veg·AN
noun
Being Vegan is a lifestyle choice defined as "a lifestyle that does not use or contain animal products" or more simply put, a Vegan is "a person who does not eat or use animal products."
WHY BE VEGAN?
Choosing the Vegan life has tremendous benefits on your body, your personal well-being, and on the planet as a whole. You're also saving thousands of animals from losing their lives. It is a clean form of eating that does not restrict your favorite foods (despite popular belief). There are endless amounts of vegan alternatives to your cravings and your favorite meals and YES they taste identical (if not better). Even by eating one vegan meal a week, you are helping save thousands of animals around the world from being wrongfully abused and inhumanely killed for consumption.
DISCLAIMER: If you wish to keep scrolling, please know there is graphic information below. We have not added any graphic images, only factual information for the pure purpose of education.
WHAT IS FACTORY FARMING?
Intensive animal farming or industrial livestock production, also colloquially known as factory farming, is a production approach towards farm animals in order to maximize production output, while minimizing production costs. To generalize, the main reason for this industry is "money."
ANIMALS AREN'T INTELLIGENT ENOUGH TO KNOW WHAT'S HAPPENING
Wrong. Animals know. Pigs outperform 3-year-old human children on cognition tests and are smarter than any domestic animal, and animal experts consider them more trainable than cats or dogs. There have also been instances documented on film where a cow will start crying tears from it's eyes and trying to escape before being taken to a slaughter house. It knows that it's next destination is the last stop. An exercise to help you imagine this scenario is this:
"Imagine you are locked up in a dark warehouse with a ton of other people. Everyday, you and everyone else are used for your milk and body parts, but you're beaten, bloodied, and tortured in the process. And one day, you're finally off to be painfully killed. And there is NO way out. That's it. That was your life. And it's not just you, every single one of those people are going to go through the same things you did until they're slaughtered."
This might be an extreme exercise, but it's the objective truth. If it sounds bad, it usually is bad.
THE TREATMENT OF ANIMALS IN FACTORY FARMS
- Animals are given so little space that they can’t even turn around or lie down comfortably. Egg-laying hens are kept in small cages, chickens and pigs are kept in jam-packed sheds, and cows are kept on crowded, filthy feedlots.
- Antibiotics are used to make animals grow faster and to keep them alive in the unsanitary conditions. Research shows that factory farms’ widespread use of antibiotics can lead to antibiotic-resistant bacteria that threaten human health.
- Most factory-farmed animals have been genetically manipulated to grow larger or to produce more milk or eggs than they naturally would.
POULTRY: Debeaking, also called beak trimming, is the partial removal of the beak of poultry, especially layer hens and turkeys although it may also be performed on quail and ducks. Their beaks are seared off with a hot blade (without anesthetic). Baby male chicks are of no use to the factory farm industry. They are one by one thrown into a grinder where they are basically destroyed. This is called 'Chick Culling.' Due to genetic manipulation, some chickens grow so unnaturally large that their legs cannot support their outsized bodies, and they suffer from starvation or dehydration when they can’t walk to reach food and water.
COWS: Cows are very docile creatures. Sadly, baby calf are torn away from their mother right after being born. It's an extremely traumatic process for the mother and her newborn. Cows are artificially inseminated to forcefully reproduce so that they make more offspring. They're also beaten and have cattle prods used on them almost always. When taken in for slaughter, they are shot with a captive-bolt gun, and hung by one leg while their throats are slit. Some cows remain fully conscious throughout the entire process.
PIGS: A typical slaughterhouse kills about 1,000 hogs per hour. The sheer number of animals killed makes it impossible for pigs’ deaths to be humane and painless. Because of improper stunning, many hogs are alive when they reach the scalding-hot water baths, which are intended to soften their skin and remove their hair. Piglets are separated from their mothers when they are as young as 10 days old. Once her piglets are gone, she is impregnated again, and the cycle continues for three or four years before she is slaughtered. Baby male piglets are castrated, without pain killers.
They're not alone, many other species of animals are killed everyday in the same ways.
BUT EATING ANIMALS IS NATURAL, RIGHT?
