The Four Reasons Why I Went Plant-Based
Why plant-based? Why do I opt out of meat & dairy? That’s not an uncommon question aimed in my direction. People are genuinely curious, and I don’t mind talking about it. If you were to ask me this a decade ago, I may have had ONE reason, but today, there are FOUR reasons why I am whole-foods plant-based…because the more I know, the more I know this is the path for me.
Disclaimer: Some of this may be hard to read.
1) Because animal products gross me out.
They do. They truly do. From the ripe old age of 5, when I first discovered I was eating a dead animal, I was appalled. I looked at my food differently. I studied it. I dissected it. I saw veins and fat and blood and things I didn’t want to put in my mouth. I couldn’t help but replay in my head over and over that an animal had to die for its insides to be sitting here on my plate. Not trying to be grotesque, but that’s exactly what happens, and I didn’t like it. The words “carcass” and “secretions” give me the chills, and I decided I no longer wanted to eat animal carcasses and their secretions. I’ve been on and off vegetarian my whole life and in January 2018 went full vegan, also eliminating dairy.
2) Because I’m passionate about the long-term health of our environment.
The slaughtering of billions of animals a year is putting a huge strain on our environment and natural resources. We’re producing staggering amounts of waste and greenhouse gasses that are polluting our air, land, and water, and contributing to climate change. Here are some facts (pulled from factoryfarm.org)
In the U.S. alone, animals raised on factory farms generate more than 1 million tons of manure per day — three times the amount generated by the country’s human population.
When lagoons reach capacity, farmers will often opt to apply manure to surrounding areas rather than pay to have the waste transported off-site. According to the USDA, animal waste can contaminate water supplies and emit harmful gases into the atmosphere when over-applied to land.
In order to prevent the spread of disease in the crowded, filthy conditions of confinement operations, and to promote faster growth, producers feed farm animals a number of antibiotics. Upwards of 75 percent of the antibiotics fed to farm animals end up undigested in their urine and manure. Through this waste, the antibiotics may contaminate crops and waterways and ultimately be ingested by humans.
The demand for livestock pasture is a major driver of deforestation. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has estimated that 70 percent of land formerly supporting Amazon rainforests has been turned over to grazing.
Between watering the crops that farm animals eat, providing drinking water for billions of animals each year, and cleaning away the filth in factory farms, transport trucks, and slaughterhouses, the animal agriculture industry has a huge impact on the water supply. Producing one pound of beef takes an estimated 1,581 gallons of water, which is roughly as much as the average American uses in 100 showers.
We can do matter. We can make changes which start with better, more economically friendly choices, such as going plant-based. We’ve incorporated other environmentally friendly lifestyle changes such as avoiding plastic straws and opting for a greener laundry detergent and cleaning agents.
3) Because the animals don’t have a voice, but I do.
Did you know its standard LEGAL practice to kill male calves by shooting them? That it’s legal to put newborn baby calves in solitary confinement hutches? Legal to send mother cows to slaughter houses where they are hung upside down by their legs to have their throats cut? Legal to restrain a dairy cow and forcibly impregnate her? Legal to separate baby calves from their mothers within 48 hours of birth? Read those again. It’s hard, right? But that is standard legal practice at ALL dairy farms. Every single second animals are raped, exploited, beaten, and murdered inside farms, both factory and small. Piglets tossed in corners after being castrated without anesthetics. Chickens on top of chickens, all over-sized from hormones (because money), and sitting in their feces. Many with infections because of the conditions. Hundreds of baby male chicks on conveyer belts and dropped into shredders alive to be used as feed. Dairy cows with bloody, crusty nipples and infections from years of metal clamps and pumps. I get teary eyed just thinking about all the pain they endure and for what? Our pleasure?
This is real life for them. They didn’t ask for this. They didn’t come willingly. They don’t have a voice to say NO. At the end of the day, they just want to LIVE like you and I. If I purchase meat and dairy, it means I agree with what is happening at these farms….and I don’t agree with it one bit.
4) Because I care about my health and longevity.
I like to read, and I read a lot about health…the industry as a whole, specific foods, how our body works, and most recently, about longevity. Longevity is widely based on an entire lifestyle, but the common theme among those who live in Blue Zone areas (regions of the world where people live longer than average) is a whole-food plant-based diet. Sweet potatoes, rice, legumes, nuts, fresh fruits and vegetables make up the diet of those who are currently living the longest. These individuals are also void of heart disease, cancers, alzheimer’s, and other deadly and chronic conditions. Sign me up for that plan!
I recommend doing your own research, but I have found the following resources to be helpful in my journey!
NutrtionFacts.Org (non-commercial science-based public service)
How Not To Die (book by Dr Michael Gregor)
The Blue Zones (book by Dan Buettner)
The Game Changers (documentary on Netflix)
What the Health (documentary on Netflix)
Dairy is Scary (5 minute dairy documentary)
We are each on our own individual journey, and this has been mine. Whatever your beliefs, I know we can all benefit positively from more plants in our lives!
xoxo