Your facebook friends are telling you to go vegan, Your real friends are telling you to go vegan, Heck, the whole world is telling you to go vegan! Everywhere we go there's always that one vegan giving you Anakin Skywalker eyes (before he went dark side).
But isn't it your life and YOUR decision?!?
Some people see it this way, others go Anakin on you.
At the end of the day what you put in your body is your own. choice and yours alone.
To answer this question of SHOULD I GO VEGAN - Here is all you need to know about delusions people have about veganism, backed by Science!
1. You'll Become Nutrient Deficient
()
A common delusion is that vegans are deficient in a Vitamin B12 while meat eaters are not. Sure most vegans are B12 deficient, but so are most meat eaters. When looking at the optimal intake of B12, vegans and meat eaters are equally deficient. This deficiency is not a strictly vegan problem. Almost everybody is low in B12 and it is a major problem in the world today. For some people, the education they received after transitioning to a vegan diet gave them the information they needed to increase their B12 intake.
2. It Makes Hardly Any Difference
This one is probably the one you've heard or said most.
Science and evidence show that it actually does makes difference, quite a big one! Not only for the animals and environment, but for the entire ecosystem of the planet.
Being vegan for one year means you save over 350 animals, 400,000 gallons of water, 14,000 lbs of grain, 7,000 lbs of CO2 and 11,000 square feet of forest space. Did you kow that one of the largest contributors to climate change is the meat industry? Think about that. This is by science, not some made up stuff. The meat industry now surpasses the transportation industry and electricity generation to claim its place as the greatest source of greenhouse gasses. When you cut meat and dairy out of your diet, you cut your ecological footprint down by more than half!!
3. Say Cheers to all your Favourite Foods!
Despite what we all think, Vegans don't just eat fruits and vegetables and spend free time hugging trees and standing for greenpeace. There are vegan alternatives for almost everything: meat, cheese, milk, ice cream, yogurt, mac and cheese, even some girl scout cookies are vegan. Almost any dish can be made vegan, and funnily enough saves cooking time!
Swap milk for almond, soy, hemp or coconut milk (which all taste a lot better in my opinion, give them a try!).
Swap butter for oil. There are a variety of egg replacements for cooking and baking: a banana, psyllium husks, one carbonated drink, cup of applesauce or 3 tablespoons of peanut butter. One of the most common questions vegans are asked is what do I eat? The answer is simple, everything non-vegans eat but the dairy or meatless alternative. Simple, right? And healthier!
3. Meat Is Delicious
I love the taste of meat, and I know you do too.
That's completely part of our human nature. But did you know that animal products are the TOP source of food poisoning in the United States?
Meat is contaminated with blood and other bodily fluids. It is also filled with antibiotics. Yes, animals are fed antibiotics, the same kind that your doctor prescribes you for that sinus infection. Thus, lowering it's effectiveness to treat you in the future. Eighty percent of all antibiotics are given to animals in the meat and dairy industry while only 20% are used by humans. This is why antibiotic resistant bacteria are becoming more and more prevalent in today's society. Those chicken nuggets you hold so close to your heart are anything but meat. Sixty percent of the so-called meat in chicken nuggets is actually fat, blood vessels, and ground bone. Not so delicious anymore?
5. Vegans Are Odd
Sure because Natalie Portman, Ariana Grande, Tobey Maguire, Shania Twain, Kristen Bell, Alyssa Milano, Jenna Marbles, Anne Hathaway and Carrie Underwood are weird, not. Many of our top stars are jumping on the eco saving, body enhancing vegan wave.
6. It Will Cause Health Problems
Everyone's aware of the obesity problem plaguing the United States. We have twice the obesity and diabetes rate and almost triple the cancer rate compared to the rest of the world. Hundreds of research studies have proven that the average meat and dairy intake in the U.S. leads to cancer, diabetes, heart disease, stroke, and many other illnesses. On a more positive note, vegetarians and vegans live roughly 6 to 10 years longer than meat eaters. This is because a well-planned vegan diet provides you with all the nutrients your body needs while excluding the unnecessary and harmful foods.
7. Animals Don't Actually Suffer
While it helps with the massive guilt you hide, animals really do suffer, like you cannot even imagine. Chickens, Cows, and Pigs are all shoved into tiny areas to live out their short, painful lives. Female cattle are artificially inseminated to produce milk for the dairy industry for their entire lives, injected with hormones and chemicals galore. Just after watching their young calf being ripped away hours after birth, the mother is left to produce her milk- intended for her young calf- for our increasing dairy needs. So what do the young calves eat while we drink their milk? Milk replacements.
It's all a meat and produce factory, but the products are living breathing, feeling beings.
I know it's hard to stomach, heck even writing this is making my gut feel empty, but this is how it works daily all over the world.
Cows live a fraction of their usual lifespan because of the constant abuse their bodies undergo and are pumped with artificial chemicals and hormones. Live baby chicks are thrown into meat grinders. Chicken's beaks are clipped so they cannot peck each other to death in those torturous conditions. So I can tell you that every single animal product we produce does in fact contribute to animal cruelty.
8. I'll Just Eat Free Range
The words free range mean pretty much squat. Free range basically means giving the livestock access the outdoors. The amount of birds in one area, time spent outdoors, and the quality/size of the outdoor area are all ignored.
9. You Can't Get Protein
While this is usually the most normal argument against veganism, especially by bodybuilders and athletes, it is completely naive and incorrect. It's easier than most people think to get protein on a vegan diet. Almost all vegetables, grains, nuts, beans, and seeds contain some protein. Not tasty enough for you? Oatmeal, soy milk, nutritional yeast (a vegan's cheese-fix,) chickpeas, and peanut butter all constitute as good sources of protein as well.
While it's comforting to say that we need dairy and meat to survive, it simply isn't the truth. The arguments for vegan diets are not just based off of emotional factors but mostly scientific evidence. The science doesn't lie; veganism is saving lives. With only 2 percent of the population leading a strictly vegan diet, it is still a growing movement. But no matter what we choose to put in our bodies we all make an impact on this earth and the lives around us every day.
How will you live your life, how will you treat the planet and other living things? You decide!