Yes, eating and consuming other living beings for survival is completely natural, and outdated. While wild animals such as lions, tigers, bears, sharks, and all others kill purely for survival, we do not need to 'survive' any longer. The process of factory farming and the intense and grotesque abuse that these animals endure is no excuse for 'survival' and it's unnecessary. Torture is not natural. These animals go through excruciating pain and terrorizing fear. All of that, for one meal? It's really not worth it when you juggle the concept of 'worth' as a whole. We have endless food resources at our finger tips in almost every walk of life. If these alternative resources are available in your country or society, then that's all the more reason to go Vegan. Being vegan doesn't come with a "moral certificate" and it's not a trend, it is really about what will end suffering in the world.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DOMESTICATED PETS AND WILD ANIMALS
It tends to be a popular belief (especially in the western world) that pets such as dogs, cats, etc. should have more protection over others. We are used to the idea of adopting dogs and cats from shelters because we know in our hearts they deserve love and care. But, there is no difference between your dog and a pig, or a cow, or a chicken. Many people in various countries on earth have animals like pigs, chickens, and cows as pets. In India, cows are a sacred and spiritual beings. Some cultures naturally do not eat meat. In China they have the Chinese Yulin Dog Meat Festival. It's an annual celebration held in Yulin, Guangxi, China, during the summer solstice in which festival goers eat dog meat and lychees. The festival began in 2009 and spans about ten days during which it is estimated that 10,000–15,000 dogs are consumed. You might be outraged, hurt, or sick thinking about the horrors that go on before the festival begins. But, these horrors happen everyday to your typical 'farm animals' and beyond in factory farms. Suffering and cruelty has no exception. If pigs and cows can legally be abused and slaughtered, why can't a country like China do the same to dogs or cats? There really is no life that has greater value or more importance than another. It's crucial to understand this.
PAIN EXPLAINED
Most times, when a horse breaks it's leg, it has to be put down. The healing process for a horse's bones is not a simple one. But, if they have surgery, they are put to sleep and are given an anesthetic. Why are they given an anesthetic? Because they FEEL pain. They wouldn't make it through surgery without a pain killer. It would be unbearable. So, why do we allow factory farms to brutally torture and abuse other helpless creatures? In the TED-ED video below, you are given the science behind the pain humans feel in comparison to the pain animals feel:
ALTERNATIVES
There are many alternatives to foods such as meat items and cheeses. They taste exactly the same (if not better than actual meat and dairy foods). Thankfully, most alcohol is vegan. Here are a list of all vegan alternative items:
- Vegan Milk
Vegan almond milk, cashew milk, soy milk, hemp milk, etc.
- Vegan Cheese
Vegan parmesan, cheddar, pepper jack, bleu cheese, mozzarella, havarti, gouda, ricotta.
- Vegan Meat
Vegan white chicken, beef, pork, pepperoni, bacon, sausage, hamburger, tuna, crab and seafood, hot dogs, turkey, ham, bologna, meatballs, salmon, etc.
-Miscellaneous
Vegan orange chicken, vegan whipped cream, vegan scrambled eggs, vegan ice cream, vegan cream cheese, vegan sour cream, vegan macaroni and cheese, vegan pizza, vegan lasagna, vegan mayonnaise, vegan ranch, vegan caesar dressing, vegan salad dressings, vegan cheeseburgers, vegan pastas, vegan tamales, vegan burritos, vegan mozarella sticks, vegan cheesecake, vegan pies, vegan corn dogs, vegan chicken tenders, vegan hot pockets, vegan nutella.
MYTHS
EATING VEGAN IS EXPENSIVE $$$
This is a total myth. Unless you're buying the best luxury vegan foods, you're really not going to go broke. There are plenty of affordable brands. Most real meat and cheese costs more.
HUNTING IS NECESSARY TO PREVENT OVERPOPULATION
Myth. Most hunting is carried out purely for ‘sport’ and official figures show the effect on conservation to be very small.
