Facts About Vegan Living

Veganism is both the practice of not consuming animal products, particularly in their diet but now also in fashion, and an associated philosophy that rejects using animals in the manufacturing process. It is a “live through kindness” philosophy that helps not only the areas listed above, but also reduces stress levels and increases a positive attitude among people.

There are many benefits of veganism. Although it is hard to do - a lot of vegans are surrounded by non-vegans and avoiding temptation can be difficult - but it is possible and contrary to what most think, we live in a world where we do not have to use animal products if we don’t want to.

Lose Weight and Good Metabolism

Several studies show that a plant-based diet increases the body’s metabolism, causing the body to burn calories up to 16% faster than the body would on a meat-based diet for at least the first 3 hours after meals. Many who have transitioned to a plant-based lifestyle find themselves losing weight without much effort.

Where once it was a struggle to lose weight and keep it off, some new vegans find those once-stubborn pounds falling off–and staying off. Is it thanks to all of the fiber in plants–or the fact that we’re likely to eat less processed food on a vegan diet? Partly–but now there’s another element confirming why vegans tend to be thinner without significant struggle: Vegans may burn calories faster.

Dr.  Neal Barnard, MD, the founding president of the Physicians’ Committee for Responsible Medicine (PCRM) and a professor at George Washington School of Medicine and Health Sciences, recently performed a fascinating study, the results of which indicate that vegan bodies adapt to burn calories more efficiently than their omnivore counterparts.

End Hunger

The link between meat consumption and world hunger is impossible to ignore. According to a 2012 study from McGill University and the University of Minnesota, humans produce enough grain to feed the world, but we choose to feed most of it to animals just so we can eat meat.

Studies show that a vegetarian diet could feed more people than a meat-based diet. For example, only around 20% of the corn grown in the United States is eaten by people, with about 80% of the corn eaten by livestock. Additionally, approximately 95% of the oats grown in the U.S are eaten by livestock. Studies show that the number of people who could be fed by the grain and soybeans that are currently fed to U.S. livestock is approximate 1,300,000,000.

Cuts Your Carbon Footprint

Animal agriculture produces more greenhouse gas emissions than all the cars, trains, planes, and other forms of transportation around the world combined. Plus, factory farming is responsible for 65 percent of all human-related emissions of nitrous oxide—a greenhouse gas with 296 times the global warming potential of carbon dioxide, which can stay in the atmosphere for 200 years. Studies show going vegan cuts your carbon footprint in half.

Healthier And Longer

The Mayo Clinic recently reported that switching to a plant-based diet could add up to four years to your life. And also! A study published in the American Journal of Clinical Nutrition shows that vegetarians are up to 32 percent less likely than meat-eaters to suffer from hospitalization or death due to heart disease.

Reduce Water Consumption

Animal agriculture is responsible for two-thirds of all freshwater consumption in the world today. One pound of beef requires 1,799 gallons of water to produce, a dozen eggs 636 gallons, and a gallon of cow’s milk a staggering 880 gallons. In an increasingly drought-stricken, warming world, this is a complete waste.

Eating less meat through adopting a “healthy meat” diet could reduce water footprint by up to 35%, the authors say. An even greater saving can be made if the meat is replaced by fish, lowering the water footprint by 55%, but interestingly moving completely to a vegetarian diet makes around the same savings. Making such changes will not only save water but will have the additional benefit of improving diet in countries where more than a third of people are overweight and around a quarter obese.

Keep the Fish

The more I learn about all the ways animal agriculture contributes to ocean dead zones and species loss, the happier I am to be one less person contributing to the destruction of our waters. Earth’s oceans make up 90 percent of the living volume of the planet, and they’re home to more than 1 million species.

Oceans also absorb up to one-third of human carbon dioxide emissions while simultaneously producing 50 percent of the oxygen we breathe. Basically, we really, really need our oceans. But according to research such as the Census of Marine Life, a decade-long international survey of ocean life completed in 2010, overfishing, climate change, and pollution are destabilizing marine environments around the globe.