January 15, 2024

Submitted by Mike Sauers

Everywhere I go the message is loud and clear. Go Vegan Now! Proponents have a significant array of benefits which, they forcefully claim, would have a profound impact on the planetary and human condition. The information vegan enthusiasts provide is truly substantial and one can only wonder why humanity is not running full steam into a vegan life.

According to a recent edition of Good Medicine, published by Physicians Committee For Responsible Medicine, a vegan diet would help prevent the obesity epidemic and related heart, diabetes and cancers. This directly impacts health care/drug costs for millions of people. Additionally, consumers would see savings in the grocery store as a plant based diet is far more economical than a dairy/meat/seafood diet.

A vegan diet also directly impacts the environment. Less greenhouse gas emissions, less land use and less water use would all occur. A vegan diet fights the climate crisis.

The standard American meat/diary/seafood diet is incredibly cruel. It requires factory farms and slaughterhouses. Billions of animals are slaughtered every year for food in the United States. That would be 9.5 billion chickens, 208 million turkeys, 125 million hogs, 34 million cattle, 2 million sheep/lambs, 26 million ducks and 369,200 thousand calves.

There is more. There is always more. Do some research. Tour a few slaughterhouses. For the record, I am a longtime vegan.