| veganism |
What is a vegan? a vegan is a pure vegetarian. no meat, no dairy products, no eggs, some vegans also abstain from animal produce in a whole. This means that you don't wear suede shoes, you don't wear leather jackets, or leather goods etc... all products that come from animals in anyway are boycotted in everyday life. However this really depends on why you are primarily a vegan, in most circumstances. Vegans who choose to take this stand are usually vegans primarily for animal related issues. However, there are three main reasons for veganism, the environment, animal rights and health.
NO MEAT = A TREE?
Incase your thinking how does veganism impose on environmental issues? well you have to look at the industries that a non vegan lives off of and break them down a little. For example a to produce meat on a mass scale, you need alot of land for the animals live on. For instance more then 260 million acres of U.S. forest have been cleared to grow crops to feed cows, pigs and other animals raised for the meat, and another acre of trees disappears every eight seconds. The tropical rain forests are also being destroyed to create grazing land for cattle. Fifty-five square feet of rain forest may be razed to produced just one quarter pounder burger. Alot of food is also required to feed these animals, land is required for this food also, land is also required for slaughter houses, etc. A vegan uses only half the land to feed themselves then that of a meat eater. There is also the amounts of water that is used in meat production, huge amounts of water is used every year to keep animals alive for their slaughter, look at the facts at the bottom of the page for more infomation reguarding water usage and meat production.
For animal rights, well this is pretty obvious - i mean if you love animals you don't want to live your life at the expense of them. Vegetarians (non-vegan) may argue that dairy produce and eggs are not the produce of animal death, they may also argue that fish isn't really meat, this is true in theory. However in practice it isn't that simple, dairy products are the secondary products of death. Animals that are primarily used for dairy production are forced to produce eggs or milk for the industry.
Some facts on how american vegans can save animals lives by making the vegan dietary switch from meat eating. Every year in the United States, more then 8 billion animals are killed for food; millions more die of stress, suffocation, injuries, or disease. In his or her lifetime, the average American meat-eater is responsible for the abuse and deaths of some 2,400 animals, including approximately 2,287 chickens, 92 turkeys, and 12 steers and calves.
MILK DOESN'T KILL?
With dairy products, the dairy cows which are used are constantly artificially inseminated to keep them pregnant, on what farmers call "rape racks", this process keeps their milk production at a high level. Some farmers inject cows with synthetic growth hormones, which increase the cows risk of developing mastis. a painful udder infection. Farmers using artificial hormones also report increased cow deaths, internal bleeding, and hoof and leg maladies. The female calves which are born are either added to the dairy herd or are slaughtered for the rennet in their stomachs, which is used to make cheese. Male calves are sold to the veal industry, they are raised in dark sheds. Chained by their necks inside stalls; 2-foot-by-5-foot, they are unable to to take even one step in any direction, turn around, or lie down comfortably. Growing to 300 or more pounds within 12 to 16 weeks of their lives. The calves suffer anaemia, diarrhoea, pneumonia, and lameness. They are treated with antibiotics mixed into their high-fat liquid feed, this diet keeps their flesh "gourmet" pale, instead of a healthy pink. Motherless and alone, the calves see the light of day only once in their lives, on their way to slaughter.
Dairy cows are kept in small constrictive pen's which don't allow much movement when they are
being milked. Cases have been reported of cows slipping over on the cement
floors of milking pens, and being unable to actually get up again. This
has the potential to cause large scale lacerations to a cow, as she struggles
to regain her footing. Not to mention the fear and internal damage this
kind of incident can have on an animal the size of a cow. A dairy cow used
in large scale milk production has an average life span of 5 to 6 years,
a cow not exposed to this way of life; 15 to 17 years.
One livestock auction worker said; "Look, if you want beef, this the only way you can have it. There's no room in this business for a be nice to animals' attitude."
Steers or "beef cattle" spend most of their lives on overcrowded feedlots. Studies have found that
ranchers can "maximize profits" at feedlots by allowing each steer only
14 square feet of living space - the equivalent of putting 13 half-ton
steers in a typical american bedroom! steers are subjected to painful procedures
like branding, castration, and dehorning without anaesthesia. More often
then not they die of complications such as pneumonia, dehydration or heat
exhaustion from spending days without food or water in over crowded trucks
while being transported to feedlots or slaughterhouses.
