As a blog writer here on Leafy Souls, I’m always on the look-out for inspiration for my next subject. Sometimes that can be a far-flung adventure into the likes of say essential amino acids or vegan pioneers over the years.
Yet sometimes, the most obvious subject is the one that gets overlooked – such as why it truly is so back-pattingly good to be a vegan. Just that simple and straight-forward.
So here are 7 of the best hearty back-slaps to you all, my vegan friends around the world.
Key Takeaways
1. You Really are an Animal Lover
The great thing about animals is it’s a case of what you see is what you get. There’s no hypocrisy, no double-meaning, and no betrayal. The emotions of an animal are 100% genuine. They’re never going to bad-mouth you on social media either.
When you look into the eyes of an animal, you have perfect genuineness.
So, the very fact that vegans don’t want any animal hurt, exploited or killed is a great tribute to that genuineness. Consequently, you justifiably get to call yourself a real “animal lover” as opposed to a “pet lover” that views most other animals as a fair game for the dinner table.
As a vegan, you really are an animal lover.
Well played my fellow vegan, well played!
2. You Genuinely Care About the Planet
For reasons particular to some humans only, we are the only species to use the oceans as both a larder and a toilet. Both of which of course is utterly wrong for a whole host of forehead-crinkling reasons.
And it’s not just the oceans. Omnivorous animal agriculture has given us the “delights” of not only industrial-sized animal cruelty but also mass pollution, deforestation and a hearty, utterly unhealthy contribution to global warming.
Add to that that the environmental problems that we leave behind are going to be massive headaches for future generations and the problem only intensifies.
Veganism refutes such miserable activities as animal agriculture and exploitation and embraces the very real fact that we only have one planet to live on. With no need for meat, there’s no need for forests to be hacked down so as to make room for yet even more grazing cattle. With fewer cattle, there are fewer methane emissions making their way into the atmosphere and adding to the problem of global warming.
The list, of course, goes on.
Veganism contributes to relieving the environmental stress on our wonderful, yet beleaguered, Mother Earth. Which is only ever a good thing.
High five fellow vegan, high five!
3. You Have the Healthiest of Diets
Before going vegan, I carried a lot of weight. I’m naturally a big guy, but the times when I started eyeing up the flex of the kettle as my next viable option as a belt were one too many for my own comfort.
A balanced vegan diet will remove a huge swathe of fat, cholesterol and other generally unpleasant items from your food. Add to that the growing evidence that links meat, dairy and egg consumption to not only the likes of diabetes and high blood pressure but cancers too.
There’s also increasing evidence of how veganism can not only prevent the onset of type 2 diabetes but actually reverses it once it’s taken hold.
Of course, as every vegan knows, the omnivorous battle-cry of “But where do you get your protein from?” will rear its inevitable head from time to time. And of course, the temptation to shout back “Plants! So where do you get your cholesterol from?” is always very, very strong.
And then there’s always the super irony that meat-eaters often refer to their carcass consumption as making them as strong as an ox – an animal that eats nothing but plants.
Also, there’s nothing quite like going vegan and rediscovering those outfits that were too tight a few years back now fit just fine.
Eat just plants and fit in those pants (again).
Rock on my vegan friend, rock on!
4. You’re part of the Fastest-growing Lifestyle Movement on the Planet
When the word "veganism" first-ever emerged, in 1944 for the history buffs among us, it spent years in the shadow of vegetarianism. And vegetarianism itself was at that time wildly outside of mainstream society. That’s just how obscure veganism found itself as the world dragged itself out of the mire of World War Two.
For decades subsequent to that, veganism remained in the shadows, singled out as being the lifestyle of cranks, crack-pots, weirdos and those committed to the very destruction of the moral fabric of society (whatever that may have been).
Like any great cause in history though, veganism could never be kept down. Despite being ignored and then derided, veganism began to gain real traction with the turn of the millennium and the rise of social media and readily accessible footage showing the real atrocities committed by the animal exploitation industry.
Now, hardly a day goes by without another high-profile name going vegan. It’s not just the star-studded either. Stat after stat keeps on coming out that shows how veganism is growing and growing right around the world. And the momentum is showing no sign of relenting. If anything, it’s gaining pace.
As a vegan, you’re a member of a pretty cool club…
Hip-hip hooray fellow vegan, hip-hip hooray!
5. You’re Helping Humankind to Overcome its Fixation on Violence
Getting killed is a rubbish way to end any day. Yet despite an apparently neurotic fear about it, humans have still become masters in dispensing death. The same humans that came up with penicillin and open-heart surgery have also unleashed the neutron bomb and concepts like “collateral damage” and “ethnic cleansing” – charming.
And yes, cats will chase mice and lions will stalk zebras. Their instinct drives them to do that. However, in contrast, the high and mighty thinking-apes that are humans have come up with diplomacy, philosophy tact and understanding. All the while dropping napalm on unarmed civilians and inventing nerve gas…
The difference? One is instinctual, per animals. The other is pre-meditated, per humans.
Veganism enshrines and promotes the idea that no life is worth any less than any other. Further, that pre-meditated killing is immoral and should be rejected. From slaughterhouse to battlefield, the opportunity to reduce and ultimately eliminate violence is another central tenet of veganism.
And quickly, for those omnivores taking a sneaky peak at this article and now muttering under their breath “well, my cat eats meat - it’s natural”, then vegans can reply with…Cats also chase after and eat moths, and shortly thereafter may extend a radio antennae-like leg into the air while they wash their least delightful bits. All natural though. So, when do the omnivores start taking that “natural” practice up too?
Put another way, drop the meat – stop dropping the bombs.
Way to go vegan, way to go!
6. You Get to Re-invent Your Kitchen
Tempeh. Tofu. Tabbouleh. Erm, toast?
Alliteration aside, veganism gets you to re-think the kitchen, meal-times and how you go about meal preparation.
So, in the absence of “traditional” animal-based products, stock, fats, milk, egg and all the rest of the omnivorous kitchen “go-to” items, what’s a vegan to do?
Well, first up and very much in accordance with the Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy, the best answer of all? Don’t panic. A vegan kitchen is a hive of creativity and flavour, less the misery and cruelty of animal parts and by-products.
Vegans get the opportunity to introduce not only the “Ts” mentioned at the outset (including toast if you like), but a whole spectrum of spices, pulses, beans, herbs and faux meats – and those are just a sample of what a vegan kitchen can offer.
If anything, as a vegan, your kitchen becomes more of a friend, not less. (The dirty dishes are still a bore though – hey, us vegans are working on that one too.)
Bish-bash-bosh my vegan friend, bish-bash-bosh!
7. As a Vegan, You Are the Future
Despite the swivel-eyed anti-vegans popping up on tv, radio and social media all around the world to claim that veganism is going nowhere while the vegan tidal wave continues to grow and grow, it’s very safe to say that veganism IS the future.
It is simply inconceivable to imagine that in 100 years time, let alone 500 years time, the planet is still fixated on mass meat production and consumption based on brutal, callous animal exploitation the way that it is now.
And this where being a vegan pioneer really makes a statement. While veganism is undoubtedly growing, there is still a long, long way to go.
Yet, the longest journey really does start with the smallest of steps. In this case though, there are millions of small steps all coming together to make vegan strides like never before.
As vegans, we have history that has yet to be made on our side!
Bravo my vegan friends – a genuine, we’re all in this together, vegan bravo!