Why You Should Go Vegan: A Masterpost
People always want the truth and no bullshit when theyāre buying into something so hereās a 100% factual, 100% sourced master-post dedicated to converting you to veganism.Ā
Humans Are Biologically Herbivores (An Informative Chart)
Our ancestors may have eaten meat, but more often than not, they were scavengers. (Binford, Louis. R. (1986) Human ancestors: Changing views of their behavior.Ā Journal of Anthropological ArchaeologyĀ 3:235-257.)
In Paleolithic (ie. hunter-gatherer times), the archaeological consensus is that most of us would have eaten large, hunted game very seldom, and had a subsistence diet of vegetable materials for the remainder of the time.Ā Hunting is energy-intensive, risky, and not a dependable source of energy.
Research presented in a 2011 issue ofĀ Proceedings of the National Academy of ScienceĀ shows that even NeanderthalsĀ ate a variety of plant foods; starch grains have been found on the teeth of their skeletons everywhere from the warm eastern Mediterranean to chilly northwestern Europe. It appears they even cooked, and otherwise prepared, plant foods to make them more digestibleā44,000 years ago.
Humans are facultative omnivores, meaning we CAN eat meat, but do better without it. Adapting to eating meat got us through the last ice age and the habit stuck. We are now in a place and time where we can forego this vestigial, harmful practice.Ā
Saying weāre omnivores because weāreĀ capableĀ of eating meat is just silly.Ā Weāre capable of eating cardboard, too.Ā And by the ācapableā argument, then cats are omnivores too, since nearly every commercial cat food has plant ingredients.
Our so-called ācanine teethā are ācanineā in name only.Ā
Among animals, plant-eaters have the longest lifespans, and humans are certainly in that categoryĀ (and yes, this was true even before modern medicine).
We sleep about the same amount of time as other herbivores, and less than carnivores and true omnivores.
The most common cause of choking deaths is eating meat.Ā Real carnivores and omnivores donāt have that problem.
Animal Product Industries Are Literally Killing The Planet & Its People
40% of global marine catch is by-catch (basically we are throwing back enormous amounts of unusable species into the sea, dead and wasted)
An estimated 300,000 whales, dolphins and porpoises die in fishing nets every year.
Overgrazing is blamed for 35% of soil degradation, deforestation for 30%, and agriculture for 27%. These main causes are directly or indirectly related to the consumption of animal products.
Studies indicate that a varied vegan diet requires about a third of the land needed for conventional Western diets. We do not have enough land to feed everyone on an animal-based diet.
The livestock sector is a major player, responsible for 18% of greenhouse gas emissions measured in CO2 equivalent. This is a higher share than transport.
Animal product consumption isĀ causingĀ deforestation: there are undiscovered plants and other things in these areas that could help with medicine, not to mention thatĀ rain forests and other land contributes to 20% or so of the Earthās oxygen.Ā
60% of deforestationĀ is related to animal agriculture
For every 4 lbs of retail fish caught,Ā 1Ā lb of other fish dies.
It has been predicted that all the worldās fisheries will collapse in 2048Ā unless something is done to stop it.
It is estimated that over-fishing threatens the food security of about 200 million people.
The Lives of Slaughterhouse Workers:Ā they are usually on shitty contracts, are usually poor and people of color (PoC), how they donāt have basic working rights, and how often times they are undocumented, so they canāt go for help.
Big, rich, Western, white countries go into other countries: usually (again) poor, underprivileged, native areas that are (again) usually inhabited by PoC. This takes land away from the people in that region or country and gives it to a) the livestock and/or b) the crops raised for that livestock.
Even in the west, people who live near slaughter farms have shitty water, shitty soil, shitty air, and they get really really sick.Ā
Theyāre also more likely to be poverty stricken.
Animal Agriculture Sickens Everyone
Nestle Milk Chocolate Products Brought To You By Child Slavery
Antibiotic use in meat production has been linked to the rise in āsuper bugsā, which are antibiotic-resistant bacteria,Ā found in a lot of meats available in supermarkets. These maladies can kill people.
In 2004/5 there were 2270 injury claimsĀ made in the meat processing industry, most of which were due to falls, injuries with knives and ābody stressingā.
People working in tanneries to make leather from the skin of animals that have been killed are exposed to numerous dangerous chemicalsĀ (chromium being the worst).Ā The chemicals can cause cancer,Ā skin diseases, respiratory illnesses while the machinery is also dangerous and can result in amputations.Ā In India,Ā people have died due to the exposure to these chemicals, due to unsafe working conditions.Ā People have alsoĀ died in Bangladesh and are affected by the chemicals in a multitude of ways. These chemicals can alsoĀ leach into the water supplyĀ and affect the air and soil quality, which in turnĀ causes illnesses and diseases in nearby populations.
