Earlier this year my hubby and I were having lunch with supermodel Erin Heatherton when she pronounced “I could never go vegan! I wouldn’t want to be the boring one at a dinner party!!” (as she munched on her veggie salad). I commented that most vegans are anything but boring, and moved on.
Shortly after, we became addicted to the show Billions. After ravaging season one, we were excited to devour season two. The new character on season two is a androgynous trader named Taylor. Taylor’s character is introverted, grumpy, skinny, dresses in black, looks sickly, and has a shaved head that might indicate she’s receiving chemo.
If viewers had to guess the diet of this character, most might assume vegan. And when ‘Taylor’ was asked by another character on the show if she is vegan, her response was “Of course I’m a vegan!”, as if it should be assumed by her appearance.
For years, vegans have been labeled as the weird/alt worms of our society. But why? A balanced vegan diet is way healthier than any non-vegan diet, and it’s much better for the planet too. So why do people throw shade?
Let’s start with this: What does vegan make you think of?
A thin, pasty and unhealthy person? A tree-hugging hippie? Someone’s weird aunt? A bodybuilder?
Chances are, not the bodybuilder. Am I right?
Now, what does veganism mean?
A movement to help reduce: climate change, food waste, water use, human and animal slavery, antibiotic resistance, hunger and extreme poverty. This is all done by avoiding the consumption of products that use animals.
What does a vegan really look like?
Me, my hubby and many of our friends. There’s also Woody Harrelson, Miley Cyrus, Michelle Pfeiffer, Venus Williams, Olivia Wilde, Russell Simmons, and a long list of celebrities, athletes, entrepreneurs. We have solid cohort of bodybuilders too!
Why go vegan?
To protect the planet: It’s by far the most impactful thing you can do to curb climate change, world hunger, etc. It takes 660 gallons of water to make one hamburger. Another fact that doesn’t get enough press is that animal agriculture produces more carbon emissions that all planes, trains, and cars combined!
To look younger, fight acne, and lose weight: Animal-based proteins are inflammatory and filled with acne-causing hormones. Inflammation is the primary cause of aging and disease. In addition, your gut flora will be healthier on a plant-based diet, which will affect every part of your body and mind. And so long as you’re not eating a ton of sugar and gluten, your body will slim down to its ideal, fit weight.
To get healthy: We all know that heart disease and a litany of other fatal ailments are caused by red meat, but did you know that the World Health Organization has labelled meat as a class-one carcinogen? That means it’s in the same category as cigarettes. Add to that all the pharmaceuticals, antibiotics, hormones, tumors, feces, parasites, puss and blood in every sip or bite, and you’re got yourself a very unhealthy meal indeed. Think milk does a body good? Nope. That’s just marketing. In fact, the acidic protein in dairy causes osteoporosis. And animal proteins are a contributing factor for diabetes, too.
To help the hungry: An incredible amount of food is wasted by feeding it to animals instead of being consumed directly by humans. Diverting animal feed to humans would increase food calorie availability by almost 50%.
To help animals: The horrors of factory farms are well documented. While the companies involved in this death trade work mightily to keep us in the dark, amazing organizations like Mercy For Animals are shedding light on the nauseating conditions we keep over 10 billion land animals in each year (56 billion globally). If you love dogs, you’d love a pig or a turkey too. So why eat them when there are so many reasons to do the right thing?
To save money: Meat and dairy are expensive, so it’s no surprise that it’s cheaper to eat vegan. Making your own nut milks is easy, and there are lots of websites that are dedicated to helping new vegans figure out what to eat. I also recommend picking up a copy of Eating Vegan on $4 a Day, which outlines an entire day’s-worth of nutritionally-complete, delicious meals that cost less than a take-out sandwich or double cheeseburger dinner.
How did we get this distorted idea of what a vegan is?
Factory farms (where 90% of American animals are raised and slaughtered) are horrific places, but they are highly profitable. And did you know that 80% of antibiotics sold in America get pumped into farm animals? That makes the meat and dairy industry the largest client of big pharma, so they’re all teaming up to keep us in the dark about how meat and dairy are bad for health and climate change.
Big Ag (factory farms) and Big Pharma (prescription drug manufacturers) are two of the three largest lobbying groups in America. As a result, they wield an immense amount of influence on our government and the media. That’s why, in states where there’s a drought, America’s corrupt politicians tell residents to cut back on showers and let their lawn die, but they don’t tell residents to cut back on meat consumption, which would be far, far more effective, since a small hamburger takes over 660 gallons of water to make. It’s also why the government mandates that schools dish out a minimum amount of dairy with each lunch.
To confuse matters even more, the lobbyists pay for fake studies in an attempt to counteract all the real (ie. negative) studies, then pay for influencer marketing (getting bloggers and journalists –even corrupt doctors and scientists– to promote the falsified studies) to confuse consumers. As if that wasn’t bad enough, with all that money, the lobby groups also sue celebrities who speak out (for example, when Oprah said she wasn’t going to eat another burger, they sued her) to scare people into not talking about the dangers of meat and dairy.
