veganism as an environmentally concerned college student over eight years ago.
"Beef results in up to 105kg of greenhouse gases per 100g of meat, while tofu produces less than 3.5kg, " according to a research article published, in Science (Poore and Nemecek, 2018; see article here). If you are wondering how exactly these industries create so much greenhouse gas, to put it bluntly, it's mostly their burps and farts. I kid you not. Think of just how many farm animals there would have to exist in the world for their natural gases to have a significant impact on the environment. Why do we breed animals, slaughter them, and eat them if it not only causes pain to the animal, but has significantly negative environmental impacts?
Of course, one major concern some have is health; that is, "Is is healthy to be vegan? Where do you get your protein?" At the other end of the spectrum, some people eat a plant-based diet primarily for health. I think it is absolutely fantastic people care about their bodies enough to eat plant-based for health. This is not why I personally became vegan, but I will say that individuals not only survive, but can truly thrive eating plant-based. I will create further content to address the health side of being vegan, but here I wanted to focus more on the animals' side of things.
In sum, veganism revolves around a compassionate mindset towards not causing harm to other beings. In the same way that most individuals would feel discomfort or anger at their dog or cat being eaten, vegans feel they don't want to cause harm to a pig, cow, or chicken.
Thanks for reading!
What about human intelligence and the food chain?
One of the most common comments I get from individuals when doing vegan outreach is, "What about the idea that humans are more intelligent than animals?" Put another way, I commonly hear, "Humans are at the top of the food chain, so that makes it okay to eat animals." I truly understand where people who make these comments are coming from. From a human perspective, we are more "powerful" and "intelligent", or at the top of the hierarchy of all beings. However, how do you suppose a human might compare to a blue whale or dolphin who not only have complex social structures and communicate to one another underwater in their own languages, but they can hold their breath underwater from 10 minutes to upwards of an hour. Humans have inhabited earth for 200 thousand years, while birds have roamed the earth for 60 million years! Not to mention, they can fly. My point here is that there are hundreds of thousands of amazingly diverse creatures on this planet. Humans are very special, as equally special as a whale, bird, pig, cow, dog, or cat. Just as each human has equal value in this world, so do animals.
Each one of the millions of animals that are slaughtered each year for human consumption feels pain. They have that ability. They have a central nervous system. Are our taste buds really a good enough excuse to cause a poor quality life that ends with inhumane slaughter for each of these animals? No, my taste buds are not an excuse. Even if the slaughtered animal had a wonderful life of grazing pastures before it was killed (which most don't), I personally don't agree with killing, quite likely causing pain, in a time when this is not necessary for survival or health. If you are one who thinks that harming other beings so you can experience pleasure is okay, well, I can only say that I genuinely disagree!
I care about the conservation of our planet.
It seems like our food and the environment would not have a lot to do with each other, but more and more research comes out each year with strong evidence that "avoiding meat and dairy products is the single biggest way to reduce your environmental impact on the planet" (see a recent research study here). In fact, learning about the devastating and extreme environmental impacts of the meat and dairy industry are the first reason I became interested in veganism as an environmentally concerned college student over eight years ago.
"Beef results in up to 105kg of greenhouse gases per 100g of meat, while tofu produces less than 3.5kg, " according to a research article published, in Science (Poore and Nemecek, 2018; see article here). If you are wondering how exactly these industries create so much greenhouse gas, to put it bluntly, it's mostly their burps and farts. I kid you not. Think of just how many farm animals there would have to exist in the world for their natural gases to have a significant impact on the environment. Why do we breed animals, slaughter them, and eat them if it not only causes pain to the animal, but has significantly negative environmental impacts?
Of course, one major concern some have is health; that is, "Is is healthy to be vegan? Where do you get your protein?" At the other end of the spectrum, some people eat a plant-based diet primarily for health. I think it is absolutely fantastic people care about their bodies enough to eat plant-based for health. This is not why I personally became vegan, but I will say that individuals not only survive, but can truly thrive eating plant-based. I will create further content to address the health side of being vegan, but here I wanted to focus more on the animals' side of things.
In sum, veganism revolves around a compassionate mindset towards not causing harm to other beings. In the same way that most individuals would feel discomfort or anger at their dog or cat being eaten, vegans feel they don't want to cause harm to a pig, cow, or chicken.
Thanks for reading!