Why Plant-Based?

It is said by some, that those who are first looked upon as mad are often the ones who end up changing the world. This saying seems to apply to a certain group of people who are constantly ridiculed for their choices. That’s right, vegetarians and vegans. We’ve all heard the jokes, we’ve probably even been the ones making them. But perhaps these outliers aren’t as crazy as we seem to think. 

The most common reason people give for eating a plant-based diet is the immoral aspect of animal cruelty. Undercover investigations have gathered evidence proving unspeakable acts against the animals that are processed for our daily consumption.  Approximately 250 cows are killed each hour -that’s about four cows a minute. Due to the ever-increasing demand for meat, especially beef, it is almost impossible to process the immense number of animals without using Concentrated Animal Feeding Operations and/or factory farms. It is rare that a slaughter house employee will be given training on how to handle these large animals properly in their distressed state. They often become frustrated due to being rushed to stay on schedule. It isn’t rare for them to resort to violent tactics to get the animals to move more quickly down the funeral procession. This in turn creates more stress and fear for the animals, thus resulting in a greater possibility of live slaughter.  

Another reason given when people question the reasoning of one eating a plant-based diet is the negative environmental impact. Perhaps the largest way the meat and dairy industry effects the environment is through land usage. According to George Wuerthner, “A small shift in our diet away from meat could have a tremendous impact on the ground in terms of freeing up lands for restoration and wildlife habitat. It would also reduce the poisoning of our streams and groundwater with pesticides and other residue of modern agricultural practices.” Also, the meat and dairy industry uses a mass amount of water. “Every kilogram of beef requires 100,000 liters of water to produce. By comparison, a kilogram of wheat requires just 900 liters, and a kilogram of potatoes just 500 liters,” says Dr. T. Collin Campbell, the leading scientist in the nutrition field who has devoted his life to studying plant-based nutrition 

People around the world are starving and dying of thirst. Imagine the amount of famine that could be eliminated by simply reducing or cutting out meat from our diet. 70% of the grain grown in the United States is used to feed live stock. What if that went towards feeding people directly instead? The most energy efficient source of food is plants as evidenced in the “10% rule” of biology, and some of the world’s best athletes are vegans, so nutrition isn’t actually a concern despite popular belief.  

Additionally, the meat and dairy industry negatively impacts the environment is through greenhouse gases. Campbell said, “In fact, the meat industry is the number one source of methane throughout the world, releasing over 100 million tons a year. Methane is a gas that traps heat in the atmosphere and causes the earth’s temperature to rise.” Whether or not you believe in climate change, even the biggest skeptic would be hard-pressed to deny the fact that methane is not good for our atmosphere, and if you are a believer, then this news may come as a sobering validation of your dietary choices.   

Probably the most convincing argument to be made in today’s world; health reasons. People have completely reversed illnesses medical professionals say are irreversible by changing their diets. “The people who eat the most animal protein have the most heart disease, cancer, and diabetes.”  

According to the Center for Disease Control and Prevention, Heart disease is the number one leading cause of death in America.  In one study shown in the documentary Forks Over Knives, endothelia cells (the cells that make up the interior wall of all blood vessels) were proven to deteriorate under a typical western diet, but the damaged cells reversed the damage and revived when under a plant-based diet. Cancer is the second leading killer in the United States and the scariest disease Americans tend to worry about; ask anyone and it is guaranteed they know or know of someone who has the disease or has died from it. Dr. Campbell conducted a study that showed an undeniable connection between the absence of cancer and plant-based diets. From the study, Campbell concluded that dairy intake is “one of the most consistent dietary predictors for prostate cancer in the published literature,” and those who consume the most dairy have double to quadruple the risk.” 

Another interesting observation made by Dr. Campbell, which inspired his world-renowned book, The China Study, is the connection of diets throughout the world. “Population studies begun forty to fifty years ago show that when people migrate from one country to another, they acquire the cancer rate of the country to which they move, despite the fact their genes remain the same.” When people talk about Cancer, they talk about Cancer in America and Europe, you don’t often hear about cancer in the east. The major difference? The diets. An Eastern diet consists of “approximately three times as much plant-based foods,” and not much meat. The cancer rates in places that follow these diets are so much lower than that of a western diet.  

By simply changing our diets, we have the power to change the world for the better. We can end animal cruelty in slaughter houses and on dairy farms. We can make more room to grow food to end the hunger in the world, save water that could go to much better places, and reduce methane gas production. We can make the world healthier and happier by reducing heart disease and cancer. We can do this all the while eating good healthy food. Why Plant-based? Why not?