Arguments for a Vegan Lifestyle

The Existential

  • If I can’t justify it, I shouldn’t do it
  • Actions should reflect beliefs.

The Ethical

  • Murder is immoral, torture is immoral - both especially so when perpetrated for the sake of another’s gratification (or appetite).

We manage to swallow flesh only because we do not think of the cruel and sinful thing that we do.  Cruelty... is a fundamental sin, and admits of no arguments or nice distinctions.  If only we do not allow our heart to grow callous, it protests against cruelty, is always clearly heard; and yet we go on perpetrating cruelties easily, merrily, all of us - in fact, anyone who does not join in is dubbed a crank. 
~Rabindranath Tagore

  • If I can’t kill an animal myself then it’s not acceptable to have others do it for me.

I venture to maintain that there are multitudes to whom the necessity of discharging the duties of a butcher would be so inexpressibly painful and revolting, that if they could obtain a flesh diet on no other condition, they would relinquish it forever.
~W.E.H. Lecky

The Pragmatic

  • Thanks to a burgeoning veggie movement, becoming vegan has never been easier (i.e. animal friendly food, clothing, shoes, cosmetics are widely available) 
  • The high fruit and vegetable content of a vegan diet is associated with a reduced risk for cardiovascular disease, several common cancers, and other chronic diseases.  Regular consumption of nuts is linked with a lower risk for heart disease and lower mortality rates.  Whole-grain consumption is associated with a reduced risk for heart disease, diabetes, high blood pressure, and stomach and colon cancers. 
  • I spend a fraction of what omnivores do on groceries.
  • Pathogenic bacteria....Toxins....Prions....Parasites
    Salmonella....E. coli....Mad Cow Disease....Hoof and Mouth
    These are virtually non-existent threats to a person who doesn’t eat dead things.

When we eat vegetarian foods, we needn’t worry about what kind of disease our food died from; this makes a joyful meal!
~ John H. Kellogg

The Conscientious

  • Animal husbandry adversely affects our ecosystem by depleting our limited natural resources.  Thanks to animal-based industries, tens of thousands of acres of rainforest have been destroyed, our air and water severely polluted and vast amounts of fossil fuels and raw materials expended.  Until demand ebbs, this destruction can only worsen.
  • Desire to shrink one’s ecological footprint

Average EU footprint:           4.5 hectares per capita
Average UK footprint:          5.6 hectares per capita
Average US footprint:           9.7 hectares per capita

This should speak for itself but if you need a broader basis for comparison consider:

Average Latin American footprint: 1.9 hectares per capita
Average Asia-Pacific footprint:         1.3 hectares per capita
Average African footprint:                1.1 hectares per capita

Ecological footprint by country
Image and data courtesy of the Global Footprint Network 

The Belligerent

(oh well, just because they’re not my favourite arguments doesn’t mean they can’t be yours)

  • Humans aren’t naturally carnivorous
  • Double Standard: Why do we call some animals ‘pets’ and others ‘dinner’?

Arguments used against Veganism (and my responses to them)

  • Eating meat is ‘natural’

Humans take innumerable ‘unnatural’ liberties with their lifestyle and ethics.  If you value your ability to make unnatural choices based on logic, passion or moral values, then your ‘natural’ habits should be evaluated with the same enlightened eye.

I have no doubt that it is a part of the destiny of the human race, in its gradual improvement, to leave off eating animals, as surely as the savage tribes have left off eating each other....
~Henry David Thoreau, Walden, 1854

Nothing will benefit human health and increase chances of survival for life on earth as much as the evolution to a vegetarian diet.
~ Albert Einstein

  • and the ever popular corollary “God made animals for Man”

If God made animals for men to consume, why did he make them capable of suffering?

The animals of the world exist for their own reasons.  They were not made for humans any more than black people were made for whites or women for men.
~ Alice Walker

  • Consuming milk and eggs doesn’t kill anything

In the most limited sense of the word, maybe not.  Your consumption of milk and eggs could feasibly be achieved without harming animals - but it isn’t.  Your purchase not only supports the unbelievable animal cruelty present in even “organic” farms, but also the veal industry; which would not exist if not for the need to keep dairy cows constantly lactating.  As for eggs, look at the conditions of factory farms and tell me that’s not taking life - it may be a prolonged, agonizing slaughter, but it is death nonetheless.

My perspective of veganism was most affected by learning that the veal calf is a by-product of dairying, and that in essence there is a slice of veal in every glass of what I had thought was an innocuous white liquid - milk.
~Rynn Berry

  • The vegan diet doesn’t provide adequate nutrition.

A well balanced vegan diet provides all essential nutrients and has the same overall health advantages as a vegetarian diet. Because vegans lack the option of gaining certain nutrients from dairy products and eggs they ensure optimum dietary nutrition by consuming adequate quantities of plant-food sources of protein, Vitamins B12 and D, omega-3 fats, calcium, and iodine.  Legumes (beans, peas, lentils, and peanuts) are excellent sources of protein, fiber, and a variety of micronutrients and phytochemicals that protect against disease.  Simply avoiding animal products will not ensure optimal health.  Vegans, like everyone, should eat a balanced diet (something most omnivores don’t achieve).  Sure, if you’re an aspiring body-builder this could seem impracticable, but remember that the ‘high quality’ protein from meat and dairy was originally absorbed by an animal on a plant based diet.

The British Dietetic Association considers that a well-planned vegetarian diet can be nutritionally adequate and health promoting for both adults and children.
~British Dietetic Association

  • And my personal favourite - What if you were starving on a desert island with a cow, then would you eat meat?

I’ll cross that bridge when I come to it.  I’ll check in with you if ever confronted with that situation.

Dear Lord, I've been asked, nay commanded, to thank Thee for the Christmas turkey before us... a turkey which was no doubt a lively, intelligent bird... a social being... capable of actual affection... nuzzling its young with almost human-like compassion.  Anyway, it's dead and we're gonna eat it.  Please give our respects to its family.
~Berke Breathed, Bloom County Babylon