Why should you live vegan and give up animal products? Many vegans preach the reasons for Vegetable diet too emotional, too intrusive and too annoying for some, so that you quickly switch off. But vegans actually know their personal motivation for plant-based nutrition just too well already. Those who eat a lot of meat and other animal foods may not yet - or not so much - have dealt with the problems and consequences that come with this way of eating.
In this article, I would therefore like to show you calmly which reasons speak for the plant-based diet and why veganism convinces more and more people.
Here are the 10 reasons at a glance:
- Cruelty to animals
- Deforestation
- Global warming
- Respect
- Water shortage
- Taste
- Health
- Killing animals
- Further development
- Lightness
Notice: I refer to the essentials in my explanations - but give you in each case more in-depth articles to hand, in which you can then learn more if desired.
10 reasons for vegan diet
Why vegan? What is the reason that around 1.3 million people in Germany have turned to a vegan diet and 8 million vegetarians are already on their way there?₁ The personal motivation to give up animal foods is a mix of health, justice, ethics and animal welfare, environmental protection and enjoyment.
To be fair, I should explain this to you in a little more detail - because anyone can babble! Here are the most important reasons for a plant-based diet at a glance.
Tip: More Veganism statistics you can find in the linked article!
1. stop cruelty to animals / factory farming
Why vegan? My personal main reason for vegan diet is the Protection of animals from exploitation by humans - and associated with it from physical and emotional pain, which is not even necessary. Cows are kept in the Factory farming artificially made permanently pregnant so that they always give milk. Milk that is actually intended for their calves, which in turn are snatched from their mothers just a few hours after birth. Pigs have their tails cut off and their teeth sharpened so that they don't nibble each other in factory farming. In order for them to be able to endure all this physically at all, we give them antibiotics.
Our consumption of animal products only satisfies luxury needs and has no deeper meaning. Why should I contribute to the exploitation and ultimately the killing of living beings if I don't have to? Added to this is the Liquid manurewhich results from the mass keeping of livestock and pollutes the soil, groundwater, and the food grown on it with nitrates and antibiotic residues. In addition, so much manure is produced on farms in densely populated metropolitan regions that it is sold to regions with more land and ultimately transported hundreds of kilometers away.
Besides the already linked topics you will find here further articles, where you can learn more about this reason for plant-based diets:
- Cruelty to animals - What everyone can do about it
- Chick Shredding - What is it?
- Documentaries about meat consumption
- Why do vegans not drink dairy milk?
- Tips for animal welfare in everyday life
- Animal Kill Counter - So many animals die every second for our food
2. stop deforestation of the rainforests
Why vegan? Plant-based nutrition is not only about mental and physical protection of animals. An important reason for this diet is also the Species protection in the fight against global Species extinction. As the forest disappears, so do shelter, food opportunities and the basis of life for animals and plants. In addition, deforestation exacerbates global warming.
To the massive Deforestation leads, above all, our way of eating. In a Nutshell: Farm animals such as cows and pigs need a lot of protein-rich feed - soybean meal. To meet the growing demand for meat and to grow more soy, (rain) forests are therefore being cut down. Incidentally, also to make more room for more pasture. The massive deforestation is therefore an important reason for many vegans to decide on a plant-based diet.
Related articles:
3. counteract global warming
Why vegan? The Climate change belongs to the largest Environmental problems of our time - and further exacerbates many other challenges. Factory farming or the Meat industry accounts for around 15 percent of global greenhouse gas emissionsthat accelerate global warming.₂ Energy and water consumption, animal transports, deforestation, ice melt. All are interrelated. One of the many important reasons for a plant-based diet is therefore that only by consuming meat more consciously will we be able to achieve the global climate targets that have been set.
Related articles:
4. respect for hungry people
Why vegan? Because with a plant-based diet we feed all the people in the world and the global famine can combat. To produce one kilogram of beef in Germany, 1.7 kilograms of grain are needed. And currently, 60 percent of the grain used in Germany is used as animal feed.₃ One reason for vegan nutrition is therefore primarily that fewer farm animals need to be fed in the long term and more food can be used for (starving) people.
Those who eat a vegan diet also show more respect towards people who live from selling food - such as farmers or fishermen - and all people who are afraid of not having anything to eat every day. Furthermore, a climate-friendly diet is respectful towards the people who are already threatened by rising sea levels.
Related articles:
Tip: I have written you another detailed article about Veganism and human rights written. Be sure to check it out to learn how being vegan promotes respect for human rights.
5. stop water shortage
Why vegan? Because our way of eating massively contributes to the environmental problem of the Water shortage contributes. Each of us consumes water directly (e.g. through showers or the toilet flush) and indirect (e.g. through the consumption of beef). Just to produce one kilogram of beef, about 15,500 liters of water are needed for growing fodder, watering, cleaning stalls and other things.₄ The increasing water shortage in turn leads to crop failures for many people, who lose their Threaten existence and the Threaten food security. For many vegans, this is an important reason for the plant-based diet.