What can we do?
Skip the meat, dairy and seafood (except for oysters and mussels, which don’t feel pain and are environmentally neutral) and opt for a plant based diet instead. Here are some great recipes.
Remind people that vegans are strong, sexy, and successful. Names like Venus Williams, Olivia Wilde, and Russell Simmons are all the proof you need.
Host a movie night and watch Cowspiracy or What The Health (both are on Netflix).
When you pass a restaurant, ask what vegan options they have. If they say none, say that’s really unfortunate because you and your friends would have loved to dine there. Most restaurants are happy to serve you up something tasty even if it’s not on the menu. I mean, if Taco Bell can provide over two dozen ways to serve vegan food, anyone can!
Miley Cyrus is doing it, ultra-marathoner Scott Jurek is doing it, and so are Stevie Wonder and Alicia Silverstone. People from all kinds of backgrounds, all kinds of professions and at all ages have been going vegan over the last couple of years. It seems like the world is waking up to the possibility of trading chronic diseases for compassion and longevity.
Compassion is the word. It’s what you need in order to easily switch to being vegan.
Once you go vegan and cut out meat, eggs and dairy, you’ll realize it’s not even hard. When you think about it, the only reasons we eat dairy, eggs, and meat so often is because that’s the way it has been for years. We’ve come to think that eggs are the best things for breakfast, or that dairy is our main source of calcium. But the magical world of creative vegan cooking has exploded in the recent years, finding vegan ways to do everything from tacos to ooey gooey cheesy pasta. Learning how to create vegan versions of foods can just as easily become a way of life. Plus the fact that vegan alternatives are everywhere now. You just have to look for it. A lot of people get scared of turning vegan because they can’t seem to picture a life without these foods. Which isn’t the case nowadays because of the said alternatives.
Vegan food is delicious and you won’t miss a thing, not even whipped cream, desserts, or cheese. If that’s what you’re afraid of!
It’s now more socially acceptable to be a vegan, compared to before. The once unfriendly vegan stigmas are finally dying down, and many public figures and celebrities like Beyonce, Bill Clinton, Ariana Grande, Ellen DeGeneres, Miley Cyrus and Mike Tyson (some mentioned in this article) are all praise the benefits of their plant-based diets. Yay team vegan!
The best part about being a vegan is that it reduces animal cruelty. I love animals and I can’t bear the thought of them being slaughtered. Although many of us prefer not to think about what meat actually is or where it comes from, at the end of the day, it’s a dead animal #sad. Lots of recent internet videos are exposing the horrific conditions that exist in animal farms, and just how intelligent these animals are (for example, the IQ of a pig is roughly that of a dog. Who doesn’t love dogs???). If you can’t picture killing your own pigs, cows and birds for food, consider it another reason to go vegan.?
This is such an important factor for all animal lovers. Whether you own a cat or a dog. You can’t even imagine anything bad happening to them.
Animal protein consumption is linked to increased risk of diabetes, mortality, and cancer. Pass us the plants, please! You haven’t seen anyone die because of vegetables!
More and more studies are revealing that animal protein is bad for your body… We don’t even need studies to prove that eating it makes our body feel worse. Back when I wasn’t a vegan yet, whenever I would have meat in my diet for more than 3 times a week, I start to feel bloated and my body feels heavier. I’m not sure why, but I don’t have to be an expert to say that it’s simply because our body doesn’t need meat all the time.
There is substantial evidence to suggest that going vegan is one of the best choices you can make for yourself, the planet, your friends, and your cuddly adorable animal friends. Going vegan is easier and more delicious than ever! It’s no longer just a sad pile of vegetables and rice, vegan food is officially appealing to all palates. There are also more and more vegan restaurants, cookbooks, and blogs seem to be popping up and making headlines all around the world. (Although I must admit there are still some that would say they have no vegan dishes available, just like what this article said.) Not only that, but vegan cooking is fun, easy and fuss-free. When it comes to eating at home, the internet is a goldmine of genius vegan-friendly blogs and resources. (Even Urbanette offers them!) The recipes provided don’t require all those hassles of making sure meat and eggs are fully cooked and spending hours waiting for things to thaw. And this is only just a few of the good things about it.
I agree with you! Others think that it’s such a fuss to prepare, but most dishes takes about 5 minutes to prepare!
Even celebrities are vegan now. So why do we shun the fact that veganism is a better lifestyle? They make it sound like we’re aliens that are completely out of this world. When in fact, it’s even weirder that we try to consume the milk of cows. I mean, dogs don’t drink cow milk, nor do cows drink dog milk. So why do humans try to consume other mammals’ milk? ?
Just like any other companies that profit from advertising lies to people, that’s what poultry companies do in order to stop people from being vegan. They all make it seem like people need meat or dairy in order to live. That’s not even the case, it’s even proven that eating more fruits, vegetables, and non-meat products can help us live a healthier and longer life. Switching to a healthier lifestyle is just a matter of choice. It won’t really harm you, it will even improve you.