10 reasons for a vegan lifestyle

The number of people in this country who follow a vegan diet is continually increasing. And the trend is rising. 

But why are these people vegan? The following article lists 10 reasons for a vegan lifestyle.

10 reasons: Why go vegan?

Important reasons for a vegan diet are:

• ethics
• Animal protection
• Environment
• World hunger
• sustainability
• Cardiovascular diseases
• Cancer
• Overweight
• Inflammatory diseases
• enjoyment
• ethics

Vegans don't want animals to be exploited and have to die for their way of life. Factory farming is an expression of the exploitation of animals and is therefore ethically unacceptable.

Animal Protection

On average, every meat eater eats more than 1,000 animals in their life.In order to meet this enormous consumption of meat by consumers, the animals have to be kept in very small spaces. In so-called industrial breeding (factory farming), animals are only viewed as commodities. The animals have no opportunity to express their natural behavior.

As soon as they produce less milk, they are killed.Male chicks are shredded immediately after birth because they do not lay eggs and do not produce enough meat - there are breeds for fattening that produce a higher meat content.

Environment

According to the FAO, industrial agriculture is responsible for around 18% of global greenhouse gas emissions. But it's not just the dangerous greenhouse gases that cause problems for the environment, but also the enormous water consumption and the extreme deforestation of the rainforest to create pastures for the production of meat or other animal products.

For example, 16,000 liters of water are required per kilogram of meat to produce it! In comparison, only 1,350 liters of water are needed for 1 kilogram of grain.Given that 800 million people currently lack access to clean drinking water, this is very worrying.

The bottom line is that vegans actively contribute to climate protection by avoiding meat and animal products.

World Hunger

Hunger is a problem worldwide. Currently, around a billion people suffer from malnutrition because they do not have enough food. The majority of those affected live in developing countries. Year after year, hunger is a more common cause of death on earth than tuberculosis, malaria and AIDS.

The amount of grain grown worldwide would be sufficient to ensure that no one goes hungry.However, in many countries where people are starving, the huge available cultivated areas are used to export feed for factory farming to so-called industrialized countries. If this food were made available to the population instead, no one on earth would have to go hungry anymore.

Sustainability

Extremely high meat consumption worldwide is a cause of global warming and a number of climate and environmental disasters.In factory farming, large quantities of the dangerous gases nitrous oxide and methane are released into the environment.

These two gases are significantly more effective than carbon dioxide and are therefore even more harmful to the climate and the environment.A vegan lifestyle allows you to conserve valuable resources, such as energy and water. This factor is particularly relevant for future generations.

Cardiovascular Diseases

A purely plant-based diet is advantageous because of the significantly lower intake of cholesterol and a more favorable fatty acid composition.

Consuming large amounts of animal-based foods increases the risk of developing cardiovascular diseases. Vegans are significantly less likely to become ill and die from coronary heart disease and atherosclerosis.

Cancer

After cardiovascular diseases, cancer is the second most common cause of death. There are numerous studies that examine the connection between a vegan lifestyle and cancer.

The results of various studies prove that the risk of vegans developing cancer or dying is significantly lower than that of meat eaters. This is particularly true for lung and colon cancer.

Overweight

According to statistics, 53% of women and 67% of men in the world are currently overweight, 24% of women and 23% of men of those affected are severely overweight .Being overweight promotes the development of diabetes, secondary diseases and numerous other so-called diseases of civilization.

Characteristics of a vegan diet are the high proportion of plant-based products (lots of fiber). Eating plant-based products means low fat and energy intake. Most vegans are therefore of normal weight without having to count calories.

Inflammatory Diseases

The incidence of inflammatory diseases has increased steadily and sharply in the world over the past decades. Chronic inflammatory diseases also include so-called autoimmune diseases, for example rheumatoid arthritis, Crohn's disease and ulcerative colitis.

Arachidonic acid plays a relevant role in the development of inflammatory diseases. This omega-6 fatty acid is needed by the body to trigger so-called inflammatory reactions in the body. Arachidonic acid is mostly a component of animal products.

A diet without animal products reduces the absorption of arachidonic acid. Vegans therefore have lower CRP concentrations than people who eat meat. CRP refers to the severity of inflammatory diseases. A purely plant-based diet is characterized by an anti-inflammatory effect and also alleviates existing illnesses.

However, it is not just the choice of food that is important, but also a healthy lifestyle. Vegans smoke less often or not at all, drink little alcohol and, on average, do more exercise.

Enjoyment

Most people ask themselves which foods they can actually eat if they eliminate dairy products, milk, eggs, fish, meat and honey from their diet. Nevertheless, the vegan diet is very varied.Anyone who switches to a vegan diet will discover a wealth of different new vegetables and fruits. To ensure variety on the plate, they are repeatedly combined with other ingredients.

A look at the shelves of supermarkets in this country shows that the range of vegan foods is very diverse. Cheese and meat can be replaced with legume and grain products. The range of vegan restaurants and cookbooks is also continually increasing in this country. To make everyday shopping easier for consumers who follow a meat-free diet, more and more manufacture RMS  are labeling their products as vegan or vegetarian.

Benefits Of A Vegan Diet

Scientists agree that a lot still needs to be done when it comes to veganism. Unfortunately, there is still a lack of in-depth information in this area, for example on the possible effects of various plants on health.

Nevertheless, the following trend is clearly emerging: living vegan has more advantages than disadvantages!