 |
| Image via Flickr |
Happy Earth Day! It's the one day of the year we take to honor the planet that keeps us living and thriving.
To us, every day should be earth day because we have to do all we can to make sure we take care of the planet that takes care of us.
In this spirit, we wanted to suggest some ways in which going vegan can help sustain the earth and its inhabitants. Even if you're not ready to take the vegan plunge, a partial vegan diet can also be a good step in helping our planet and our animal friends.
 |
| Image via Flickr |
4. Go Vegan to Show Compassion to Our Animal Friends
 |
| Image via Flickr |
Limiting your meat and animal product intake is one way fight against the cruel culture of factory farms. Due to the high demand for meat, factory farms treat living creatures as inanimate products. They stuff them full of corn meal, limit their movement and keep them in filthy and crowded conditions. The dairy cows are constantly impregnated and never allowed to see their calves. The calves are taken away and used for veal as the dairy cow is pumped non-stop as her utters sink to the ground from unnatural use. People can often excuse this cruelty because they do not directly see it. Every purchase of animal products contributes to this cruel culture of animal torture and abuse though. If you can even limit your animal product purchases, you are making a step toward fighting this behavior.
3. Go Vegan to Prevent Antibiotic Resistance
 |
| Image via Flickr |
Recently researchers at John's Hopkins and Arizona State University found traces of a banned class of antibiotics called flouroquinolones in chicken. These substances were banned because their use in meat production could result in humans developing an antibiotic resistance which would render antibiotic useless to us. Though most farmers, including the chicken farmers in the study, claim they don't use antibiotics, there is evidence to suggest that they still do. Usually farmers use antibiotics because of the unsanitary and horrible conditions in which the animals are kept. Because animals can so easily develop life-threatening infections in these conditions, antibiotics are used to keep the animals healthy enough to eat and get ready for slaughter.
2. Go Vegan to Stay Healthy
 |
| Image via Flickr |
The same study that found evidence of antibiotics in chicken, also found evidence of acetaminophin, antihistamines, antidepressants, arsenic and caffeine in chicken. Substances like these are given to animals to keep them alive and alert enough to eat as much as possible. Though its not clear how much of this is passed on to meat eaters, it is sobering to think about the possible health effects. Meat is also harmful aside from the use of these substances. In fact a 28-year Harvard study found that a daily consumption of red meat increased a person's likelihood of death by 13%. In keeping ourselves healthy, we put less of a strain on our medical resources, allowing those resources to go to people who really need them.
1. Go Vegan to Limit Global Warming
 |
| Image via Flickr |
Think S.U.V.'s are the only culprit in global warming? Think again. In fact, livestock farming contributes to 18% of the world's greenhouse gas problems. If you've ever driven past a livestock farm, you can smell the reason. Methane gas is emitted through belches and gas as the cows chew their cud. The manure that is compacted in bulk on the cow and pig farms also emanates gasses that contribute to the warmed atmosphere. Because so many animals have to be bred and kept to meet the demand for meat, an unnatural amount of methane gas is being produced and it is largely impacting our climate.
No comments:
Post a Comment