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6. enjoy new, delicious and varied meals
Why vegan? Because vegan meals are simply unbelievably delicious. You can still have schnitzel, cheese and burgers with fries - just without animal products: Vegetable cutlet, almond-based cheese and burger with amaranth patty. Basically, not much changes: except that after a short period of getting used to it, you realize that the choice of meals is suddenly much bigger than before. Only more environmentally and socially compatible. That is an important reason for the vegan nourishing way.
Related articles:
- Vegan barbecue - The best tips
- How to stay vegan at the festival
- Legumes instead of meat
- Eat vegan on the job
7. promote own health
Why vegan? To stay physically fit and healthy. Vegans and vegetarians have on the one hand a lower risk of common diseases such as type 2 diabetes, hypertension, strokes and obesity.₅
On the other hand, the reduced probability of Spread and transmission of diseasessuch as the coronavirus, is lower due to the absence of animal products. An important reason for the plant-based diet for many vegans is also that a Most of the antibiotics available to us humans are fed to farm animals and the drugs are also found as residues in the meat. This creates resistance in the human body, which can ultimately become life-threatening for ourselves.
Related articles:
Tip: Be sure to see the movie "The Game Changers" on! There, competitive athletes are presented who have been eating only vegan for years and are still successful.
8. organic meat also brings nothing to the animals in the end
Why vegan? Because also the "species-appropriate" but just also profit-oriented keeping of farm animals ultimately leads to the early and unwanted death of animals. Whether organic or conventional: the Slaughter can not be humane - and no animal likes to die. One of many good reasons to live vegan is therefore also that you do not want other living beings to suffer and die for your own taste buds.
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9. personal development
Why vegan? Because veganism is an important step towards showing more humanity again. Plant-based diets are neither unmanly nor soft. It is human. Anyone who informs themselves about vegan nutrition, as you are doing right now, shows that they question things and, if necessary, are also prepared to optimize their own behavior. Vegan nutrition is honest, fair, healthy and contemporary and allows you to enjoy life despite - or precisely because of - that.
Related articles:
10. eating vegan is now easier than ever before
Why vegan? Because it is absolutely no longer complicated is to eat only plant-based products. The supermarkets are full of them. The diverse range is another reason why more and more people are opting for the environmentally, animal and socially responsible vegan diet. All you have to do is Allow change slowly and just try some "new" foods.
Related articles:
- Easy start to the vegan diet
- Become a vegetarian - It's that easy
- Foods that are surprisingly not vegan
Can you think of other reasons to eat a plant-based diet? Then feel free to write me a comment with your personal motivation!
Why vegan? Good reasons for a plant-based diet
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I'm sure you can identify with many of the reasons for veganism mentioned. Maybe after this article you will also have a higher understanding for the fact that some vegans are "pushy and annoying" 😉. Giving up meat and other animal products is simply an emotional issue - both for those who have always eaten meat and for those who have been abstaining from animal products for ages. It is simply important to question one's own behavior - and that of others - time and again. Only then can we recognize what really drives people.
Whether you're vegan or not, here are three questions to finish with that you should personally answer and think about further:
- Why do you eat meat, cheese and why do you drink cow's milk?
- Your taste buds or the lives of animals?
- Can you imagine killing the animal you eat yourself?
Do you have any suggestions or questions about this article? And can you think of any other reasons that speak for a vegan lifestyle? Then just write me a comment.
Stay sustainable,
PS.: Especially in the Animal welfare blog you can learn much more about the reasons for a vegan lifestyle. For example, educate yourself with the article Are zoos up to date? an opinion about the keeping of animals in zoos.
References:
₁ ProVeg e.V.. (2019): Vegan-Trend: Facts and figures on the veggie market (as of 11.01.2019), available at https://proveg.com/de/pflanzlicher-lebensstil/vegan-trend-zahlen-und-fakten-zum-veggie-markt. [02.04.2020].
₂ NDR Docu: Nutrition - How do I eat in a climate-friendly way? | NDR Doku | 1TP3Weather Extreme. YouTube, 20 May 2019, web, 02 April 2020 at 12:01, in: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PUU4zSHAiI8&t=218s.
₃ Albert Schweitzer Foundation: What's behind a kilogram of beef (as of Feb. 10, 2017), available at https://albert-schweitzer-stiftung.de/aktuell/1-kg-rindfleisch. [02.04.2020].
₄ Federal Environment Agency (2017): Hidden water (as of 22.03.2017). https://t1p.de/ddfg. [09.08.2019].
₅ Albert Schweitzer Foundation: Vegan healthy, available at https://albert-schweitzer-stiftung.de/themen/vegan-gesund. [02.04.2020].
