Why bother going vegan? Aren't there a million more important things to worry about? What about world peace? What about poverty? What about human suffering? What about plant suffering? Vegans just seem like misguided idealists; moreover, isn't veganism extreme, inconvenient and ultimately only for people who are hippies, animal rights nut jobs or elitist liberals trying to explore a new fad diet?
We know what you're thinking: I try to buy "humanely" raised meat; what's wrong with that? Aren't local and organic meat and dairy products great for the environment? Can't I be a vegetarian (come on, no milk and eggs and NO cheese?) Cows and hens don't have to die for it? Can't I be a pescetarian (fish don't have feelings, right)? Or maybe a flexitarian, or "veganish" (Oprah approves of it)? How will I get my protein? What about calcium? I love the taste of meat and doesn't vegan food taste like feet? How will I ever be able to experience joy in my life knowing I can't eat steak, drink a milkshake or wear a leather jacket? Why, oh why should I even consider this?
Here's why:
You're curious and you know deep inside that this is something you need to think about. It could be because you have a pet and wonder if there's a difference between him/her and the pig that turned into the bacon you ate for breakfast. Maybe you saw an eye-opening video about society's treatment of animals. Or maybe you have been reading about the environmental impact of industrial animal agriculture or the health benefits of a plant-based diet. Whatever the reason may be, the fact that this seems mildly interesting to you means that you have already taken the first step towards thinking vegan. Don't panic! That's a good thing and is reason enough to not turn back now.
The good news is you don't actually need to eat animal flesh or drink animal milk to lead a happy, healthy and productive life, and you certainly don't need to wear animal skin to look good. You can still enjoy the taste of meat, creamy desserts, snacks and stock up your fridge and pantry with all kinds of delicious food. More importantly, you can get enough protein, even calcium, without any animal having to suffer or die for it. Worried about your health? Really? You think not consuming animal products that are full of saturated fat and cholesterol will do your body harm? As long as your idea of vegan food is not eating potato chips, Twizzlers and vegan cupcakes all day, you'll do fine (but trust us, you should eat a good vegan cupcake every now and then).
If you're still concerned, take a supplement or two (which you probably do on any diet). Worried about losing your sense of style if you can't wear leather boots or fancy cashmere sweaters? You can buy all kinds of clothes and accessories, including designer coats and handbags, and fashionable shoes that not only look and feel great, but also won't dampen your karma or your style. Think about it; the only reason we eat and use animals is because we've been doing it for eons and animal-free alternatives did not exist. It is 2011, people; we need to get with the program and evolve!
Veganism is not hard; ever noticed how picky almost every person placing their drink order at Starbucks is? Being vegan isn't that different. So, you'll probably need to ask a few questions while ordering food, read a few labels while buying stuff, deal with a few raised eyebrows and answer a couple of questions about protein and calcium. So what! You don't have to go vegan overnight if you don't want to, but you have to be certain that you're ready to get started. Do some research on recipes and start with a few vegan meals a week. If after a few weeks, you find that your body and mind haven't descended into the depths of hunger and depression, respectively, you can consider doing this long-term and going completely animal-free. Take the time you need, and you will realize that veganism is not a huge sacrifice, but just a matter of making some adjustments to how you cook, shop and order at a restaurant.
Now remember that veganism is more than food, because you don't want to be that person talking about making ethical and ecological food choices while strutting around town in a fur coat, or wearing makeup that's tested on animals. Again, don't obsess over it; just do some basic research into vegan alternatives to various products you use and when you feel comfortable enough, make the switch to the animal-free version. Worried about having to throw away all your leather, wool and other clothes? Don't! No one says you have to get rid of it all the moment you decide to go down the vegan path. If you can afford it, donate your non-vegan stuff and go ahead and embark on a shopping spree. However, realistically, very few can do that, so just wear them out and discard or donate them when you feel like you're ready for a replacement. Relax; the vegan police is not going to fine you!
The amazing part is, your vegan journey has already begun! Why? Because we're pretty certain that you don't exclusively consume animal-based foods for all your meals and don't intentionally buy clothes and other products because they are made with animal ingredients. From our perspective, you're on your way -- you're a part time vegan already. Of course, it may seem convenient to not try harder and accept things the way they are today, but that doesn't make it right. On the other hand, you don't have to turn into a poster child for veganism overnight, either. Just start looking at the bigger picture and make conscious choices that will reduce your overall demand for products that are ecologically and ethically irresponsible. This is exactly why you don't need to be an animal lover, a health freak or a treehugger to think vegan.
Start where you want, but remember that all those Meatless Mondays, humanely raised Tuesdays, organic, cage-free, flexitarian, pescetarian or lacto-ovo vegetarian days are just stepping stones on the path to reducing and ultimately eliminating your consumption of animal products.
Once you acknowledge that with every lifestyle choice, you can help build a smarter future for people, animals and the planet, you will realize that choosing not to think vegan is, in fact, an inconvenient burden to live with.
Follow Nil Zacharias on Twitter.
