Reasons for Becoming Vegan
When many people think of a life without animal products, they only think about what they’ll be missing. No more baked brie and crackers! No more medium-rare steaks! While becoming vegan is difficult, the reasons for making the change can be just as compelling as that three scoop ice cream cone. Don’t believe me? Read on to learn why someone would bother to make such a big decision.
Ethical Reasons
For many individuals, the jump to veganism comes after learning some of the ethical arguments behind it. Peter Singer is perhaps the most famous philosopher to develop arguments around animal rights, many of which can be found in his 1975 book Animal Liberation. In the book, Singer coins the term speciesism, the idea that ignoring the welfare or rights of animals is wrong because it is arbitrary, in the same way that racism is wrong. There’s no doubt that animals can feel pain and are sentient to some degree, and as such, there is no rational, ethical basis for privileging our own status above theirs.
Environmental Reasons
The ethical reasons behind veganism dovetail into the environmental reasons behind it. The current way that most farm animals are raised is both horrendously sad and a huge burden on the earth’s resources. Far from being the bucolic picture of a small-town farmer raising a few herds of animals, today’s farms are giant, industrial enterprises, equivalent to any other sort of manufacturing plant—except with live animals. Factory farms pack cattle into enclosures that are far too small for them; pigs in these farms have to have their tails cut off, to keep them from eating one another’s tail out of anxiety. Chickens have their beaks cut off without anesthetic, to keep them from pecking one another to death.
These farms are very taxing on both the animals and the earth. Animal waste from these farms is so great that farmers don’t know how to properly dispose of it. The rainwater runoff from these waste areas pollutes nearby waterways. The meat and dairy industries suck up massive amounts of water and energy, and overtax our already stretched resources. One 2008 study concluded that a meat-eating diet causes seven times more greenhouse gas to be released into the atmosphere than a vegan diet.
Health Reasons
There’s no way around it—an animal-free diet is still healthier for you than a well-planned and balanced omnivorous one. Vegans and vegetarians have better heart health overall, in the form of lower blood pressure, lower cholesterol, and a lower rate of death from ischemic heart disease. They can also expect lower rates of cancer and a life span that is, on average, 6-10 years longer than their meat-eating friends’.
Other Reasons
Those are simply the most popular reasons for going vegan, not all of them. Others choose to be vegan because of religious beliefs, and the idea that being moral means respecting all living things. Others do it because of world hunger; if plant crops were grown instead of raising animals, there would be enough energy and resources to feed the world. Others choose veganism to protect the rights of the workers in these heinous factory farms, or to support the communities that are harmed due to being in the vicinity of one of these polluting factories.
Sources:
Vegetarian Diets. (2009) American Dietetic Association.
Peter Singer FAQ. (2011) Peter Singer’s Personal Webpage.
Meat and the Environment. (2011) PETA.
Eating For Your Health. (2011) PETA.