1. Health & Longevity
Chances are if you’re reading this article on a vegan website, you’re already familiar with the slew of positive health benefits associated with a plant-based diet. By now everyone knows this: you will live longer and lighter with lower cholesterol and blood pressure on a vegan diet. Is it any wonder veganism is making the rounds in Hollywood? Ellen DeGeneres, Pamela Anderson, Woody Harrelson and hundreds more celebrities must be on to something.
2. Animals
This reason is so obvious, it might as well be the elephant in the room. Of course, it’s a happy elephant living a free and healthy life. Unfortunately, that is not the fate of the thousands of animals in slaughterhouses daily. Google just one YouTube video of some slaughterhouse action, and you’ll think twice before biting into that BLT.
3. Environment
Vegetables don’t poop. As obvious as that may sound, it’s one unlikely but awesome reason veganism is good for the environment. Livestock waste is responsible for 51% of harmful greenhouse-gas emissions (carbon dioxide, methane, and nitrous oxide) and 80% of ammonia emissions in the US. These chemicals are not only associated with global warming, but with respiratory illnesses in humans as well. Meanwhile, plants create oxygen rather than inhale, transform, and later dispose of it. They’re superfoods before we even eat them!
4. Sustainable
Here’s some third grade math: If a train traveling from Chicago carries 2,400 gallons of cow drinking water, how many pounds of meat will it yield? Answer: One pound. Livestock eat and drink far more grain and water than they yield in meat. We could end world hunger by feeding these mass amounts of plant food to people, rather than feeding it to the livestock that will only end up feeding a handful of people.
5. Economical
If you want to spend the summer in Italy, buy that new Porsche, and someday retire, you need to be money savvy. One easy way to save money is to go vegan. Meat costs more per gram of protein than vegetables. From an economics perspective, it costs farmers more money to raise livestock than vegetables. And, according to basic economic principles, if there were more vegetable farms, the cost of vegetables would go down even more.
6. Safety
Do you enjoy vomiting, diarrhea, abdominal pain, fever, and chills? If so, eat meat. Due to its makeup, slaughter procedures, shipping and handling conditions, and preparation, meat is very susceptible to harmful bacteria, parasites, viruses, and chemicals that cause food borne illnesses. Salmonella and Listeria monocytogenes are found in meat. The best way to avoid exposure to these tiny little monsters is to avoid handling and eating meat.
7. Delicious
I can’t tell you how many times I’ve taken a meat eating friend (yes, I have those) to a vegan restaurant and they exclaim, “Wow! It’s so tasty you don’t even realize it’s vegan. Can we come back here next week?” Or when I bring a plate of beautifully decorated cupcakes to a party and my friends say, “There’s no way these are vegan, they are so delectable and moist.” Vegan food is delicious! Additionally, the limitations in ingredients forces vegans to be more creative in the kitchen, thus making better food!
8. Trendy
Being vegan is cool. All the hot new restaurants have vegan only menus, and all the hot old restaurants are adding new vegan entrees. The days of the one dish wonder of boring steamed vegetables are over. Beyonce, Jay-Z, and most recently Jennifer Lopez have all tried out a vegan diet and while it hasn’t stuck for any of them yet, at least J-Lo will be sharing her vegan-friendly diet plan.
9. Fun
Apart from meeting new friends, trying new restaurants and new cuisines, reading vegan food blogs, the most fun you can have being vegan is challenging yourself to get creative and engaging in the culinary art of substitution! Plus, vegan food photographs well with its vibrant colors, interesting textures, and, in some cases, unbelievable shapes. These qualities make vegan food perfect for posting to Instagram and inspiring jealousy in all of your followers.
10. Experiment
Try something new and exciting! Take your taste buds on a magical adventure to Vegan Land. Have you ever been skydiving? Whitewater rafting? Eaten a juicy veggie burger with almond cheese? Vegan chefs are like mad scientists, faced with the challenge of concocting exquisite vegan cuisine in a meat-filled world. Take a bite, I dare you, and experience the unpredictable wonders of life!
Alma Wilde says
Beyonce, Jay-Z, and Jennifer Lopez are NOT vegan: they wear furs and leather. Please don’t confuse people on a (in most cases, only temporary) plant-based diet with being vegan.
Alma Wilde says
The fact that trying a vegan diet is ‘trendy’ should never be an incentive for anyone to go vegan. Those celebs don’t care about the animals, therefore they’ve never been vegan, and J.Lo is just trying to make business by selling products.