Category Vegan

Oct 23 2014

What’s a Vegan Diet?

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What’s a Vegan Diet?

Definition of vegan. Wondering what a vegan is or what vegans eat, then you are on the right path. According to an article published by PETA, approximately 2.5 percent of people in the U.S. are vegans. Being a vegan is definitely more of a lifestyle choice and a philosophy than a diet. A vegan does not eat anything that is of animal origin. Vegans will not use animal based products for clothing, or any other purpose. Veganism is “an integral component of a cruelty-free lifestyle.”

Many vegans also say that there would still be slaughter of animals if we all became vegetarians who only consumed dairy and eggs from animals. Bulls and cockerels would most likely be slaughtered at birth, unless everybody were willing to pay more for their eggs and dairy in order to maintain these “unproductive” animals. Farming today is very different from what it used to be. Modern farms are highly mechanized factories – a lot of animals are given products to make them produce more.

Vegans say that veganism is a lifestyle with a philosophy that animals are not ours to use.

A person can become a vegan because of ethical reasons involving animal rights, for environmental factors, or for better health.

People gravitate to veganism for various reasons; but its popularity stems from three main reasons–number one being love and respect for animals. Animals raised on factory farms endure horrific living conditions, and most vegans believe that even animals raised with “free-range” and “organic” classifications still suffer. Another reason that people follow a vegan diet has to do with environmental concerns. Take this fact, for example: The world’s cattle alone consume a quantity of food equal to the caloric needs of 8.7 billion people–more than the entire human population on Earth. If we stop feeding all our land’s output to farmed animals, there will be more food for humans to eat. Lastly, some people become vegan for health reasons. Veganism is a strong movement and continues to increase in popularity. With increased awareness about the environment and animal welfare, it looks like it is a movement poised for continued growth. Livestock farming, has a devastating effect on our planet. A vegan believes that producing food through animal farming is inefficient, because animal feed production takes up a lot of land, fertilizer, water, and other resources – resources that could be used for feeding humans.

In the pursuit of higher yields, most vegans believe that livestock farms are accelerating topsoil erosion4; lowering its productivity for the cultivation of crops. A great deal of wilderness is converted to grazing and farm land because of this. A significant amount of pollution in groundwater and rivers comes from animal waste from massive feedlots and factory farms.

More people globally could be fed on existing land if we all became vegans.

“I’m a level 5 vegan—I don’t eat anything that casts a shadow.”   Character on The Simpsons

People often point to some food item and ask me, “Can you eat this?” My answer is always “Sure, I can eat whatever I want.” I choose not to eat certain things. When deciding what type of vegetarian you