Recent trends show that an increasing number of people are moving towards plant-based diets. There are even more vegan or vegetarian options in restaurants and supermarkets. Researchers claim that veganism is a healthier option and has limited impacts on the environment. In this article we shall explore these claims.
What is Veganism?
Veganism is a lifestyle that subscribes to refraining from consuming animal products or purchasing any products that were derived from animals. A vegan or plant-based diet excludes all animal products including eggs, dairy, and meat; some also choose to avoid honey.
People tend to interchange veganism and vegetarianism. The two terms are similar; however, vegetarians do not eat meat but consume dairy products, eggs, or both.
When done in the right manner a vegan diet can be highly nutritious especially since they tend to be rich in nutrients and low in saturated fats. Vegan diets mainly consist of fruits, vegetables, beans, nuts, and seeds thus eliminating any sources of harmful animal fats. However, people on a plant based diet need to be aware of how to obtain certain nutrients such as iron, calcium and vitamin B-12 that are readily available in an omnivorous diet. Vitamin B12 helps prevent nerve damage and is found mainly in meat, fish, eggs and dairy but not in fruit or vegetables.
The veganism lifestyle has become very popular in the recent past and many have adopted it due to health, environmental concerns, and animal welfare. Some advocate for a vegan diet due to its limited environmental impacts and adopt it as a sustainable diet, which has low environmental impacts, is healthy and contributes to food security for future generations.
Health Benefits
Research shows that vegan diets have health benefits such as reduced risk of heart disease, obesity, diabetes, cancer, and premature death. In addition to this, plant food contains no cholesterol unlike meat, eggs and dairy products which contain large amounts of cholesterol and saturated fats which is a major trigger for many health issues. Contrastingly, the high fiber content in a vegan diet helps wash away any cholesterol in the digestive tract.
Animal products contain harmful contaminants including bacteria, arsenic, dioxins, and mercury that can affect our health. Fish tissue has also been found to harbor levels of polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) thousands of times higher than in the water in which they live often because of biomagnification.
The overuse of antibiotics on factory farms has caused many of the bacteria found on animal flesh to become antibiotic resistant. Many opt for veganism to avoid side effects linked to antibiotics and hormones used in animal agriculture.
Animal Cruelty
Ethical vegans believe that all creatures have the right to life and freedom and are against ending a life simply to consume its flesh, or wear its skin. They are opposed to the physical or psychological stress animals endure during modern farming practices. Furthermore, vegans deplore the crammed pens, filthy battery cages and restrictive enclosures that animals live in and the fact that the animals hardly ever leave between birth and slaughter.
To this regard, ethical vegans demonstrate their opposition by protesting, raising awareness, and choosing products that don’t involve animal agriculture.
In terms of the treatment of animals, farm animals experience a lot of cruelty. They are mutilated mercilessly, their necks and throats hacked and slit open or are submerged in scalding hot water when still conscious. Moreover, calves are killed for veal and cows are put in a continuous loop of pregnancy, birthing and milking.
The main objective of factory farms is to maximize output while minimizing costs always at the animals’ expense. This leads to animals being squeezed into tiny spaces and being exposed to diseases and infections.
Environmental Concerns
People may choose to avoid animal products because of the environmental impact of animal agriculture. According to a report by the Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO), livestock account for 14.5 percent of all greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions globally. This accounts for approximately 7.1 gigatonnes of CO2-eq every year with beef and cattle milk production accounting for 41 and 20 percent of these emissions respectively. Pig and poultry farming account for 9 and 8 percent respectively. The three main GHGs emitted by this sector are nitrous oxide, methane, and carbon dioxide.
Secondly, deforestation is a growing concern in the spread of animal agriculture. Forests are cut down or burned to create space for livestock and their feeds as seen in the Amazon forest. Consequently, numerous animal habitats are being threatened due to this.
Lastly, large amounts of water are used for the consumption of livestock and the watering of the feeds. For example, in milk production, it is estimated that a cow would need 150 litres of water per day. Therefore, animal agriculture has a large footprint in terms of greenhouse gas emissions, water, and land use.
It should also be noted that the global production of avocados, a vegan favourite, required a water estimate of 2.82 million Olympic size swimming pools (each containing 2.5 million litres of water) in 2018. Although these statistics account for worldwide avocado consumption, veganism may not be without its own faults.
Conclusion
It is evident that the consumption of meat, eggs and dairy contribute to environmental degradation. Currently, people consume way too much meat and dairy. My take on this is one does not need to follow a strict plant-based diet to reduce their footprint. However, I would advice that we reduce our meat intake significantly. Perhaps do Meatless Mondays, scale down on the number of times you eat meat a week or substitute meat and dairy products with vegan alternatives. I strongly believe that if we all reduced our meat intake it could have a positive impact on the environment.
What’s your take on veganism? Would you become one on the account of the environment?
Let us know in the comment section.
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