HEALTH
Dr. T. Colin Campbell, who co-authored the largest human nutrition study (The China Study, Cornell-Oxford), concluded “Our study suggests the closer one approaches a total plant based diet, the greater the health benefit.” About 80% of all chronic diseases in the US are caused by the Standard American Diet (SAD), and other lifestyle factors. Animal fat, animal protein and cholesterol are directly implicated in the chronic diseases that plague so many people on the Standard American Diet (SAD).
Over 138 thousand animals are killed for food every minute.
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ANIMAL WELFARE & COMPASSION
Right now, billions of innocent animals are living lives of misery, and enduring unspeakable horrors, every second, of every day in order to support our current food system. Although animal factory owners view these sentient beings as nothing more than commodities, did you know that pigs outperform 3 year old human children on cognition tests, and can even learn how to play video games? Our food system (animal agriculture), continues to destroy everything in its path, including other species, and our planet. Martin Luther King, Jr., once said “Injustice anywhere, is a threat to justice everywhere.” If you would like to know more about our food system, animal abuse, and where over 99% of the meat that is purchased in our local supermarkets comes from, click on the button below for the excellent (and disturbing) film called Earthlings.
EARTH
Animals eat so much more than they produce as meat or dairy. As per the Buddhist Monk Thich Nhat Hanh, “Every day, tens of thousands of children die in the world for lack of food. We, who overeat in the West, who are feeding grains to animals to make meat, are eating the flesh of these children.” In addition, our food system is not only the leading cause of human illness, it is also a leading cause of the climate crisis, habitat destruction, wildlife extinction, water pollution and water scarcity. Now, we can add that the practices of our food system have also likely caused the most disruptive virus of our lifetime, COVID-19. According to Oxford University’s Joseph Poore, avoiding meat and dairy products is the “single biggest way” to reduce your impact on Earth.
PEACE
We are destined for war, so long as we have a food system that is based on violence and suffering. The United States has killed millions of innocent people in the last 20 years alone, due to its illegal ongoing wars, and acts of genocide (which is wildly more than any other country). America’s annual military spending is about $1.54 trillion (nearly double the official US numbers), and exceeds the next 10 countries combined, including both Russia and China. Is it any surprise then, that per capita, the United States also slaughters more innocent animals than any other major power too? Born in the 19th century, Agnes Edna Ryan summed it up well, when she wrote, “Wars will never cease while men still kill other animals for food, for to turn any living creature into a roast, a steak, a chop, or any other type of ‘meat’ takes the same kind of violence, the same kind of bloodshed, and the same kind of mental processes required to change a living man into a dead soldier.” Violence begets violence, or as Leo Tolstoy scribed, “As long as there are slaughterhouses, there will be battlefields.” A vegan lifestyle that includes a plant-based diet, gives us the best chance for peace too.
Do you think your doctor knows best?
Not so fast. More than 80% of medical schools in the US do not offer a single required course in nutrition.
“The US spends $3.6 Trillion each year on healthcare, and 86% of the money spent, goes to treating chronic diseases that can often be prevented or reversed by making diet, and lifestyle changes.” – Dr. Dean Ornish
DID YOU KNOW?
Every vegan saves nearly 200 animals per year. There is simply no easier way to help animals and prevent suffering than by choosing plant-based foods over meat, eggs, and dairy products.
In addition, Vegans are, on average, up to 20 pounds lighter than meat-eaters, and a plant based diet provides better nutrition than a diet including meat and dairy products.
Surprised? Well, meat is low in many vitamins and minerals. It has no vitamin C and no fiber at all, and it is high in saturated fat and cholesterol. Yes, meat does have protein and iron, but so do plants, in more healthful forms. Similarly, dairy products have lots of fat, unhealthy protein and sugar and miss the vitamins that are in vegetables, fruits and beans.
Vegans are less likely to develop heart disease, cancer, diabetes, Alzheimer’s and high blood pressure than meat-eaters. Vegans get all the nutrients that they need to be healthy, such as plant protein, fiber, and minerals, without all the nasty stuff in meat that may slow you down.
So, whether your motivation is to save lives, or our planet, a healthy plant based diet can be both preventative and healing, whereas a diet high in saturated fat, animal protein and cholesterol is destructive to our health.
Source: PETA, Dr. Neal Barnard, The Vegan Starter Kit