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10 Arguments Against A Vegan Lifestyle
You can stay quite healthy (more so, I believe) as a non-animal consumer. Pasta, beans, fruits and veggies ... What more do you need. Come on folks, face the facts.
I'm glad there's no problem with soybean production. I once feared Monsanto, but now I've come to embrace their oneness with their genetically modified world.
The lifestyle choice of vegans is in direct conflict to their own DNA, with their own nature.
I mean why have the teeth we have, if we're going to only eat plants? I mean come on!
There is one particular meat we can't consume, I believe it's pork, because we aren't built to break it down as easily as the rest, but it doesn't mean we can't eat meat or wasn't meant to.
Vegetarians and vegas tend to always have to resort to supplements to make sure they are taking in the right amount of vitamins and minerals, while omnivores can go ahead and eat sufficiently, to suffice these amounts that our body needs.
Veganism for "moral" reasons is flawed in its anthropomorphization of animals. Animals are not humans. The only animals that live humane lives are pets. Even most humans do not live in humane conditions. The lives of livestock are far more humane than the lives of wild animals, even in some factory farms, and definitely in free range operations. If you want to improve the lives of animals you should START TO EAT MEAT. Buy meat from small local farms that you know treat their animals well. If that is a profitable business model then that will decrease the demand for factory farmed meat.
People do not starve because of production, they starve because of distribution, because of theft by their governments. Veganism is not going to stop bad people from hurting people. End a dictatorship. Help destroy oppressive governments. Do something meaningful to help those who can't help themselves.
Veganism for impact on resources: Man up and go freegan. Oh what? you're not ready to take that step and probably never will? Let me write a big long patronizing article about why you are less of a person because you won't go freegan. Yeah, exactly.
This article wasn't patronizing, and never implied that you were less of a person if your weren't vegan. If you don't want to be a vegan or vegetarian, don't, but don't attack those who try to make changes in their lifestyle to help both animals and humans.
Veganism for "moral" reasons is flawed in its anthropomorphization of animals. Animals are not humans. The only animals that live humane lives are pets. He.ck even most humans do not live in humane conditions. The lives of livestock are far more humane than the lives of wild animals, even in some factory farms, and definitely in free range operations. If you want to improve the lives of animals you should START TO EAT MEAT. Buy meat from small local farms that you know treat their animals well. If that is a profitable business model then that will decrease the demand for factory farmed meat.
People do not starve because of production, they starve because of distribution, because of theft by their governments. Veganism is not going to stop bad people from hurting people. End a dictatorship. Help destroy oppressive governments. Do something meaningful to help those who can't help themselves.
Veganism for impact on resources: Man up and go freegan. Oh what? you're not ready to take that step and probably never will? Let me write a big long patronizing article about why you are less of a person because you won't go freegan. Yeah, exactly.
Yeah, great way to appeal to the community at large LOL! If that were the case, I wouldn't bother investing in more than one cash register.
I'll bet a lot of them don't have any problem with selling industrially produced prepared vegan meals, TVP, and so on, though, no? Just as long as it doesn't come from an animal, it MUST be good for you, right?
Or do you all not sell stuff like that?
Eat whatever you want, but I don't want to join your dietary cult, so stop trying to convince me. Maybe Lord Vegan commanded me to eat vegetables tool, but all of the meat that I eat is a blood sacrifice in his name. All hail Lord Vegan.
The point is that our species can not keep consuming animal products at it's current increasing rate. We have over 7 billion people living on this plant, where every day more and more are eating a more animal based western diet. Being Vegan or at least eating small amounts of animal products per person is the only sustainable way to continue living on this planet.
But that's not the whole of the story, in my opinion. If more land were devoted to smaller farms, and more people went into farming, then it could be argued that we could move away from the centralized conglomerate paradigm without meat becoming a once-in-a-while luxury item. (But then we're talking about essentially turning back the clock on urban industrial civilization, so it may be a moot point.)
Having said all that, I have to question your figures for how much meat is eaten today vs. in the past. Do you have any sources for that? I, for one, eat nowhere NEAR one pound of meat a day, and I know for a fact that my grandparents ate a great deal more than one pound of meat per week.
By the way, I don't eat anything like a pound a day, either. I've seen data indicating that about 6.5 oz/day is "average" in the U.S. (and that INCLUDES the WASTE).
I miss-wordeÂÂd my statistic about meat consumptioÂÂn. I was comparing the US diet to many non-westerÂÂn diets that only eat about a pound of meat a week compared to US's 1/2lb a day. I have heard this from many sites, one that comes to mind is Mark Bittman.
Yes, agriculture has destroyed natural habitats and every year when the crop is planted and produced many animals die in process. The same goes for ranching, even small ranches. In Arizona we used to have a jaguar population until the ranchers hunted them into extinction. The BLM is rounding up wild horses because they are eating the same grass as the cows on ranches. Cattle from Mexico in the early 20 Century brought over evasive
Meat/dairy production is widely acknowledged to be THE most wasteful agricultural process by far. Eliminate meat and you eliminate the vast majority of waste. Verdardera is concerned about waste.