Why Did Veganism Come To My Mind?
I contemplated veganism, or atleast vegetarianism for a long time before i made the decision to switch over from daily meat eater to vegan. In all honesty, the connection that the meat I was eating was an actual living animal before it was killed never really crossed my mind until A vegans words challenged my thinking. This is what I’m going to do in this article, so I want you to clear your mind from what all society has taught you is “normal”or whatever differentiation you have in your head about different animals.
For my background, before I decided to cut animal cruelty completely out of my life I would eat meat on a regular basis at least once a day. To think about the fact that I was actually eating an animals dead body, who probably wanted to live never crossed my mind. It was alarming to see the life of a factory farm animal, so alarming and just so people could have 15 minutes of satisfaction. Once I blocked out all the weird norms society had taught me and truly thought logically, I then made the obvious connection. I admitted to myself that animals were harmed and actually blugently murdered for the food I was eating. I was determined and sure t
That day I learned something that is so very socially and publicly hidden from all of us. We always heard things growing up like “It came from an animal” but not that an animal was killed for the product nor that the product IS an animal. Obviously as we grow up, we realise this. We realise this by the time we’ve already acquired a taste and want for it. We eat it as children, before we can even understand it is violence. We hear the products are cage free but we never hear that all the male chicks are grinded up alive because they don’t produce eggs. We never hear about all the factories cage free chickens being cramped in rooms just as tight as being in a small cage.
We never hear about the cruelty, because these people want money. You won’t hear it from them… but are in fact eating an animal who was alive at some point in time. An animal who physically and emotionally suffered. Someone who lost out on something we all deserve — A life with value, lived in peace. I realised at eighteen years old after lots of cognitive de-conditioning that it was not only barbaric, but extremely sad and selfish that animals had to suffer for something so simple as what we pick to eat.
When I Really Decided To Commit
Regardless when you’re coming to realise this, it’s a good thing you ar. Animals are suffering depending on what is or isn’t on your plate. One person who says no to eating meat and dairy does count! Companies lose mass amounts of money as more and more people go vegan. The demand for meat and dairy becomes smaller and smaller.
I contemplated going vegan for the longest time and truly I think one of the biggest factors in my decision to go vegan was doing the research and making the connection that animals are undeniably feeling creatures who can hurt and fear. Even though animals can’t speak, they can still communicate with us and the fact animals share that consciousness led me to veganism.
Horrors Of The Slaughter House
58 billion animals a year are slaughtered for consumption not including fish and eggs. If that isn’t a a genocide I don’t know what is. The saddest thing is with animals being easily over powered by humans, they don’t have a choice and a factory farm is the place where selfish humans decide their fates for them. Here are just a few horrific examples of what a animals life is like in a slaughter house. I implicate a trigger warning for the upcoming list of modern farming methods:
1. Chicken Macerator – also known as instantaneous mechanical destruction machine is used to kill and literally grind up unwanted male chicks after their born instead of letting chicks go back to their natural habitat
2. A Squeeze Chute – also known as a cattle crush or rape rack is used to detain cows as they are restraint for artificial insemination
3. Stunner/Killer – an automated chicken killer that hangs chicken by their feet and one at a time stuns chickens to a slow painful death
4. Captive Bolt Gun – drives a metal rod into to the skull of cattle
5. Layer Cages – tightly packed small cages used for egg laying before chickens are slaughtered: cage dimensions are about 24″x18″ wide and up to 4 chickens are stuffed into each
6. Gestation Crate – A metal enclosure in which a sow (female pig) may be kept during pregnancy and most of her adult life before slaughter and is roughly the size of a shopping kart
7. Chicken Beak Cutting – Used to trim the ends off of chicks beaks at a few days old
—there are also many other horrific slaughtering methods that i just won’t get into because theres too many—
Why I Chose Veganism Over Being Vegetarian
Despite the quote-on-quote “hardships” of going vegan so many people choose vegan over vegetarian and here is why: Animals are still tortured for eggs, dairy products and anything with animal product in them. After they are used for the product the un useful animals are killed and the rest slaughtered for people’s satisfactory meals.