PLANTS ARE LIVING THINGS, THEY CAN FEEL TOO
This is a myth and mostly used to discredit the vegan lifestyle. Plants have no central nervous systems, nerve endings, or brains. In other words, plants possess none of the receptors with which sentient beings experience pain.
WE ARE AT THE TOP OF THE FOOD CHAIN
If I toss you into the middle of a jungle, without any weapons or resources other than water and some food, could you take on a lion? Nah. We aren't at the top of the food chain. Maybe intelligence wise, but then again, what kind of species creates mass homicide while simultaneously being 'intelligent'?
WE ARE CARNIVORES, WE HAVE CANINES
This is a myth as well. We are not carnivores. Humans are natural vegetarians.
INCONVENIENT TRUTHS
Hot Dogs contain glass, plastic, metal, bone, rodents, and other miscellaneous objects.
Raising animals for food takes up half of all water used in the U.S.
Consumption of dairy products, particularly from people at age 20 years, was associated with an increased risk of hip fracture in old age. (“Case-Control Study of Risk Factors for Hip Fractures in the Elderly”. American Journal of Epidemiology. Vol. 139, No. 5, 1994).1
“The countries with the highest rates of osteoporosis are the ones where people drink the most milk and have the most calcium in their diets. The connection between calcium consumption and bone health is actually very weak, and the connection between dairy consumption and bone health is almost nonexistent.” - Amy Lanou Ph.D., nutrition director for the Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine in Washington, D.C.
51% of greenhouse gasses are attributed to livestock.
70% of grain grown in the U.S. is fed to animals in feed lots.
It takes more than 9 times the fossil fuel to produce one calorie of meat than it does for one calorie of plant protein.
Red meat and processed meat have been found to be directly linked to developing cancer.
Meat production is a leading cause of climate change, water waste, and deforestation.
Animal agriculture is a leading source of carbon-dioxide, nitrous-oxide, and methane emissions, the top three greenhouse gasses.
If every American skipped one meal of chicken per week and ate vegan food instead, it would be like taking 500,000 cars off the road.
A vegan is responsible for the release of approximately 1.5 fewer tons of carbon dioxide into the atmosphere each year than is a meat-eater.
In 2004–05, 2.9 million acres of the Amazon rain forest in Brazil were destroyed in order to grow crops to feed animals on factory farms.
Farm Animals are Pumped With Antibiotics.
Chickens are fed Prozac. During their time in factory farms, chickens develop severe anxiety. As a result, farmers give them prozac, because stress slow's a birds growth.
There's poop in your beef. Consumer Reports tested 300 packages of ground beef from stores across the United States and do you know what they found in every single package of beef? Fecal contamination.
12-32% of feedlot cattle have abscessed livers.
Meat is held together with meat glue (transglutaminase).
A typical supermarket chicken today contains more than twice the fat, and about a third less protein than 40 years ago.
2 in 3 farm animals in the world are now factory farmed.
The pollution from animal waste causes respiratory problems, skin infections, nausea, depression, and even death for people who live near factory farms.
Dairy cows typically live to their third lactation before being culled. Naturally, a cow can live for 20 years.
Hog, chicken and cattle waste has polluted 35,000 miles of rivers in 22 states and contaminated groundwater in 17 states.
Egg-laying hens are sometimes starved for up to 14 days, exposed to changing light patterns and given no water in order to shock their bodies into molting. It’s common for 5% to 10% of hens to die during the forced molting process.
Worldwide, about 70 billion farm animals are now reared for food each year.
Animals are fed corn, wheat and soy that are grown through intensive industrial farming that use large amounts of pesticides, which can remain in their bodies and are passed on to the people who eat them, creating serious health hazards in humans
YOUR Q'S ANSWERED
I don't know where to get vegan foods in my town or city
You can use google, or browse around your local grocery stores and ask employees. Usually any Natural Grocery Store will have vegan options. If you live in rural areas, it may be harder to find those alternatives. But it's possible.
Are there Vegan fast food drive thru options?
Unless you're in a larger city, there currently aren't any 100% vegan drive thru options. Although, places like Wendys, Burger King, McDonalds, and even places like Little Caesars CAN be vegan depending on customization. Read the full list of restaurants and vegan instructions at: https://www.peta.org/living/food/chain-restaurants/
Is all Vegan food healthy?
