animal rights – thepeacefulhappyvegan

(Over the last year I have read many books and articles. I’ve been researching on the environmental impact of global warming. For the purpose of this post I pulled statistical facts from cowspiracy.com. There are several contributing factors to global warming, but I wanted to discuss one contributor that humans can have an influence on.

There are many reasons I am vegan, one of them is to decrease my carbon footprint or reduce the amount of harm I am contributing to the environment. As you may know, this is one of our worlds greatest global issues, and we are seeing a movement towards solar energy and electric vehicles. Despite this, our world is still dependent on fossil fuels, and this is deeply concerning. Perhaps you have thought about these issues before, but how does this relate to veganism?

What many do not think about is the direct impact animal agriculture has on our planet. The damage comes in the form of greenhouse gas, water usage, and animal waste. We are depleting our oceans and changing ecosystems all over the world. Livestock and their byproducts contribute to roughly 15% of all worldwide greenhouse gas emissions. I was quite shocked when I first discovered this during my transition to veganism. I couldn’t imagine I was a contributor in almost every way. I still drive a car, but my next purchase will definitely be an energy efficient one. I don’t own my own home so unfortunately I lack control in regards to switching to solar energy. The one thing I realized I could change immediately was to go vegan.

If you are still not following, or not quite sure how cattle for example could contribute to Co2 emissions let me explain. During their digestion process cows release methane into our atmosphere. Their burps are literally killing our environment. It also takes an extraordinary amount of water (500-2500 gallons) to produce one pound of beef. So whilst turning off the faucet when brushing your teeth is helpful, it’s hardly comparable. Think of all the water it takes to grow the feed for these animals, and all of the land that is consumed. Our rainforests are being destroyed as well, animal agricultural is responsible for 91% of amazon destruction. Fossil fuels are the primary source of carbon dioxide release, however, humans contribute to carbon dioxide release through animal agriculture such as deforestation/land clearing for cattle.We also burn down the rainforest to clear more land in order to grow the grain needed to feed cattle. We are displacing animals, destroying their homes, so that we can eat a burger. This infuriates me. I was reading about the amazons in South America and learned many of its people are upset about this as well. Unfortunately activism against amazon destruction comes with a price. Over 1,000 activists in Brazil have been killed, and without their voices, the movement is weak.

I also want to mention the topic of grass fed beef. It it becoming a trend for companies to market grass fed beef and free range eggs/poultry as “healthier alternatives”(I will be posting in the near future about veganism and health, and explain why beef is not necessary to live and also unhealthy) The problem with grass fed, is well, the grass. More land is occupied when we have grass fields for cows to graze on, more water is needed and so on. This trend is not sustainable for our future and worse for our environment. You might be choosing free range eggs (like I used to) because it makes you feel better that the animals are roaming free instead of in cages. Keep in mind two things; first, this is not regulated, and second, the animals still suffer in the end when they are killed. I know it is a very disturbing reality, but I feel a moral obligation to share my knowledge with you. You can then decide what is best for you.

It is important for all of us to evaluate our own individual impact on our world. We can’t expect things to change if we don’t. When you go vegan you stop giving your money to the industry, and you create a demand for alternatives. Maybe you’ve noticed there are more vegetarian and vegan restaurants around. There are more options for food at the grocery store as well. Companies are taking notice and are producing so many meat alternatives today.

If you are like me you may decide to make a drastic change, which would be great 😉 I would love for you to go vegetarian or vegan, but I understand this can be very overwhelming. Maybe a more practical start would be reducing or eliminating certain foods from your diet, try decreasing the amount of red meat you consume for example.

I hope you’ve learned something new today, it’s quite a lot of information to take in and to think about. I don’t mean to overwhelm you or stress you out, I just wanted to share some difficult truths about the current state of our environment. I am even more concerned given the fact that our current president chooses not to believe in these facts, and I fear he will not be helping this cause. Luckily we can choose what we purchase, and by doing so we are fighting for the animals, our health, and our world.