The Process Of Dairy
Alike humans cows are mammals and produce milk after their impregnated. Their lactation period is 20-40 days after birth. All dairy farms use a method that is called “artificial insemination” the injection of semen into the vagina. The cows always kick and scream as they are restraint in what is called a “rape rack” This would be called rape if done to a human but all the dairy industry cares about is profit and mass production.
After the cow gives birth to the calve, if it’s male it will slaughtered for veal as early as the day of birth. Other cows will be confined in veal crates for a few weeks chained and unable to perform basic functions because this cuts off their oxygen and makes the meat tender. If it is female it will join the milking herd. This process will continue and the female cows are stuck in a constant cycle of impregnation and slaughtered at only 4 years. A cows life span is roughly 25 years.
Chickens
Not only will chickens be crushed and kept in crates with the platform the size of an iPad their entire lives for eggs they will also be injected with steroids unhealthy for themselves and unhealthy for their growth. Male chicks will be grinded up and gassed because they cannot produce eggs and have no purpose for the dairy industry, some the very first day of birth.
Unnecessary Violence In Slaughter Houses
Of course slaughter houses are full of unimaginable acts of violence. Everyone knows their killing animals but majority of meat eaters do not know the severity of cruelty and suffering that takes place. These animals fear and often have seizures out of fear. These animals scream, cry and fear just like humans do and it’s about time we stop desensitizing meat or dairy.
Aside From Animal Cruelty
Animal cruelty is a huge part of why I went vegan, but there’s also lots of other reasons and benefits as to why you should go vegan if you’re not a softie animal lover like me:
- Climate Change (Factory farming gives off more emissions than all transportation combined
- Health Risks Meat consumption is actually the cause of the second most common cancer (colon) and women who eat meat and dairy have a larger chance of getting ovarian cancer
- Deforestation Mass producing animals means cutting down so many trees to have space for grass fed animals and to build factories. More CO2 and less oxygen? Yikes!
- Ocean Dead Zones Most of the earths discovered margins of water already are depleted of large fish. It is predicted by 2050, the oceans will be fishless if rates continue
- World Hunger Since 50% of earths grains are fed to mass produced livestock (at incredibly un natural reproduction rates) meat and dairy production is the number one cause of starvation. It can take 1,000 grains to feed one cow that will be slaughtered and feed 5 people or you could feed a village/small town.
Your Contribution Matters
People are always saying “what’s the point of going vegan whenever other people won’t choose too?” Actually, the decrease in demand for meat products has gone down from 10 billion animals in 2002 to 8 billion animals in 2014. That’s 2 billion animals lives saved because people chose to go vegan. Every day that you’re eating vegan, you save 1,000 gallons of water, 45 pounds of grain, 30 square feet of land, 20 pounds of carbon dioxide equivalent and most importantly one animals life.
Keeping Up On Your Health With A Vegan Diet
For a vegan diet you need to make sure you’re remaining your health and your bodies nutritional needs. You need to make sure you’re getting enough protein intake because you aren’t eating not eating meat – this means tofu, soy, lentils, mushrooms, cucumbers, spinach, kale, and bell peppers because they are all high in protein. You also need to make sure you are getting enough iron as well which avocado, almonds, potatoes, tomato, sprouts, chia seeds, banana and sweet peas are high in and don’t forget to include whole grains into your diet by eating whole grain cereal, brown rice wheat bread, whole, grain pastas etc.
The best part about being vegan is the happiness you get from knowing you really are helping animals. The food is great and I can honestly say dairy and meat replacements have advanced and were my key to transitioning. Just make sure you aren’t eating processed foods constantly and make sure you’re getting the nutrients you need.
Here’s some yummy vegan food I’ve made and had myself :
Definitely make sure you are keeping up on your vitamin intake. Vitamins are extremely important when being on a vegan diet. Your body need vitamins. Take iron weekly and Vegan Omega 3 supplements (vegan fish oil) with vitamin C and D daily. Make sure to not buy any vitamins containing gelatin as it is made out of animal bones and skin.
Ahoy mate! We’ve got us a vegan tuna salad sandwich made from chickpeas. It’s simple and flavorful, if you want you can add cranberries for a colorful twist. 
Cruelty Free Flower 