Another one of the
negative sides of dairy based milk apart from the high levels of cholesterol
fat and lactose sugars. Dairy milks may even be fortified with fish oil
to gain vitamins A and D.
CHICKEN, HEALTHY?
The majority of "laying hens" and "broiler chickens" spend their lives in vast warehouses were lighting and ventilation are controlled by machines and where a system failure means mass death. To increase profit margins like most other industries which exploit animals chickens primarily broiler chickens are fed genetically manipulative growth hormones. As a direct result of these hormones many birds suffer from crippling bone disorders and spinal defects. Laying hens are cramped into confined cages, usually five to six birds are forced into a single cage. Their wings atrophy from disuse, and their legs and feet grow twisted and deformed from standing on slanted wire cage bottoms.
Anywhere up to 50,000 birds live in a typical warehouse, hundreds of times more birds then can possibly establish a pecking order. In such large numbers, chickens vent their stress through constant fighting. To reduce the lose of chicken's through fighting; farmers use hot blades to literally slice the sharp tip off chicks beaks just hours after the birds hatch. A more "humane" way to decrease stress-induced aggression is by the use of experimental red contact lenses in hens eyes. The lenses which are never removed, are extremely painful for the animals and can cause severe infections and even blindness.
Despite popular opinions chicken is not a health food; it contains as much cholesterol as beef, and even without the skin, 35% of its calories are derived from fat. At least 60% of federally inspected poultry is contaminated with salmonella, campylobacter, or other potentially deadly bacteria. Annually, at least 1,000 people die after eating contaminated chicken. One USDA poultry inspector said, "I've had birds that had yellow pus visibly coming out of their insides, and I was told to save the breast meat off them and even save the second joint of the wing. You might get those breasts today at a store in a package of breast fillets. You might get the other part in a pack of buffalo wings."
Chickens which are used in food are filleted into alot of different pieces, these pieces end up in all manner of different fillets and cuts. The portions of chickens which aren't visibly usable for this kind of presentation are sent into poultry processing plants. Were they end up as dog food and chicken minces which are used in nuggets and other chicken based foods. Other pieces of chicken such as feet eyes, beaks, bones etc have been minced into a fine yet grainy purée which is fed back to chickens in dehydrated form.
EAT FISH?
Fish are animals just like a cow, just like your pet dog. They do feel pain, it has been scientifically proven that fish feel just as much pain and fear as any other animal. Dr. Donald Broom, animal welfare advisor to the British government, says,"Anatomically, physiologically, and biologically, the pain system in a fish is virtually the same as in birds and mammals." An Australian study found that when fish are chased, confined, or threatened, they react as humans do to stress: with increased heart rate and breathing rate, and a burst of adrenaline.
Factory trawlers used by commercial fishers are vacuuming the oceans clean of the sea life at an alarming rate. Thirteen of the 17 major global fisheries are depleted or in a serious decline. Miles-long nets stretch across the ocean, swallowing up billions of sea animals every year including fish, birds, turtles, dolphins, and seals. Trawlers leave behind 450,000 plastic containers, 52 million pounds of plastic packing material, and 298 million pounds of plastic fishing net annually. Fish flesh can accumulate up to 9 million times the concentration of toxic chemicals (including PCBs and DDT) in the surrounding waters. Sea animals like shrimps and scallops also have even higher levels of cholesterol then beef and poultry.
The american regulations reguarding the transport and slaughter of animals raised for food are almost non-existant, and inspections are inafective at best. The only real law regarding transit to slaughter refers to transport by train, though 95% of the animals are moved by truck, On trucks, animals are subjected to weather extremes, overcrowding, hunger and thirst.
U.S. Department of Agriculture meat and poultry inspectors regularly witness cruel practices
commonly used by livestock handlers, including:
These are just a handfull of the atrosities that animals born for slaughter are subjected to for the benifit of meat eaters. Animals born for slaughter should at the very least have the same rights as other animals in their breif existance. This is not a debatable topic. Realisticly in any case animals should not be seen fit for slaughter for any means, let alone the unnecessary diets of meat eaters.
