Do you consider becoming a vegan but you are not sure which would be the main reason for such a big lifestyle changing step? Here I bring you the 3 most common reasons why people turn their lives into the veganism.
More and more people become vegan worldwide every single year. In the last 5 years, the number of people who proclaim themselves to be mostly vegetarians or mostly vegans rose from 1.7 million to almost 2.1 million in Australia alone! That made up for 11.2% of a total Australian population and that is a really an immense increase.
Due to Google Trends, it also seems to be a huge trend to search for a term “vegan”. Searching for this trend has increased in the last year by 90% and Australia is a number one when it comes to an online research about veganism. What are the main reasons to persuade people of becoming vegans?
1. Becoming vegan for ethical reasons and animals rights
Most of the people on this planet would most likely say they love animals or they are pet or animal owners. The truth is that if you eat animals (dead animals!), wear any animal products, such as leather shoes, handbags or belts, or clothes made of wool, using animals for your entertainment, such as going to zoos and attending circuses, you simply cannot claim that you love animals, even if you own a pet. I am more than sure, you wouldn’t eat your pet because it is a part of your family and your home. So, what is the difference to eat other animals?
By buying animal products you indirectly support animals’ suffer, a cruel and disgusting way how the animals in slaughterhouses are treated and shocking conditions in which these animals are born, raised and kept for all their lives. Yep, you hear me well. Every time you decide to buy an animal product or have a beef steak for lunch, animals have to be killed to satisfy these silly and unnecessary needs.
It might be a shocking fact for you that every year humans kill more than 56 billion farm animals. This enormous number doesn’t even include fish and other sea creatures because the exploitation of our ocean is so large that can be measured only in tonnes.
It is very selfish to think that lives of farm animals are inferior or less important than lives of human beings. Animals are just like human beings – they can breathe, eat, think and feel in the same way like human individuals do. Unfortunately, from our early childhood, we are shown animals as living creatures which are supposed to serve human beings and satisfy their needs. This is, obviously, so wrong. We live with this idea of animals providing us with dairy, meat, eggs, fur, feather or skin and it becomes so common and normal to us that we don’t even question it.
Vegans are individuals who no longer see animals as objects which are here only for satisfying us and our necessary needs such as eating meat or wearing leather clothes. Vegans respect and value animals’ lives as much as they respect and value their own lives. They express their disagreement with dairy and meat industry and protect animal rights. They put their voice against a broad exploitation of animals and protest in due to spread an awareness about the food industry.
2. Becoming vegan for health and wellness reasons
Because a vegan diet includes a lot of fruits, vegetables, legumes, grains, flowers, and many other plants, it is naturally a great way to a healthier eating and lifestyle. If you are attempting to lose a few kilos or just maintain your current weight and live a healthy lifestyle, then veganism is the right choice for you. The vegan kitchen is based on plants and that is always better than consuming animal products. As a vegan, you consume plant-based products which are rich in vitamin C, fiber and includes less saturated fat and cholesterol.
It is proved that vegans suffer less from cardiovascular diseases, diabetes and they are less like to have a heart attack or stroke. Vegans also tend to have a lower BMI than meat-eaters. Simply put, vegans tend to be slimmer than meat-eaters. It is true that even in vegan diet there is plenty of junk food and once you settle down in the vegan kitchen, you will discover so many great treats, especially sweets. That means like, in any other diet, you have to keep your daily calories income balanced and try to include more greens.
While being on an entirely plant-based diet, you also have to watch to avoid being in lack of some particular micronutrients. For instance, at the beginning in opting for a vegan diet, you might feel you don’t take enough vitamin B12 which is quite common but don’t worry! There are plenty of supplements which help you make sure you always have all the important nutrients.
In a long-term, vegan will lead to a healthier, happier and longer life than you would experience when eating meat! You will have more energy and be able to stay focused for longer.
3. Becoming vegan for environmental reasons
If you have ever heard that going vegan might have a great impact on the environment or even might self our environmental problems, then you heard well. Why? Vegans produce way less pollution, deforestation, land degradation, chemical, water and food waste than non-vegans.
Let me tell you why…
Currently, around 30% of the world crops are being used for either livestock or as a food to feed farm animals. For feeding, one vegan is used 20 times less land than feeding a meat-eater. Now, can you see how much land we waste just to feed farm animals in order to send those animals in slaughterhouses when they are grown enough and eat them? With more people living on a plant-based diet, we would so much more of our land to feed those people who suffer from hunger, lack of food or starvation.
Raising animals for food production is ineffective and land-polluting beyond our understanding. Animals’ excrements poison and destroy not only our land but also our oceans, rivers and even the air! This all have a tremendous impact on our health and wellbeing, not saying that animals produce enough CO2 to contribute greatly to the global warming.
The animal production is one of the main reasons for a vast deforestation. I don’t talk only about timber forest deforestation, but also rainforest deforestation, deep in the Amazon jungle. All this land destruction leads to a land degradation and further soil erosion on a big scale. This can cause a landslide which might possibly end in land infertility. Going vegan will give you an inner peace that you don’t contribute to or support any of these terrifying activities.
Are you convinced yet to go vegan?
There you go! In this article, I gave a small recapitulation of 3 main reasons why so many people opt to become vegans every year and as I showed you, this number is still growing! By becoming vegans, you don’t only do good for yourself, but you also save our precious planet and animals. I know, you might think that one person cannot change the whole society, but you can educate others and spread awareness about what veganism is really about. And the best way to do it is giving a lead as a vegan!
When you start your life journey of exciting vegan life, let me know how you go and share my article!
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Klara Walterova
Klara is a professional freelance writer for hire. She offers web content, blog posting, ghostwriting and copywriting. She writes for a healthy lifestyle, wellness and travel websites. She focuses on veganism and the vegan diet. When she's not writing, she develops new tasty vegan recipes, travels the world or plays with her cats. Please contact her for her online writing services on her website writtenbyvegan.com or visit her Instagram profile @writtenbyvegan.