āVegan is the future, out of necessity,āĀ and the UN agrees.
Eating Vegan Is Efficient, Both Costly & Environmentally (Alternatively: Why Meat ISNāT Efficient)
Here is a prison that went vegetarianĀ solely because of it being cheaper.
Here is a prison in CaliforniaĀ where half the inmates were served vegan food. That half had remarkably lower incidences of violence and much better fellowship (which goes to show you that there is more to this issue than just dollars and cents).
You Could Feed Hundreds of People with What It Takes To Raise 200 Kilos of Boneless Beef
An acre of land can produce 40,000 pounds of potatoes, 50,000 pounds of tomatoes, but only 250 pounds of beef.
Environmental Impact of a Vegan vs. Conventional Diets (PDF file)
Meat subsidies strip other food industries to the bone
4 million peopleĀ on this planet live on an almost exclusively vegan diet due to poverty.
If Britain went vegetarian, less than half the farm land would be needed; vegan, less than a quarter.
The less people eating meat,Ā the cheaper produce gets for everyone.
Junk Food Costs More Than Healthy Foods
We currently produce enough food to feed the world, but feed it to animals we later kill instead.
Studies confirm increasing population must abandon meat by 2050.
Meat, Dairy, Etc. Is Bad For You
Pink Slime, which makes up 25% or more of your beef
How Itās Made: Hot Dogs
Low or no meat consumption also decreases your risk of mortality from degenerative disease, and increases your life expectancy.
Most of us in the WestĀ live in excess of what we need, to the detriment of our own health.
90% of Meat Samples Contain Fecal Bacteria
Meat and Cheese Consumption Linked to Earlier Death
Risks: More Red Meat, More MortalityĀ (another source)
5 good reasons cutting meat can improve your life
Hormone Growth Promoters Fed to Beef Cattle Linked to Adverse Impacts on Male Sexual Development
Eggs are not healthy, nutritious, or safe, according to USDA.
Consuming Animal Products is Cruel
Thereās No Such Thing As Humane Animal Farming
Inside A Slaughterhouse (content warning for animal cruelty and animal death)
Over 30 MILLION male chicks are mutilated and ground up alive each year in ONE FACILITY ALONE ā only because they canāt lay eggs.
The Truth Behind The Dairy Industry (content warning for extreme animal cruelty and death)
Free Range Myth (basically, they have maybe 30 feet to roam around in instead of five)
Why Honey Isnāt Vegan (another source)
New horrific images in a decisive year for the fur industry
Why You Should Stop Supporting Zoos and Circuses
Ten Facts About Zoos You Donāt Want To Know
11 Facts about Circus Animal Abuse
Animals in Entertainment: Circuses
Ringling Bros. Infographic
āWe need to abolish all zoos,ā says Britainās most famous zoo owner Damian Aspinall.
Why Animal Testing Is Inhumane (Alternatively: Animal Sentience)
In a Move Surprising No One, Animals Feel Emotions
Rats feel empathyĀ (so much so that they will selflessly give up their own food - chocolate chips, no less - to a rat having a bad day who didnāt get any.) And we still subject them to brutal testing.
Animal experimentation: cruel and unnecessaryĀ (more, more)
Animal Testing Investigation - Imperial London, England, UK
10 Amazing Facts About Animal Sentience
Coldblooded Does Not Mean Stupid
You Donāt Have To Give Up Good Food
There are so many vegan recipe blogs, just on Tumblr alone.
Low-cost Vegan Meal Plans
30 Delicious Vegan Meals You Can Make In Under 30 Minutes
Fork & Beans, creative vegan and gluten-free foods.
Guide to vegan beers, wines, and liquors.
Google any recipe with vegan after it, youāll find something.
More Links: The More You KnowĀ
NaturalĀ calcium,Ā iron, and b12Ā for the vegan diet.
Pregnancy and the Vegan Diet
It is entirely possible to be vegan even if you are allergic toĀ soy,Ā gluten, or haveĀ oral allergy syndrome. Hereās aĀ great resourceĀ to help out anyone suffering from food sensitivities.
For anyone out there who hasĀ anemia,Ā diabetes, orĀ crohnās disease.
Vegankit (simple guide to starting you off on the vegan life)
Search For Cruelty Free Companies
This isnāt so much a next step as it is a reward but theĀ Vegetarian Calculator,Ā AKA how many lives have you saved?Ā
Remember that itās almost impossible for anyone to live 100% vegan in this day and age due to so many factors, but to do your best is the key to health and sustainability. Every act counts.
Feel free to add more links!
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