NO ANIMAL PROTIEN, UNHEALTHY?
Finally the last of the main reasons for going vegan, health. The pure vegetarian lifestyle is totally healthy, however you really do have to become a vegan expert (or as close as you can be) because the vegan lifestyle has the ability to be very bad for you. Veganism is even more dangerous if you don't totally look into the necessary nutritional values which are needed. However you will probably find that you are probably missing more by being a meat eater, then you will be by being a vegan. This is mainly because you'll learn more about nutrition then you ever knew in the first place. But then if the lifestyle is lived correctly then you will be healthier then you ever have been as a meat eater. Effectivly eliminating animal content from your diet will reduce your risks of gaining many complications. Acording to nutritional researcher T. Colin Campbell,"The vast majority ... of all cancers, cardiovascular diseases, and other forms of degenerative illness can be prevented ... simply by adopting a plant-based diet."Heart disease, cancer, strokes, diabetes, osteoporosis, obestity, and other diseases have been linked to meat consumption.
An american male meat-eater has a 50% chance of dying of a heart attack, compared to only a 4% chance for a pure vegetatian. Thirteen million Americans suffer from coronary artery disease, and heart attacks kill more then 500,000 people a year. Heart researcher Dr. Dean Ornish has shown that paitients with blocked artieries can often avoid surgery by a eating low-fat vegetarian diet.
You will have no cholesterol intake, you will also cut your dietary intake of fat so you will loose so much weight. Unfortunatly most soy alternatives have alot more fat per gram then the original dairy alternative. This is mostly noticeable in soy margarine, also soy milk, but because their is no cholesterol it almost makes up for it. Of course you wont induce as much fat into your dietary intake as you would have by being a meat eater anyway. But if fat still bothers you, one of the best ways to avoid fat in a vegan based diet, is to eat alot of whole food (fresh vegetables and fruit), not alot of processed/soy food. If you follow that ethic when you eat, you will almost probably cut your fat intake in half or even more in your switch to a vegan lifestyle.
STARTING OUT
One of the most important things to remember when you become a vegan is to make sure your vitamin intake is sufficient. You can do this by either reading up on the facts yourself, which i recommend you do before you do anything. Make sure veganism is for you, make sure it will work with your lifestyle, the reason i offer this advice is because veganism has the potential to make you very sick if you don't take it very seriously. Another recommended piece of advice is to see your doctor and talk to her/him about the change, especially if you are doing regular weight loss or fitness programs, even more so if you have any medical problems. Some other important things to take into consideration is that soy products can bring out allergies in some people, it isn't a wide spread problem but it could happen to you.
The best way to begin a vegan diet is to start very small, this is imperative to you actually being successful. The best way to do this is by taking foods you eat regularly and replacing things with vegetables or fruits. For instance if you eat alot of pasta, instead of using a beef based sauce, try out a all vegetable sauce. If you don't go for the texture of the vegetable alternatives, a good hint is to mix in some TVP (textured vegetable protein) this will give it the texture and mild taste of minced beef. When you mix it all together it tastes exactly the same, TVP comes in both hydrated and de-hydrated forms from most super markets. Just try in general to add more fresh vegetables and fruits to what you would usually eat, once you feel okay with that. Begin a basic vegetarian diet, as you become accustomed to no red meat, take the white meat out of your diet, then the fish. Before you know it you will be totally accustomed to the lifestyle. Once you are a basic vegetarian, going the next step to veganism is easy, most of the foods that you will then abstain from are just luxury foods, cheeses, ice cream, chocolates. Most of these can be replaced by soy or vegan alternatives if you like them that much. Of course all the major necessities of non-vegan life are readily available to vegans as well, soy milk, soy margarine, soy yoghurt, soy mayonnaise etc they are all out there to be found.
If you keep all of this in mind when you make the change to veganism you should be 100% okay, alot healthier and alot clearer in conscience.