No. Some vegan foods aren't very healthy. These vegan foods are obviously nowhere near as unhealthy as regular meat and dairy based food. But, eating vegan is 100% cholesterol free.
Will I be b12 deficient if I go vegan?
As long as you eat the right kinds of food rich in b12, then you'll be fine (side note: vitamin b12 comes from soil, not meat. Animal's meat contains b12 because they eat food grown in soil).
If I have a health condition such as Anemia, can I still be vegan?
Yes, absolutely. You should always check with your health care provider before starting a new diet if you have a pre-existing health condition, so that you may be informed on what to eat. But as long as you take iron supplements or eat plant based foods rich in iron to balance your illness, you're good to go!
Is dairy bad for you?
Yes, it's especially bad for... your bones *shocker*. Like all animal protein, milk acidifies the body's pH which in turn triggers a biological correction. Calcium is an acid neutralizer and the biggest storage of calcium in the body is in the bones. So the very same calcium that our bones need to stay strong, is used to neutralize the acidifying effect of milk. Once calcium is pulled out of the bones, it leaves the body via the urine, so you're losing calcium. Got milk? Read more at: SAVEOURBONES.COM
Do I have to go Vegan overnight?
No! Actually, this isn't recommended (although some people can handle it). You can start with one meal a week, and then double that. Some people start by being vegan one whole week per month until they adjust. It's whatever makes you comfortable!
If I don't go Vegan, does that make me a bad person?
Absolutely... Not (had to throw humor in there). In no way does that make you a bad person. Again, being vegan does't come with a moral certificate. But you must know that what you buy, you give power to. Please Remember: while it doesn't make you a bad person, you are still funding these corporations, keeping factory farms very much alive.
Is Vegan food gross? Is it real food?
If you get the right brands, no, it's not gross. Some brands don't taste too good, while most brands taste excellent. Yes, vegan food is real food. Just because it's mimicking real meat and dairy, doesn't mean it's some weird, over processed "who the hell knows what." Tell me what's more gross, a 'real' hot dog (made with animal intestines, bone, and meat trimmings), or a veggie hot dog made of vegetables?
If I only eat Vegan, am I in the clear?
Sadly, no. There are still many non-food brands out there that aren't vegan. Makeup brands, lotions, creams, shampoos, detergents. Even some clothing isn't vegan.
THE FUR INDUSTRY
Facts about the Fur Industry:
More than 50 million animals are violently killed for use in fashion every year.
Methods used to kill animals for their fur include gassing, electrocution, and neck breaking.
Seals are still being clubbed and brutally slain for their fur. The Canadian seal hunt is the world’s largest remaining commercial slaughter of marine mammal; close to a million harp seals were authorized to be killed between 2003 and 2005.
The fur trim market is an equal, if not greater, threat to animals than is the making of fur coats. Fur trim is not what’s “left over” from making full-length fur coats. Thousands of animals are killed simply to provide trimming effects for fashion. Even purchasing the tiniest bit of fur trim supports the cruel fur industry.
Read more here: http://www.bornfreeusa.org/facts.php?p=452&more=1
ANIMAL TESTING
Over 100 million animals are burned, crippled, poisoned, and abused in US labs every year. Shockingly, 92% of experimental drugs that are safe and effective in animals fail in human clinical trials because they are too dangerous or don’t work. Labs that use mice, rats, birds, reptiles and amphibians are exempted from the minimal protections under the Animal Welfare Act (AWA). Europe, the world’s largest cosmetic market, Israel, and India have already banned animal testing for cosmetics, and the sale or import of newly animal-tested beauty products. According to the Humane Society, registration of a single pesticide requires more than 50 experiments and the use of as many as 12,000 animals. Several cosmetic tests commonly performed on mice, rats, rabbits, and guinea pigs include: skin and eye irritation tests where chemicals are rubbed on shaved skin or dripped into the eyes without any pain relief.