Have a peaceful and happy day

The only difference is your attitude

As a society, we have been conditioned since birth to eat certain animals ( cows, pigs, fish) and love others (dogs, cats). This is likely the reason many of us have such a difficult time wrapping our heads around the idea of veganism. It’s as if animal consumption was never a choice really, just a part of life. I never remember giving much thought to eating animals growing up. As far as I’m concerned I’ve always loved animals, but then why did I eat them? Conditioning. Culture. Tradition. So many things tie us to animal consumption. Someone once told me “I can’t give up meat, my family would be so upset”. But what about them? what about the animals…

It’s easy to be served a burger in a restaurant and not associate a cow with it when you take a bite. We are so far removed from the process of how our food gets to us, that we just don’t think about it.

Cows, chickens and other animals have feelings. They get scared, they miss their moms when they get separated, and they feel pain.

If the only way you could get a burger was to kill the cow yourself, would you still want the burger? I assume a lot fewer people would be eating meat if this were the case. Every time we purchase dairy, eggs, meat, poultry, and fish we are in fact paying someone else to kill that being for us.

I am not trying to make you feel bad. If you do feel bad it’s probably because you’ve never thought of the foods you eat in this way, that’s ok, most people never think of this. My goal is simply to help you understand that you have a choice.

Why I’m vegan…

My journey to veganism started in February of 2016, I was watching a YouTube video about makeup, and the person was discussing cruelty-free animal products. In the middle of her video she inserted some disturbing images of what happens to animals when they are tested with the makeup and body products we use each day. I knew products were tested on animals but I never gave it much thought until I saw that video. I suddenly felt compelled to research day and night about animal cruelty. What I read and the images I saw were shocking. To this day I think “are we insane?” Is our society so blinded by its own desires for products, for things…. I know I was. I went vegetarian the day I saw that YouTube video, and 7 months later I went vegan. For those of you not familiar, this means I no longer eat animals. Veganism is more than just about the food you eat, it also means you don’t wear or use any products made with animal ingredients or tested on animals. I am still transitioning to vegan products, which I’m sure will take some time. I don’t believe in wasting the things I already have, that wouldn’t be practical. There are several other reasons I chose veganism, which I will discuss on my blog in the future.

Guilt

I still hold a lot of guilt inside about all the unnecessary suffering I contributed to for the last 30 years. Surprisingly, this has been the hardest part of going vegan for me. The emotional guilt. I also struggle with purchasing animal products for other people as well. How can you really tell a family member or friend while out to lunch, “Sorry I don’t want to pay for the burger you ordered”. Some might say, “Don’t worry about it, you are doing so much already.” I try to think about it in this way, but it’s very difficult for me. I’m happy I woke up though, that’s what it feels like. It’s odd, I think back to before, when I ate animals….it seems like forever ago, but it hasn’t even been a year.

Consider giving up just one animal product? For them?

I’ve always disliked the attitudes some vegans have towards people who consume animals. If you do eat animals, I am not here to judge you. I am here to share my feelings and knowledge. To help you see animal consumption differently. I don’t think you are a bad person if you eat meat. Perhaps you just haven’t received enough info on the topic.

If you are interested in stopping your contributions to animal suffering, try taking one animal product out of your diet. The way I see it, everything makes a difference. If you give up red meat then you are no longer paying someone to kill cows. You are also not contributing to the massive amount of water it takes to produce red meat either. Not to mention all the methane cows release which is contributing greatly to global warming.

Look for this bunny on the products you buy, it means the company doesn’t harm animals in any way

Still not convinced?

Try watching a few documentaries: Forks Over knives, Cowspiracy, Earthlings, and there is a new one up on Netflix called Food Choices. There are also many books, articles and me. If you have any questions feel free to comment below. I’m currently reading….

Compassion for all

The older we get, the more we reflect on life. I think a lot about what I want to be remembered for. Veganism is definitely one of them. I guess I feel like I found my purpose in a way. I want everyone to love more, to care. I hope someone who reads this makes a change, maybe that person will be you.

Have a peaceful and happy day

Tag: animal rights

Vegan for our environment

Vegan for the animals