Why Vegan?

I'm a vegan for the following reasons:

1. Sustainability 
2. Health
3. Ethics

When I tell people that I'm a vegan, the first reaction I get is "Why?" or "What's wrong with meat?"
After reading many books,

• The China Study by T. Colin Campbell
• Whole by T. Colin Campbell 
• Engine 2 Diet by Rip Esselstyn
• My Beef with Meat by Rip Esselstyn 
• Vegan for Her by Virginia Messina, MPH, RD
• Vegan for Life by Jack Norris, RD and Virginia Messina, MPH, RD
• Living Vegan for Dummies by Alex Jamieson, CHHC, AADP
• Eating on the Wild Side by Jo Robinson
• Thrive by Brendan Brazier 
• The Complete Idiots Guide to Eating Raw by Mark Reinfeld, Bo Rinaldi, and Jen Murray
• The 80/10/10 Diet by Dr. Douglas Graham 
• The Raw Cure by Jesse J. Jacoby
• and many more...

And watching many documentaries,

• Food, Inc
• Forks Over Knives 
• Fat, Sick, and Nearly Dead
• Food Matters
• Vegucated 
• Hungry for Change
• Breakthrough
• Simply Raw
• Cowspiracy

I decided to take on a 100% plant-based diet. Based on all of the information that I have read about, watched, and researched, I have concluded that the healthiest and most eco-friendly diet is a vegan (plant-based) diet.

Why I believe in a plant-based diet:
Similar to us, plants can be harmed by disease and sun's UV rays. Instead of putting on sunscreen, plants produce antioxidants to protect themselves from the UV rays. When we consume plants, the antioxidants work the same way in our bodies, protecting us from disease and the sun. Amazing, right?

Below, I've answered the questions that I get asked the most about my diet: 

• Why don't you eat meat? 

      Meat has cholesterol and saturated fat that can cause artery clogging plaque. Because of this, many studies show that eating meat increases your chances of having high cholesterol, high blood pressure, heart disease, diabetes, cancer, and many other diseases. I'm not saying that you will get sick if you eat meat, but your chances of disease are much higher. 

• If you don't eat meat, where do you get cholesterol? 

Your body makes it's own cholesterol. You don't need to eat animals to get it. 

• Why don't you drink milk?  

From the time you were born until about 6 months of age, you probably drank your mother's milk. Most women breastfeed their children because it's the natural thing to do, right? Other mammals do just the same. So if a cow produces milk for its calf, the calf should be the only one to drink it. Human milk is meant for humans, cows milk is meant for cows. We are the only species on earth that drinks another animals milk. 

        According to The China Study, countries that consume the most milk have the highest rates of Osteoporosis (the deficiency of calcium). How could this be? The truth is, when you drink milk, the acidity decreases the pH levels of your blood, sucking all of the calcium right out of your bones. That's right, milk takes the calcium OUT of your bones. Don't believe me? Most of the books and documentaries I listed above will tell you the same thing. Why haven't you heard this before? Unfortunately, the dairy industry spends a lot of money every year to make sure this news doesn't get out. They make sure you only hear positive things about milk. The American Dairy Association pays schools to put "Got Milk" advertisements in cafeterias to make sure that kids buy milk. If everyone knew the truth about milk, the dairy industry would probably go bankrupt.

• Where do you get your protein?

         After announcing to my family that I was going vegan, everyone asked me "How are you going to get protein?" Why is it that every time I tell someone that I'm a vegan, that is the first thing they ask me? Where do elephants (one of the strongest mammals on the planet) get their protein? The answer to all of those questions, is PLANTS. Yes, all plants have protein! I get my protein from fruits, greens, beans, nuts, and seeds. A lot of people think that vegetarians and vegans are protein deficient because they don't eat meat. Protein deficiency is not a problem the United States. In fact, many studies show that too much protein has lead to obesity in our country. Rip Esselstyn, author of The Engine 2 Diet and Dr. Douglas Graham, author of The 80/10/10 Diet both recommend that protein should only make up 10% of your diet. 

• Why don't you eat fish? 

        How many times have you gone to the beach and found some kind of garbage or pollution in the water? I've been to the Atlantic and the Pacific, one thing they all have in common: litter. 

Remember the 2010 oil spill in the Gulf of Mexico? It takes years and years to clean a mess that large, especially if it's in the ocean. With strong waves and currents, oil from the spill has ended up on the other side of the world. Mercury poisoning is also a big problem. If doctors tell pregnant women not to eat fish, why should anyone else eat it?

      

All of the information I have given above can be found in the list of books and documentaries.
If you have any questions for me, I'd be more than happy to answer them. Leave them in the comments below.