Source: https://www.dosomething.org/us/facts/11-facts-about-animal-testing
ALTERNATIVE VEGAN BRANDS
These are just some of the dozens upon dozens of vegan or 'vegan-option' brands out there. Not every brand you see above has 100% vegan items (simply balanced), but most of them do. Either way, they all taste virtually the same as dairy and meat. Vegan food has progressed over the years so much that you can actually watch videos on youtube of people being fed vegan meals and not knowing they're vegan until the end of the video, and almost all of them say "this is the best meal I've ever had."
Silk, Gardein, Beyond Meat, Field Roast, Lighlife, Yves Veggie Cuisine, Sweet Earth, So Delicious Dairy Free, Lenny & Larry's, Follow Your Heart, Tofurky, Earth Balance, Amy's, Simply balanced, Blue Diamond Almonds, Rudis Organic Bakery, Daiya deliciously dairy-free.
MATCHING YOUR CRAVINGS
Before you go vegan, write down a list (as long as you need) of your strongest cravings! For example: "My cravings are pizza, crab, pepper jack cheese, cream cheese bagels, mac and cheese, etc."
Then, go out to the grocery store, or your natural grocer, and find the 'vegan' version of these foods and do a taste test. If you were to love a pizza margherita, go find a vegan pizza margherita that looks decent. Cook it, eat it with your favorite condiments, and then judge it. How does it taste? Good? Gross? Maybe try another brand? Do this with EVERY major craving or 'food need' that you have, until you find a perfect (or better) match.
Why Is This Important?
This is important to do, because we humans are addictive creatures by nature. And with the convenience of being able to buy practically any kind of food these days, we feel we "cannot live without x, y, or z." It's important that you find a vegan match to your cravings if you're trying to go vegan. This will ensure that your journey will be 1,000,000x easier.
CLICK BELOW FOR A LIST OF 'ACCIDENTALLY VEGAN FOOD ITEMS'
TOP 20 ACCIDENTALLY VEGAN FOODS
Oreos, Airheads, Wheat Thins, etc.
How do I know which non-food brands are vegan?
These logos verify that the product and it's raw materials have not been tested on animals and do not contain any animal ingredients or animal by-products. You can find many animal friendly products at Walmart, Target, Ulta Beauty, and natural drug stores. Animal testing is just as horrible as factory farming. Rabbits, and other small animals can go blind, deaf, get nerve damage, get skinned, and more. Shopping vegan across the board is very important.
CELEBRITIES WHO ARE VEGAN ♡
Miley Cyrus
Ellen DeGeneres
Ariana Grande
Jessica Chastain
Joaquin Phoenix
Liam Hemsworth
Woody Harrelson
Sia
Pamela Anderson
Wacka Flocka Flame
Travis Barker
and more
Read the rest: 32 Vegan Celebrities
HOW CAN I BE 100% SURE THE ITEM I WANT IS VEGAN?
'Is It Vegan?' Mobile App
'Is It Vegan?' is one of the best mobile apps out there for scanning your food/health and beauty products to determine if their ingredients are 100% vegan or not. Just simply hold your phone up to the food or miscellaneous item you want, and scan the barcode. Bam, Instant knowledge. Download below:
INFORMATIONAL DOCUMENTARIES
COWSPIRACY: THE SUSTAINABLITY SECRET
These documentaries shed light and the truth on the factory farm industry, the impact it has on the environment as well as your body, and more. Some of these are insanely shocking, while some will just break your heart.
SOMETHING TO MAKE YOU SMILE
These cows were supposed to be taken for slaughter in 2012 because their farmer couldn't carry on milk production for financial reasons. The farm owners see these cows everyday, and they couldn't bear the thought of them being killed. The video shows the cows are free to roam the pasture after a long winter in their shed. Watch what happens.
IN CONCLUSION
Thank you so much for reading through all of this, it's a lot to process. Even if you aren't going Vegan, thank you for taking the time to educate yourself. There is a lot of unnecessary suffering here on earth. But if we all choose to be better people, and to make better choices, I believe one day we will see a world where every living being on earth is treated with compassion, love and kindness.
Thank you.